Village of Oblong

December 5, 2018

The Village of Oblong Board of Trustees met in regular session on Wednesday, December 5th, 2018, in the Farley Room of the Municipal Building.

Members Present: Mayor Teresa Fielder, Clerk Ladora Boyd, Trustee Debi Wilson, Trustee Angie Fear, Trustee Jay Haines, Trustee Dave Hasty, Trustee Bill Burke, Trustee Jeron Harris and Treasurer/Deputy Clerk Jan Miller
Others Present: Police Chief Chad Pusey, Public Works Superintendent Gary Lanter, Chris DeWitt (WTAY/WTYE), Tom Compton (Daily News) and Nick Hinterscher.

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

The Regular Board Meeting Minutes of November 7th, 2018, were approved with a motion by Bill, and a second by Debi. All ayes, motion carried.

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

There were no Delinquent Water Bill customers at the meeting this month.

Nick Hinterscher came before the Board to ask for permission for the taverns to stay open until 1:30 am with last call at 1 am on Tuesday, January 1st, for New Year’s Eve. The Board granted his request.

Motion by Dave, with a second by Jeron, to adopt Ordinance #2018-O-599 “An Ordinance to Amend Division XXXVIII – Utilities Section 38-3-88 Water Rates of Revised Code of Ordinances of the Village of Oblong, Illinois”. Roll Call Vote as follows: Debi – aye, Angie – aye, Jay – aye, Dave – aye, Bill – aye, Jeron – aye; motion carried. This water rate increase will be effective January 1st, 2019, but will show up on the water bills in February.

There was some discussion before the adoption of the following ordinance. The Board wants to make sure that either the cost of the demolition of the property will be covered or the Village has ownership of said property. Motion by Bill, with a second by Angie, to adopt Ordinance #2018-O-600 “An Ordinance to Condemn an Unsafe and Dangerous Building at 313 North Wilson Street, Oblong, Illinois”. Roll Call Vote as follows: Debi – aye, Angie – aye, Jay – aye, Dave – aye, Bill – aye, Jeron – aye; motion carried.

Mayor’s Comments:

Teresa stated that the Village had received a letter from MediaCom stating that there were going to be same changes in the rates on or about January 1st, 2019.
Teresa stated that she had received a letter from East Central Illinois Development Corporation (ECIDC) stating that with the resignation of Larissa Seward as Executive Director, They are going to be deciding what their next steps will be.
Teresa stated that she had signed that contribution letters for the Dog Park and that Kemper with some help from Marathon have sent them out to those who have made pledges for the park.
Teresa mentioned that the Board had received a Thank You note from the Village Employees for the Christmas Party.

Reports of Committees:
Police: Jay stated that the Police Department will possibly be losing a Part-Time Officer. He also stated that there is a trained Police Officer that may be interested in working for the Village Part-Time.

Building and Park: Debi stated that she had nothing to report this month.

Sidewalks and Lights: Bill stated that he had nothing to report this month.

Street and Alley: Angie stated that she had nothing to report this month.

Water and Sewer: Dave stated that the Committee met on Monday, December 3rd, to discuss the water rate increase. The Committee will be meeting in six months to review whether the increase is enough to cover the Robinson-Palestine water rate increase.

Finance: Jeron stated that he had nothing to report this month.

Development: Bill stated that there was nothing new to report at this time.

Ad Hoc (Dilapidated/Unsafe Buildings): Teresa stated that there are ten property on the watch list to be cleaned-up or made safe. The next meeting will be February 27, 2019.

Motion by Jeron, with a second by Jay, 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 was one other item of business this month. Teresa introduced the Village’s K-9 Officer Ruger to the Board and all those who had attended the Board Meeting.

Motion by Jeron, with a second by Angie, to adjourn the meeting at 7:20 pm. Five (5) ayes and one (1) nay, motion carried.

Respectfully submitted

 

Ladora Boyd