Sangamon Sun

Village of Chatham Committee of the Whole met April 10.

Here is the minutes as provided by the committee:

Call to Order

Chairman Greger called the meeting to order. Roll call was taken.

Public Comment

Jeff Greer commented on the approval of the water plant by the Springfield/Sangamon County planning board. He expressed his concern about the timing of the approval of the plant.

Approval of the Minutes from March 13, 2018

A motion was made by Trustee Scherschel and seconded by Trustee Mau for approval of the March 13, 2018 minutes. Motion was approved by voice vote.

New Business

CMT Engineering Update

Jim Michael (CMT) gave an update on the following items:

Grant application to the Springfield Area Transportation Study (SATS) for improvements on Walnut Street to add a lane between Park Avenue and Meadow View Avenue. SATS received four applications. Two were from Springfield, one was from Sangamon County and one was from Chatham. There is $6 million available. The Chatham project is estimated at $5 million. One criteria that is evaluated is whether the local entity has their matching funds. Chatham is looking at a 30% match for the project. If successful, construction would be in 202 Mr. Michael suggested that we could ask the subdivision developers for help with the matching funds. Another aspect of the improvement could be an extension of the bike trail.

Painting of water tanks. The ground storage tank will be the first tank painted. Testing is taking place to be sure that water operations continue to maintain enough pressure while bypassing the tank. If everything works, the tank will be taken off-line so the contractors can begin their work. Construction will likely begin within the next three weeks and the project will be finished in June.

Motor Fuel Tax (MFT) Resolution. A resolution was presented to spend approximately $350,000 of MFT funds. $200,000 of those funds will go towards general maintenance. $150,000 will be designated towards the Park Avenue improvement project.

Bonded funds for roadway projects/Plummer Boulevard underpass. $500,000 has been bonded and dedicated to roadway projects. From those funds, about $130,000 to $140,000 will go towards the repairs of the Plummer Boulevard underpass. Video of the damage has been received. There is damage to the pipes ranging from cracks to being completely crushed. Repairs will be underway. The current plan is to get things stabilized and make those repairs without disturbing the roadway. Trustee Mau asked if these are issues that would occur based upon the current age of the underpass. Mr. Michael indicated that it is his belief that the problems likely occurred during the initial construction. It is likely that the storm sewer was put in first, backfilled and then the construction of the wall occurred. During construction, additional pressure was likely placed on the wall causing damage to the pipes. With the age of the underpass being 20 years old, it is unlikely that complete construction documents are still available; however, documents stating the name of the contractor could be found at the county since the county and state took the lead on the original project. After a discussion, it was decided that Attorney Jurgens would investigate pursuing action against the original contractor. Additional funds from the bonded funds will go towards improvement on North Park Avenue. Those improvements will likely occur in early summer.

St. Andrew’s Society – Highland Games – Request for use of Community Park and serve alcohol on May 18 & 19, 2018

Village Manager McCarthy explained that a resolution will need to be adopted if the Board would like to allow St. Andrew’s Society to serve alcohol at the Highland Games in Community Park. The ordinances governing Chatham Parks prohibit the consumption of alcohol in our parks. This item will be placed on the agenda for the next Board meeting.

Transferring Appropriation Authority Between Line Items and Adopting Supplemental Appropriations for Fiscal Year 2018

Treasurer Dierking provided an update on the FY18 budget. There will need to be an ordinance adopted transferring appropriation authority between certain line items. Treasurer Dierking will review the budget again in two weeks and an ordinance will be prepared for passage at the April 24 meeting. The cemetery perpetual care fund will need to have a supplemental appropriation since it was not in the original budget. All other actions will be transfers. Items that were over budget include the administration fund, legal expenses, and general insurance expenses. Village Manager McCarthy stated that staff may propose splitting the legal expenses and the human resources expenses for the FY19 budget.

Village Manager Update

Village Manager McCarthy discussed the progress of developing an FY19 budget. Staff is approaching the process with a zero-growth budget. We are seeing an increase in property tax income, but a reduction of sales tax and the state has decreased the local government distributive fund. Due to the continuing union negotiations, we do not have a budget to present at this time.

Reconvene the Meeting & Adjournment

After the closed session, Trustee Scherschel with a second from Trustee Mau made a motion to reconvene the meeting. Motion approved.

With no further business, Trustee Scherschel with a second from Trustee Mau made a motion to adjourn the meeting. Motion approved.

https://www.boarddocs.com/il/chatham/Board.nsf/Public