Sangamon Sun

Village of Jerome Village Board met November 16.

Here is the minutes provided by the Board:

Cal to Order:

President Lopez called the November 16, 2017 meeting of the Village of Jerome Board of Trustees to order at 7:00 pm.

Pledge of Allegiance:

President Lopez led all those present in the Pledge of Allegiance.

Roll Call:

Clerk Wheeland called the roll.

Present:

President Mike Lopez

Trustees Brian Hendricks, Shirley Johnson, Dale Lael, Beth Monnat

Clerk Linda Wheeland

Attorney Jason Brokaw

Treasurer Steve Roth

Absent: Trustee Jake Tripp

Approval of Minutes

A.October 19, 2017 Regular Meeting Minutes

A motion was made by Trustee Monnat to approve the minutes of the October 19, 2017 Regular Board Meeting. The motion was seconded by Trustee Johnson.

Rol Call Vote:

Ayes: Trustee Lael, Trustee Johnson, Trustee Monnat, President Lopez

Present: Trustee Hendricks

The motion Carried

B. September 21, 2017 Executive Session Minutes

A motion was made by Trustee Johnson to approve the minutes of the September 21, 2017 Executive Session. The motion was seconded by Trustee Monnat.

Roll Call Vote:

Ayes: Trustee Lael, Trustee Johnson, Trustee Monnat, President Lopez

Present: Trustee Hendricks

The motion Carried.

C. November 2, 2017 Regular Meeting Minutes

Because Trustees Lael and Johnson had not attended the November 2 meeting and there were not four Board members present who had attended that meeting, the vote on the minutes was postponed until the December 7th Board Meeting.

Approval of Warrant List 18-14

President Lopez noted that Warrant List 18-14 dated November 16, 2017 totaled $182,354.88.

Treasurer Roth explained that $26,454.38 would be paid from the Water Fund and the remaining $155,900.50 would be paid from the General Revenue Fund. He added that of the GRF total $131,985.34 was for the Fall road projects. Of this amount $105,000 will be reimbursed from the MFT Fund and $13,545.67 from the Road and Bridge Fund, the total amounts in these funds at this time. An additional $15,000 will be transferred to the GRF as future MFT funding is received. Also, the $17,790 to ICRMT is the first payment for 2018 insurance. The remaining balance will be paid over the next six months.

Trustee Lael asked why the Ameren bill was split out to four line items when there are only three buildings and why there was a bill for repairs to one of the police vehicles when it is no longer being used.

Treasurer Roth explained that utility bills for the Civic Center are split between the GRF and the Water Fund.

Trustee Monnat explained that the bill for the repair to the 2006 Crown Victoria was from September. The bill had just been received since at the time the work was done additional decision was made on the more extensive work. After considering the costs of the additional repairs it was decided that the car was not worth putting more money into.

A motion was made by Trustee Hendricks to approve Warrant List 18-14 dated November 16, 2017 for a total of $182,354,88. The motion was seconded by Trustee Lael.

Roll Call Vote:

Ayes: Trustee Lael, Trustee Hendricks, Trustee Johnson, Trustee Monnat

The motion Carried.

Visitors Acknowledgement:

President Lopez opened the Visitors Acknowledgement portion of the meeting at 7:10 pm.

Jackie Bordewick of Homewood Court asked for clarification of the Ordinance regarding voting when members of the Board are not in attendance and what makes a quorum.

Attorney Brokaw explained that voting is controlled by State statute regardless of what may be in a local ordinance. A quorum is a majority of the Corporate authorities, which are the Board members plus the President. So, a quorum of the Jerome Board is four of the sever. There are three instances when a President is required to vote. These include when there is a tie vote and when only half of the members vote. These are established in the Municipal Code of the ECS and in Case law.

This portion of the meeting closed at 7:12 pm.

Reports from Willage Departments

A. Public Health Trustee Johnson reported the following:

•Kate Downing, a resident of Maple Court who was in attendance, had reported to the Village that a neighbor had hired a tree service to cut down a tree on her property. When Ms. Downing arrived home to find the tree being removed she told the tree service employees to stop and they did. Trustee Johnson recognized that this was more of a legal matter but wondered if there were any steps the Village could take when situations like this occur. Attorney Brokaw stated that this was a private civil matter although there is an Unlawful Tree Cutting Act and he suggested Ms. Downing contact the State's Attorney's office.

•Most large items that were the subject of Public Health complaints have been removed.

• There are still some issues with grass not being mowed,

Trustee Lael noted that there are still some limb piles in yards even though the last limb pickup for the year has been conducted.

B. Public Works

President Lopez reported that he, Trustee Tripp, and James Foster had met with the Village Engineer to discuss potential road projects for next year. Asphalt prices are expected to remain low through the first part of the year so it would be good to act early.

C. Public Property

Trustee Lael reported that he was looking into grants that could pay for new Windows and insulation for the Library,

D. Building & Zoning

Trustee Lael reported the following:

•Wing Stop is set to open the first week in December,

•The Jerome Mini-Mall now has a sign advertising space for rent.

•A 10' by 20' digital billboard has been installed at Jerome Avenue and Chatham Road facing north with a few ads. The property owner will install landscaping in the Spring. The billboard was originally designed to be two-sided but DOT will not allow new billboards within 650' of a scenic byway. Both MacArthur Boulevard and Wabash Avenue were part of Route 66 from 1926-1930. Route 66 has been designated a scenic byway. IDOT has not provided any communications regarding restrictions along Scenic byways so this prohibition came as a surprise.

•Footings for the new house on Homewood Avenue have been poured. Trustee Monnat stated that a fence had not been installed around the foundation hole. Trustee Lael Will contact the property owner regarding this issue.

•Ameren has indicated the gas line replacement project is complete and has left the Village, frustee Lael feels there is still work to be done including old meter posts that haven't been removed and bored holes that are too low and Will hold Water. He cited Park and Wabash as one of these locations. He will Contact the Ameren representatives, who attended a Board meeting during the summer, regarding the lingering issues.

E. Public Safety

Trustee Monnat stated that she had no report.

Chief Estill reported the following Police Department statistics for the month of October:

•174 calls for service including traffic stops and traffic accidents

•95 police reports prepared

•76 traffic citations/warnings issues

•11 cellphone violations

•2 traffic crashes with no injuries

•0 hit and run accidents

•0 warrant arrests

•43 vacation Watch Program checks of homes

•1 report taken for burglary

•0 reports taken for burglary to a motor vehicle

•O home invasions

•54 checks of the municipal building, garage, library, and park

Chief Estill also reported the following:.

•Vehicle assignments have been put in place because the Department is down one vehicle. The 2011 Chevy Caprice will be driven on the day shifts and the 2016 Ford SUV will be driven on the late evening and late night shifts. Vehicle assignments were needed to prevent any one vehicle from being driven constantly while another vehicle just sits. Careful consideration went into deciding which vehicle would be assigned to which shift by Department needs.

•Jerome Police Officers received taser training on November 10 and are now carrying tasers. A policy is in place for the use of tasers. This equipment provides another tool that is less than lethal to assist in dealing with combative persons.

Trustee Monnat thanked Chief Estill for his work in getting donations that paid for the tasers.

F. Water Department

Trustee Hendricks reported the following:

•He has talked with James Cyclical process with older meters being replaced first. A timetable will be created over the next few weeks.

G. Village Treasurer

Treasurer Roth reported the following:

•We have yet to receive the Income Tax, Personal Replacement Tax, and Local Use Tax

•All obligations have been met.

•Money was transferred from the GRF to the 1% Sales Tax account for the amount for November.

H. Village Clerk

Clerk Wheeland stated she had no report.

l. Village Attorney

Attorney Brokaw stated he had no report.

J. Village President

President Lopez reported the following:

•He thanked the Board members, staff, and residents who attended the memorial service and gathering for his mother-in-law and for the plant.

•He has met with the Greater Springfield Chamber of Commerce regarding the marketing of the commercial areas in the Village and would like the Village to become a member of that organization for a year to explore the assistance they can provide.

•The insurance rate for next year has gone down again with fewer losses, fewer vehicles, and more stable Village finances. He thanked everyone who helped in reviewing and processing the insurance application which was submitted earlier this year.

•He asked Trustees to please let him and the Village Clerk know as soon as possible if could be an issue with not having a duorum present.

Old Business:

A.Discussion and Consideration of Public Health Ordinance Updates

This item was tabled until the next meeting. Attorney Brokaw stated that he will have the changes reviewed and back to Trustees Johnson and Lael before the next meeting.

B. Update on Phone Equipment Replacement

President Lopez reported:

•AT&T still has our records and will do a site assessment before submitting a quote.

• Comcast will visit the Village offices within the next ten days and also provide a quote.

Both companies said they would move quickly. The Village will have to purchase new phones because Windstream owns our current phones.

Treasurer Roth reported that he contacted Windstream to cancel our service and was told that a form must be submitted one month prior to the contract end. He plans to complete the form and to call Windstream on December 23. We could go to a month-to-month contract after contract termination requiring 30 days notice for final cancellation. The Village currently pays about $800 a month for the phone system and service.

New Business:

A.Discussion and Approval of 2018 MFT Resolution

Attorney Brokaw explained that the initial resolution for 2018 MFT maintenance funds was before the Board. This must be on file with IDOT before the end of the year. It can be amended as needed when road projects are identified.

Treasurer Roth noted that currently there are no funds in the MFT account and that the MFT account owes the General Revenue Fund about $15,000 for the Fall 2017 projects. The Village receives between $3,500 and $4,000 per month in MFT funds.

A motion was made by Trustee Lael to approve Resolution 18-07 for the 2018 MFT Program. The motion was seconded by Trustee Hendricks.

Roll Call Vote:

Ayes: Trustee Lael, Trustee Hendricks, Trustee Johnson, Trustee Monnat

The motion carried.

B. Records Disposal Project

Clerk Wheeland explained that the State has a process for governmental bodies to dispose of old paperwork that is no longer needed. With the help of Treasurer Roth in getting started she has gone through about 60 boxes of documents and Sergeant Skaggs has gone through old Police records as well. The last time documents were destroyed was in 2002 and there has been quite an accumulation of records since that time. The Secretary of State's Record Disposal Division is providing assistance in updating the Village's schedule for record disposal. The process takes some time but it looks like the Village will be able to proceed with getting approval for the disposal of older records, generally seven years or older, in the early part of next year.

Trustee Lael asked for assurances that the Building and Zoning files and historical documents would not be part of the dispoal project. Clerk Wheeland affirmed that these types of records would be kept along with some others that can never be destroyed.

Trustee Lael thanked all the residents who, over the years, had worked to make the Willage the wonderful place it is today.

Executive Session:

A motion was made by Trustee Monnat to go into Executive Session to discuss the appointment, employment, compensation, discipline, performance, or dismissal of a specific employee or legal counsel for the public body (5 ILCS 120/2(c)(1)), and minutes of meetings lawfully closed under the Open Meetings Act for purposes of approval by the Body (5ILCS 120/2(c)(21)) Trustee Johnson seconded the motion.

Roll Call Vote:

Ayes: Trustee Lael, Trustee Hendricks, Trustee Johnson, Trustee Monnat

The motion carried and the Board went into Executive Session at 7:51 pm.

The Board returned from Executive Session at 8:21 pm.

Clerk Wheeland called the roll.

Present:

President Mike Lopez

Trustees Brian Hendricks, Shirley Johnson, Daie Lael, Beth Monnat

Clerk Linda Wheeland

Attorney Jason Brokaw

Adjournment:

A motion was made by Trustee Laet to adjourn the meeting. The motion was seconded by Trustee Monnat.

Roll Call Vote:

Ayes: Trustee Lael, Trustee Hendricks, Trustee Johnson, Trustee Monnat

The motion carried and the meeting adjourned at 8:23 pm.

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