Village of Oblong
August 5, 2020

 

The Village of Oblong Board of Trustees met in regular session on Wednesday, August 5th, 2020, in the Activity Center Room of the Municipal Building.

Members Present: Mayor Teresa Fielder, Clerk Ladora Boyd, Trustee Angie Fear, Trustee Jay Haines, Trustee Dave Hasty, Trustee Bill Burke, Trustee Keith Waldrop and Trustee Jeron Harris.
Absent: Treasurer Jan Miller.
Others Present: Public Works Superintendent Gary Lanter, Police Chief Chad Pusey, Clinton Delonge and Ben Kirk.

The meeting was called to order at 5 pm by Mayor Fielder with everyone standing for the Pledge of Allegiance.

The Regular Board Meeting Minutes of July 1st 2020, were approved with a motion by Keith and a second by Jeron. All ayes, motion carried.

There was one deletion to the agenda this month

There was one Delinquent Water Bill customer at the meeting this month. Clinton Delonge came before the Board to ask if he could have until the middle of September to get his water bill paid. The Board granted his request.

Teresa stated that the auditors will have the Village FY2020 audit ready for the September Board Meeting’

Teresa stated that Ladora had received the Motor Fuel Audit (Compliance Review) for the dates of January 1st, 2017 through December 31st, 2019. The Village’s records for the period of time is true and correct.

Motion by Bill, with a second by Angie, to adopted Resolution 2020-R-3 “Resolution for Improvement Under the Illinois Highway Code”. All ayes, motion carried.

Motion by Jeron, with a second by Jay, to adopted Resolution 2020-R-4 “Homecoming Parade Permit”. All ayes, motion carried.

Motion by Keith, with a second by Dave, to adopted Resolution 2020-R-5 “Halloween Parade Permit”. All ayes, motion carried. The Oblong Chamber of Commerce will announce on October 1st, their decision about the Fall Follies.

Vault Antiques asked permission from the Board to have Whitaker Beef Food Truck parked in front of their business on Saturday, September 5th. There was some discussion. Motion by Keith, with a second by Jeron, to grant the Vault Antiques request. Four (4) ayes, two (2) abstains; motion carried.

Mayor’s Comments:

Teresa stated that this weekend is the free camping at the Park.

Teresa mentioned that the Annual Town Wide Garage Sales is Friday and Saturday, August 7th & 8th. The maps will be distributed to downtown businesses on Thursday, August 6th.

Teresa stated that the cancellation of both the Oblong Antique Tractor & Engine Show and Metal Meet 2020 had nothing to do with the Village of Oblong. Both events had trouble obtaining liability insurance. Also, Metal Meet 2020 has individuals from many states and other countries attending and they appreciate Oblong too much to ever put us in any compromising situation.

Teresa mentioned that the Village has received a COVID 19 Response Fund Grant from Southern Illinois Community Foundation for $3,500, this will be used to help some of the Village’s Water/Sewer customers who need help with their bills. She stated that she will get together with Dave, Gary and Dale next week to make a list of customers that will be helped by this Grant.

Teresa mentioned that the Village has received a Safety/Advertising check from Marathon Petroleum Company (MAP) in the amount of $2,000, this amount will go to defray the cost of fencing around three sides of the overflow and the MAP Logo Sign.

Teresa mentioned that there will be a Public Hearing for the County Revolving Loan Fund for the Village’s sewer lagoon grant on Thursday, August 13th at 5:30 pm in the County Annex Building. Also, Hustonville’s Public Hearing will be at 5:45 pm. Then the County Board’s regular meeting will start at 6 pm. Teresa stated that she will be attending.

Teresa stated that she will talk about some information on wildlife trapping that the Ad-Hoc Committee have learned later during the Ad-Hoc Committee Report.

Reports of Committees:

Police: Jay stated that he had nothing to report this month. Chad stated that the trustees had last month’s report and there were some numbers that were up, especially on felonies.

Building & Park: Keith stated that the two benches have been delivered. Gary is looking into some lighting for Pickleball Court. There was some discussion about using Quick Staff when in need of some part-time help. Motion by Keith, with a second by Jeron, to allow Gary the option of using Quick Staff or contract outside help as needed for either Part-time or situational events. All ayes, motion carried.

Sidewalks & Lights: Bill stated that he had nothing to report this month. Gary stated that Ameren has been fixing lights but has been called off due to storm damage.

Street & Alley: Angie stated that she had nothing to report this month. Gary stated that he had turned in the paperwork for MFT annual maintenance for Village streets.

Water & Sewer: Dave stated that he was told by a water customer that they were appreciative when there is a high reading on their water consumption that the workers let them know in person. Gary mentioned that the next bill from Robinson-Palestine will be increased due to the broken water valve in July.

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

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

Ad Hoc (Dilapidated/Unsafe Buildings & Ordinances): Teresa stated that at the July Meeting the committee was approached by Jane Attaway about a problem with raccoons and other wildlife and feral cat problems. There were two gentlemen from Integrated Pest & Wildlife Management at the meeting to talk about their services. They gave a quote for their services if the Village decided to go with them. There was some discussion on this issue. It was decided that Chad would get in contact with a Conservation Police Officer to see if he would be willing to meet and maybe give the Village other options.

Teresa stated the Village (Ad-Hoc Committee) has done a great job on getting problems taken care of. However, the time has now come that residents in violation of ordinances, especially those that have structures which are harboring wildlife will be dealt with soon. Once the committee has meet with Conservation Officer for guidance, we will begin issuing ordinance violations. The owner will either address the harboring issue immediately or will risk having ordinance violation tickets sent to court.

The August winner of the Hometown Pride Award was Refuge House Ministries located at 803 East Main Street. Teresa mentioned that the next meeting will be August 26th at 3:30 pm.

Motion by Jay, with a second by Bill, 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. Ben Kirk came to the meeting to introduce himself and let the Board know that he is going to come to the September meeting to talk about possibly offering inexpensive WIFI and internet.

Motion by Jeron, with a second by Angie, to adjourn the meeting at 6:12 pm. All ayes, motion carried.

Respectfully submitted

 

Ladora Boyd
Clerk