July 23, 2014

Board Meeting Minutes

Minutes July 23, 2014

The regular meeting of the Village of Divernon Board of Trustees was held on Wednesday, July 23, 2014, at the Divernon Village Hall. Mayor Pro Tem Melissa Layton called the meeting to order at 6:00 p.m. After the Pledge of Allegiance was recited by all in attendance, Clerk Rod Molnar called roll: Melissa Layton “Here”, Pam Cronister “Here”, Jim Copelin “Here”, Larry Baer “Here”, Derek Hedges “Here”. Also in attendance were Police Chief Barclay Harris and Superintendent Larry Rhodes. Randy Rhodes and Dianne Brenning were absent.

A motion was made by Cronister to approve the minutes of July 9, 2014. Baer seconded and the motion passed 4-0. Copelin voting present.

Baer presented the Village bills with a motion that they be approved. After Hedges seconded the motion, it was approved 4-0.

Teresa Croft was in attendance. She recently moved in to a house on the 500 block of South First Street. She was wondering what would be required to get a new streetlight put up near her home. During the discussion, she mentioned that a light in the area was not working. L. Rhodes asked her to get the pole number and give it to Sue Arter in the utilities office and she would have Ameren repair it. That would likely take care of the problem.

Superintendent Report:

Larry Rhodes reported that storm sewer repairs had been made on Springer Street between 2nd and 3rd streets and also on Kenney Street between State and Lincoln.

Police Report:

Chief Harris reported on a number of items. There were no problems during the recent homecoming celebration. Harris went to Talulla to hand deliver a letter to the owner of the old grocery store property requiring cleanup. The owner had refused to accept his certified letters. Harris has been dealing with a problem of a resident that has a large number of cats that have been running wild. He gave the individual a week to get the problem under control. There was some discussion as to whether an ordinance was needed restricting the number of pets that could be housed at residence. Copelin asked about a post that was made on social media that was causing some problems around town. Harris replied that he had taken a police report on the matter.

Committee Reports:

Streets, Alleys, and Utilities:

Cronister and L. Rhodes attended a pre-construction meeting on the Safe Routes to Schools sidewalk project. The contractor plans to start construction on August 4, 2014. Cronister will put an article in the Divernon News to inform residents that construction will be starting and a map will be made available at the Village Hall. TIF funds will be used to replace the sidewalks by the Senior Citizens Center and will be put out for bid. L. Rhodes reported that IDOT will be putting in a crossing at State and Brown streets and the Village will not be required to do anything with the sidewalks at this crossing. Copelin had a request to put children playing signs on the Dodds Street at the dead end near the school. No action was taken. Harris will be stepping up school zone enforcement as school will be starting soon. There was discussion on leaving the new squad car unmarked, but the item was tabled.

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Minutes July 23, 2014

Finance:

Treasurer Christine Nichols recommended that bills that are split between the four main funds should be split 30% gas, 15% water, 15% sewer and 40% general. The Board gave her approval.

Personnel:

Nothing to report.

Health and Safety:

A motion was made by Copelin and seconded by Cronister to pass resolution 2014-002, to appoint Melissa Layton to the Sangamon County Hazard Mitigation Planning Committee. The motion was approved 4-0. There was a discussion concerning people who are walking their dogs and not cleaning up after them. A notice will be put in the quarterly newsletter. Copelin will follow up with the owners of the closed gas station to try to get the property cleaned up.

Community Development:

Layton met with the Village Attorney concerning the abandoned houses on State Street. The Village has done all that is needed up to this point. A notice will be put in the paper giving a three day notice before the houses are destroyed. The Village then will begin the process of taking over ownership of the properties. Layton also reported that she has begun work on the informational packets for the Village.

Building Grounds and Lights:

Hedges reported on the conversion to the new accounting and billing software. Treasurer Nichols feels that it is not going as smoothly as she had hoped, but the trainer has been very helpful and some changes are being made to the software to meet our needs. Arter will begin her training on August 7, 2014. The remote access software Nichols has been using is no longer available for free. It will cost $100.00 per year to keep using this software. Hedges is looking into some alternatives.

Old Business:

None.

New Business:

None.

Motion by Layton to adjourn at 7:23 p.m.

Melissa Layton Rodney Molnar

Mayor Pro Tem Village Clerk