Sangamon Sun

Village of Divernon Board of Trustees met Oct. 9.

Here is the minutes provided by the board:

The regular meeting of the Village of Divernon Board of Trustees was held on Wednesday, October 9, 2019 at the Divernon Village Hall. Village President Jim Copelin called the meeting to order at 6:30 p.m. After the Pledge of Allegiance was recited by all in attendance, Clerk Rod Molnar called roll: Jim Copelin “Here”, Craig Busch “Here”, Melissa Layton “Here”, Wayne Jones “Here”, Gail Hedges “Here”, Tyler Bramley “Here”. Also, in attendance were Police Chief Jason Martin and Superintendent Jeremy Rhodes. Larry Baer was absent.

A motion was made by Busch and seconded by Jones to approve the minutes of September 25, 2019. The motion passed 4-0. Layton voting present.

Hedges presented the Village bills with a motion they be approved after adding invoices for Bob Ridings Ford for $35,718.00 and the Illinois Risk Management Association for $40,074.73. The IRMA bill will be paid in its entirety to take advantage of the discount. Bramley seconded and the motion carried 5-0.

Visitors:

Gene Crain, the new owner of the old IGA store on the square was in attendance. He is aware the building has been declared dangerous and that the Village is working on having it demolished. He said he knows of the safety concerns and asked the Village to give him a little time to clean up the property. He plans to get the outside of the structure fixed first and then will begin work on cleaning up the inside. He would like to see the building become a central part of the square. Copelin explained the time frame that the Village is under and expects to see some progress or will continue working to have the building removed.

Chuck Apgar was in attendance but had no business to bring before the Board.

Supervisor Reports: Public Works:

Jeremy Rhodes reported customer service lines have been connected to the new water main. The old line will be abandoned as soon as possible. He had some natural gas installations that pushed back his schedule.

Police:

Chief Martin reported the 2018 F150 Ford pickup has been using oil. He will be getting it to the dealer this week, as it is under warranty. He hasn’t had any more problems with kids creating problems on the square.

Committee Reports:

Zoning, TIF, Building Permits:

A motion was made by Jones to accept the recommendation of the Zoning Board of Appeals to change the zoning at 389 W. State Route 104 from Commercial to Industrial-2. Busch seconded and the motion carried 5-0. Bert Barlow has signed the amendment to the TIF redevelopment agreement for his property on Reichert Road.

Public Utilities, Water, Sewer and Gas:

Nothing to report.

Finance, Personnel, GIS:

Nothing to report.

Public Safety, Health and Safety:

Layton reported clean-up on problem properties has been going well and will continue. Public Works, Streets, Alleys and Sidewalks:

Busch reported Rick Sennings, the owner of the Snack Shack would like to have diagonal parking on 1st Street by his building. There is a problem with vehicles sticking too far out into the street while trying this out. Jeremy will get with Sennings to see if some diagonal parking can be put in front of his building.

Village Communication/Building Grounds and Lights, Parks:

Bramley reported he received a verbal quote from Jim Walker Painting for work on the pavilion in the park. He will sandblast and paint the beams and pressure wash the underside of the roof. The total would be $4500.00. Bramley will get the quote in writing before the Village proceeds. Americall will be in next week to install the new phone system. George Alarm will be in tomorrow to work on the alarm system.

Old Business: None.

New Business: None.

A motion was made by Layton to go into executive session at 7:30 p.m. to discuss personnel. The Board returned to regular session at 7:49 p.m.

A motion was made by Hedges to offer full time police positions to Kenny Reardon at $19.00 per hour and Chris Madkins at $18.00 per hour. In addition, the starting pay for part time officers will increase to $16.00 per hour. Layton seconded and the motion passed 5-0.

Motion by Jones to adjourn at 8:03 p.m.

https://divernonil.com/assets/uploads/sites/219/2019/10/Minutes-10-9-2019.pdf