January 8, 2014

Board Meeting Minutes

Minutes January 8, 2014

The regular meeting of the Village of Divernon Board of Trustees was held on Wednesday, January 8, 2014, at the Divernon Village Hall. Village President Randy Rhodes called the meeting to order at 7:00 p.m. After the Pledge of Allegiance was recited by all in attendance, Clerk Rod Molnar called roll: Randy Rhodes “Here”, Melissa Layton “Here”, Pam Cronister “Here”, Jim Copelin “Here”, Larry Baer “Here”, Derek Hedges “Here”, Dianne Brenning “Here”. Also in attendance were Superintendent Larry Rhodes and Police Chief Barclay Harris.

A motion was made by Cronister to approve the minutes of December 11, 2013. Baer seconded and the motion passed 6-0.

A motion was made by Cronister and seconded by Copelin to approve the Executive Session minutes of December 11, 2013. The motion was approved 6-0.

Brenning presented the Village bills with a motion that they be approved after correcting a bill to United Health Care and adding bills to Minolta Inc. After Baer seconded the motion, it was approved 6-0.

Ken Davis of Kennected Software made a presentation of the Elert Notification System. This software would allow the Village to send text messages and emails to customers alerting them to boil orders, snow emergencies, tornado warnings, etc. He offered a number of ways the software can be purchased or leased.

Superintendent Report:

Superintendent Rhodes brought the Board up to date on the recent snow removal. The large truck broke down during the snow emergency but has since been repaired.

Police Report:

Chief Harris also had an update on what the Police Department had to deal with during the recent snowstorm. He also reported on the cleanup of a property on Lincoln Street.

Committee Reports:

Streets, Alleys, and Utilities:

Cronister gave an update on the Safe Routes to Schools sidewalk program. She also heard from SignCraft Inc. regarding the repair of the Welcome to Divernon sign. The sign will be completed soon and reinstalled as weather permits. A portion of Glenarm didn’t receive their latest gas bill. Mayor Rhodes spoke with the Postmaster about the problem. A request was made by Ace Flooring that one half of their gas deposit be refunded. The issue was tabled in order to look into the specifics of the policy of returning deposits to business customers.

Finance:

Nothing to report.

Personnel:

Nothing to Report.

Minutes January 8, 2014

Health and Safety:

Mayor Rhodes supplied Trustee Copelin with a copy of the NIMS compliance document. Copelin said he had been asked about how the Fire Department determined which calls would be handled by outside departments instead of locally. The Mayor explained how the department policy worked.

Community Development:

Layton reported that the Sangamon County Health Department will be publishing an official notice of demolition in the paper for the two abandoned homes on State Street.

Building Grounds and Lights:

Hedges gave an update on the search for new accounting software. Daffron Inc. gave an estimate for their billing and accounting software. Hedges felt that the bid was too high and will work with Treasurer Nichols to see if they can get the price reduced. Another option would be to use the Quickbooks software for accounting and continue to use Banyon Inc for utility billing.

Mayor Rhodes presented a letter from the Village Attorney recommending that the Village not enter into an agreement with Stars and Stripes Baseball for use of MacMurray Park.

A motion was made by Layton and seconded by Brenning to purchase the Elert Notification System as a cost of $100.00 per month as a six month trial period. The motion passed 6-0. The cost may be able to be shared with the fire department and township. R. Rhodes will check with them.

Old Business:

None.

New Business:

A meeting of the TIF Joint Review Board will be held at the Village Hall on Wednesday, January 29, 2014 at 7:00 p.m. The public is invited to attend.

Motion by Layton to adjourn at 8:27 p.m.

Randy Rhodes Rodney Molnar

Village President Village Clerk