Sangamon Sun

Village of Jerome Board of Trustees met July 3.

Here is the minutes provided by the board:

Call to Order 

President Lopez called the July 3, 2019 meeting of the Village of Jerome Board of Trustees to order at 6:30 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 Kathy DeHart, Leigh Irons, Ralph Irons, Dale Lael, Christina Smith 

Clerk Linda Wheeland 

Attorney Jason Brokaw

Absent: Trustee Jake Tripp

Treasurer Steve Roth was not in attendance at the start of the meeting but arrived later.

Approval of Minutes

June 20, 2019 Regular Meeting Minutes 

A motion was made by Trustee L. Irons to approve the Minutes of the June 20, 2019 Regular Meeting of the Board of Trustees. The motion was seconded by Trustee DeHart.

Roll Call Vote: 

Ayes: Trustee Lael, Trustee DeHart, Trustee R. Irons, Trustee Smith, Trustee L. Irons

The motion carried.

June 6, 2019 Executive Session Minutes 

A motion was made by Trustee L. Irons to approve the Minutes of the June 6, 2019 Executive Session of the Board of Trustees. The motion was seconded by Trustee DeHart.

Roll Call Vote: 

Ayes: Trustee Lael, Trustee DeHart, Trustee R. Irons, Trustee Smith, Trustee L. Irons

The motion carried.

Approval of Warrant List 20-05 President Lopez noted that Warrant List 20-05 dated July 3, 2019 totaled $5,994.07.

A motion was made by Trustee DeHart to approve Warrant List 20-05 dated July 3, 2019 for a total of $5,994.07. The motion was seconded by Trustee Lael.

Roll Call Vote:

Ayes: Trustee Lael, Trustee DeHart, Trustee R. Irons, Trustee Smith, Trustee L. Irons

The motion carried.

President Lopez thanked everyone who had helped with preparations for July 4th with special thanks to Trustee Lael, Dave Wilken, and Matt Cassens for setting up the Civic Center. He also thanked John and Joan Olinger for their monetary donation today.

Visitors Acknowledgement 

President Lopez opened the Visitors Acknowledgement portion of the meeting at 6:36 pm.

John Olinger of Owens Lane asked why the $300,000 plus in the road fund is not being used on road projects.

President Lopez explained that the West Grand Court reconstruction project that will be done this year will cost $254,000. The Board is working with the Village Engineer to identify maintenance projects that can be undertaken.

Jackie Bordewick of Barbara Court asked why the Village is paying for Chief Estill to drive a police truck to and from work. He is the highest paid employee and it doesn't seem right.

This portion of the meeting closed at 6:38 pm.

Reports from Village Departments

A. Public Health Trustee L. Irons reported the following:

. She sent 18 public health violation letters to property owners on lles Avenue. She is working street by street and started with lles because of the large number of violations. She has also addressed properties on Thayer Avenue and will be doing Glenn Avenue next week. It is a long process.

B. Public Works 

Dave Wilken reported the following:

The culvert on lles Avenue at Leonard Street was replaced but it is a battle to keep the trench filled. Gravel is being thrown out by vehicles being driven carelessly in the area. 

Final payment was received for the off-street parking spot requested by a resident on Reed Avenue. The Public Works staff will be getting to it soon.

The Public Works staff will take a break from road projects to concentrate on the Property Department.

C. Public Property Trustee De Hart reported the following:

Water fountains at the park have been repaired. 

Public Works staff was able to repair the runners on the salt shed with the longer extension ladder that was recently purchased. Without the ladder this project would have been contracted out.

Tripp Landscaping donated plant material along the Village Hall and at the park. Old plants that had died were replaced with lower maintenance plants.

She is looking to start a garden group to help maintain the Village gardens.

She removed signs along tles Avenue that were put in the right-of-way.

D. Building & Zoning 

Trustee Lael reported the following:

Apartments at 1030 and 1040 Iles Avenue have been sold. An appraiser called wanting to know the zoning of the properties. The new owner stated that he wants to clean up the properties. 

Work at the Pizza Hut in the Jerome Mini-Mall is going strong.

The new Hunan Chinese Restaurant has quite a bit of work completed. The owner is hoping to open by the end of July.

The owner of the new Mexican restaurant is also hoping to open by the end of July.

Several contractors are doing work in the Village without obtaining a permit from the Village 

Attorney Brokaw said there are a couple of different processes that could be used to address this issue, including posting a violation notice in the yard or fining the property owner for hiring a contractor without a permit. He will discuss the options with Trustee Lael.

Lamar Outdoor Advertising has requested invoices for their permits and a W-9 from the Village, 

Attorney Brokaw explained that this is common practice with businesses for tax purposes.

E. Public Safety 

Trustee Smith reported the following:

Corporal Schroeder is resigning on July 31st 

She has received emails regarding concerns with the extent of police coverage in the Village. She stated that there is always police coverage. 

The third Fraternal Order of Police negotiations meeting was held last week. Another meeting is scheduled in two weeks.

F. Water Department 

Trustee R. Irons reported the following:

He and other representatives of the Village met with Midwest Meters today to discuss the water meter replacement project. Installation may be ahead of schedule. Twenty to thirty meters will initially be replaced and once good reads are established the project will be rolled out to all Jerome Water customers. The project will take three to four weeks. 

Repair of three fire hydrants has begun. CWLP started work on the first one today. Moving of one of the hydrants was included in the original estimate from CWLP so there will be no additional cost as initially thought.

G. Village Treasurer 

President Lopez began reading the Treasurer's report and then Treasurer Roth entered the meeting and finished the report:

We have not received any revenues yet for July.

Checks for the June 20th warrants were mailed out right after that meeting. Payroll was met for June 28th Checks will be mailed out following this meeting.

He met with the auditors and our accountant to finalize questions regarding the annual audit. The draft document should be ready for the next meeting with approval at the following meeting. 

The balances of various accounts are approximately as follows:

> Illinois Funds General Revenue Account - $278,411 

> Motor Fuel Tax Fund - $23,068 

> INB General Revenue Account -$35,724 

> INB Water Account - $344,879

H. Village Clerk 

Clerk Wheeland stated that the summer bulletin should be mailed within the next few weeks.

I. Village Attorney Attorney Brokaw stated he had no report.

J. Village President President Lopez reported the following:

The last July 4th parade held in Springfield was in 1995. In 1996 Jerome Mayor Julie Duffy organized the first Jerome July 4th parade. It has been an annual event ever since.

There is no news on the Shop 'n Save building. 

There are lots of empty store fronts on MacArthur Boulevard. 

Public meetings will be held on the water meter replacement project and on the West Grand Court reconstruction project. The dates and times of the meetings will be in the bulletin.

Old Business 

There was no old business.

New Business

A. Discussion and Approval of Resolution 20-04 Regarding an Intergovernmental Agreement for Mutual Aid with Woodside Township 

This item was tabled to give the Board time to review it. Attorney Brokaw stated he had some concerns with the agreement.

B. Discussion and Approval of Resolution 20-05 Regarding an Agreement with Woodside Township for the Reimbursement of Salt Purchases and Use of Specialized Equipment 

This item was tabled to give the Board time to review it.

C. Discussion and Approval of Hiring a Part-Time Police Officer 

Trustee Smith explained that Chief Estill would like to bring back Jimmy Montgomery as a part time police officer now that policy changes at his full-time place of employment will allow him to work part-time.

Trustee DeHart encouraged being pro-active regarding when he will be required to work.

A motion was made by Trustee Smith to approve hiring Jimmy Montgomery as a part-time police officer at $17.00 per hour. The motion was seconded by Trustee Lael.

Roll Call Vote: 

Ayes: Trustee Lael, Trustee DeHart, Trustee R. Irons, Trustee Smith, Trustee L. Irons

The motion carried.

D. Discussion and Approval of Support of Cannabis Businesses Development in the Village of Jerome 

President Lopez explained that the sale of cannabis for recreational purposes will go into effect on January 1st Businesses selling cannabis will be regulated by the State and a limited number of licenses will be granted. There may be interest in opening locations in Jerome and this would generate additional tax revenue for the Village.

Trustee Lael said he would rather the businesses located in the Village than across the street in Springfield. The medical cannabis dispensaries in Springfield and Grandview are very secure and there have been no problems associated with them.

Trustee Irons asked where these businesses would open up and what effect they may have in attracting other types of businesses nearby. He felt more information was needed.

Attorney Brokaw explained that the Village could adopt ordinances or rules covering certain aspects of where cannabis businesses could locate. He suggested making cannabis sales a special use applicable to commercial zoning districts.

President Lopez read a letter from residents Bill and Pat Anderson expressing support for cannabis businesses as a source of tax revenue.

This item will be discussed again at the next meeting.

Executive Session

A motion was made by Trustee L. Irons 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)); collective negotiating matters between the public body and its employees or their representatives, or deliberations concerning salary schedules for one or more classes of employees (5 ILC$ 120/2(c)(2)); and minutes of meetings lawfully closed under the Open Meetings Act for purposes of approval by the Body (5 İLCS 120/2(c)(21)). Trustee Smith seconded the motion,

Roll Call Vote:

Ayes: Trustee Lael, Trustee DeHart, Trustee R. Trons, Trustee Smith, Trustee L. Irons

The motion carried.

The Board went into Executive Session at 7:15 pm.

The Board returned from Executive Session at 9:37 pm.

Clerk Wheeland called the roll. 

Present: 

President Mike Lopez 

Trustees Kathy De Hart, Leigh Irons, Ralph Irons, Dale Lael, Christina Smith 

Clerk Linda Wheeland 

Treasurer Steve Roth 

Attorney Jason Brokaw

Adjournment 

A motion was made by Trustee Lael to adjourn the meeting. The motion was seconded by Trustee L. Irons.

Roll Call Vote: 

Ayes: Trustee Lael, Trustee DeHart, Trustee R. Irons, Trustee Smith, Trustee L. Irons

The motion carried and the meeting adjourned at 9:38 pm.

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