October 1st, 2014

The Village of Oblong Board of Trustees met in regular session on Wednesday, October 1st, 2014, in the Farley Room of the Municipal Building.

Members Present: Mayor Randy Rich, Clerk Ladora Boyd, Trustee Rick Catt, Trustee Dave Hasty, Trustee Jay Haines, Trustee Ken Russell, Trustee Tony Madlem, Trustee Debi Wilson and Treasurer/Deputy Clerk Jan Miller.

Others Present: Public Works Superintendent Gary Lanter, Police Chief Chad Pusey, Tom Compton (Daily News), Chris Forde (WTYE/WTAY), Diane Houdasheldt, John Stone (Connor & Connor) and Mike McReynolds.

The meeting was called to order at 7:00 pm by Mayor Rich; with everyone standing and saying the Pledge of Allegiance.

The Regular Board Meeting Minutes of September 3rd, 2014 were approved with a motion by Debi, and a second by Tony. All ayes, motion carried.

There were no additions or deletions to the agenda this month.

There was one Water Bill customer at this month’s meeting. Mike McReynolds came before the Board to ask if he could pay his late water bill in two installments. The Board granted Mr. McReynolds’ request.

Diane Houdasheldt, Oblong Chamber of Commerce, came before the Board to ask the Village if they would be willing to help with the cost of new signs on Route 33 at the Village limits. There was some discussion on this issue. Rick stated that the Finance Committee would be meeting later this month and would discuss what the Village might be able to give towards the cost and give a recommendation to the Board at the November Meeting. It was asked when the Chamber was planning to do the replacement of the old signs and Diane stated that it would probably be next spring. The Chamber is still deciding on what style they want. The Chamber has set aside $2,000 towards the cost of the new signs.

Diane Houdasheldt came before the Board to see if she needed to get a permit from the Village Board to have a wine tasting event at her business, Henpeck Mercantile, for her Holiday open house in November. She had already went online to see what was required by the State. The Board talked about the issue. It was stated that the Village does not have anything in the Code Book on events, such as wine tasting. The Board felt that Diane could go ahead and pursue the requirements for having a wine tasting at her business.

John Stone (Connor & Connor), came before the Board with the final bill from AJ Walker on the North Range Street Project. The bill is for $85,603.27, which includes the retainage amount of $42,707.42. John stated that the final cost was about 2% over the estimated cost of the project. He also would like to wait until spring to do the reseeding and that he would do it. Motion by Rick, second by Dave, to pay the final amount of $85,603.27 to AJ Walker. All ayes, motion carried.

The Board set October 31st as Trick or Treat Night for Oblong. It will be from 5 pm to 8 pm and only houses with their porch light on.

Mayor’s Comments:
Randy stated that the Village’s Fall Clean-Up will be October 30th. The Company will not pick-up electronics, car parts, appliances or construction items. Randy also stated that after the Clean-up, the police department will start issuing citations for junk and trash in yards.

Reports of Committees:
Jay stated that he had nothing to report this month. Chad stated that he had a good experience while at the National Facility for the Junior Police Academy in Austin, Texas.

Building and Park: Debi stated that the Oblong Community Service Club had donated $240 towards the purchase of new folding chairs for the Activity Center. She also stated that Gary and the guys are still working on the Walking Path out at the Park. Gary stated that it is about 2/3 completed.

Sidewalks and Lights: Dave stated that Gary had informed him that the sidewalk in front of the North Range Street Cilia House will be repair sometime this month.

Street and Alley: Tony stated that the Chip & Seal Program has been completed for this year.

Water and Sewer: Ken stated that the committee had met on Monday, September 29th, with Aqualine representatives about a program they have. The program is a water line protection for the Village’s water customers. It would cost under $4 a month. This protection would be from the water meter to the foundation of the home. The company would like to have a public meeting to see if there is any interest in the program by the customer.

Finance: Rick stated that with the approval of the AJ Walker bill the Board will need to make a transfer of $50,000 from sewer checking to general checking. Motion by Rick, with a second by Debi, to transfer $50,000 from the sewer checking account to the general checking account. All aye, motion carried. Rick also mentioned that Chris and Kim Reeves have not been making their Revolving Loan Payment for a couple of months now. Rick stated that this matter needs to be turned over to the Village Attorney, so that he can start the legal proceeding. Motion by Rick, with a second by Tony, to give Frank Weber the Revolving Loan paperwork on the Reeves Kids Investment so that he can start the legal proceeding. All aye, motion carried. Rick stated that Randy had received some paperwork from Roger Colmark’s legal counsel wanting an agreement to be signed between Colmark and the Village which would allow for Colmark to receive the Developer’s portion of the TIF Tax money from TIF 1 (Park Meadow Subdivision). The Board decided that they want a second opinion before signing the document. It was decided to contact the Village’s attorney that was involved with the original agreement back in 1999. Rick stated that the committee will be meeting on October 27th.

Development: Tony stated that he had nothing to report this month.

Tourism: Randy stated that there were no applications turned-in early enough so that the committee could met and make their recommendation to the Board tonight.

Motion by Ken, with a second by Debi, to pay the bills that were on the warranty list and any utility bills, bills that will incur a late charge or reimbursements to employees. All ayes, motion carried.

There were no other items of business this month.

Motion by Rick, with a second by Tony, to adjourn the meeting at 7:49 pm. All ayes, motion carried.

Respectfully submitted

Ladora Boyd, Clerk