Sangamon Sun

Village of Divernon Board of Trustees met Oct. 23.

Here is the minutes provided by the board:

The regular meeting of the Village of Divernon Board of Trustees was held on Wednesday, October 23, 2019 at the Divernon Village Hall. Mayor Pro Tem Larry Baer 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: Larry Baer “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. Jim Copelin was absent.

A motion was made by Hedges and seconded by Layton to approve the corrected minutes of October 9, 2019. The motion passed 5-0.

A motion was made by Jones and seconded by Busch to approve the corrected executive session minutes of October 9, 2019. The motion passed 5-0.

Hedges presented the Village bills with a motion they be approved after adding invoice for Americall for $4132.15. Bramley seconded and the motion carried 5-0.

Visitors:

Norm and Debbie Wilson were in attendance. They requested as landlords, they would like to know when they have renters behind on their utility bills and are about to be shut off. Baer said that this had been discussed before, and they could be notified by either mail or email. Bramley will check to see if the new phone system has is capable of sending out notices of this type.

Tyler Moore of Republic Systems is interested in making a bid to become the business responsible for trash pickup and recycling for the Village. They are a nationwide business trying to get established in Sangamon County. The Village’s contract with Flowers Sanitation runs through April 30, 2021.

Supervisor Reports: Public Works:

Jeremy Rhodes reported the new sewer pump on the Third Street lift station has been installed and put into service. Next week he will abandon 1500 feet of old cast iron water line. He will pick up the new F350 dump truck from Bob Ridings Ford on Friday. He and his crew will begin working from 7:00 to 3:30 daily year-round instead of switching back from summer and winter hours.

Police:

Chief Martin reported Chris Madkins did not accept the full-time police officer position but would be available for part time. Two officers will be on duty this weekend for the Trunk or Treat festivities on the square. He hasn’t had a chance to get the F150 truck to the dealer for warranty work yet. He has nothing new to report on the old IGA building. He will be purchasing three new belt carriers on one new vest for his officers.

Committee Reports:

Zoning, TIF, Building Permits:

John Hopkins of the Corner Bar gave the Village receipts regarding his TIF reimbursement request. Bramley will go through them to see which qualify for the TIF program.

Public Utilities, Water, Sewer and Gas:

Hedges spoke with James Meese of RCAP. They are a federally funded program that can assist municipalities with things like rate analysis and training of local officials. She will have him come to a future meeting and make a presentation to the Board regarding what types of assistance they can offer the Village.

Finance, Personnel, GIS:

Busch would like to see the Village establish a rate of pay schedule that new hires could look at to know where they would begin, expect to receive each year and know what the maximum pay would be for each job. Baer said that the public works already have a salary schedule and recently new starting salaries were established for police officers. Busch said he would like to see something more concrete done in the future. Baer gave an update on health insurance premiums. The Village will switch to Blue Cross/Blue Shield beginning on January 1, 2020. The new insurance will see premiums reduced by 3.7% resulting in a savings of $89.93 per month. Employees with the family plan will see a savings also.

Public Safety, Health and Safety:

Nothing to report.

Public Works, Streets, Alleys and Sidewalks:

Nothing to report.

Village Communication/Building Grounds and Lights, Parks:

Bramley presented a quote from Walker Sandblasting and Painting Inc. The bid was to clean and paint the frame and girders on the pavilion in the park. He will also pressure was the underside of the roof. He will come back a year later and pressure wash the underside again. At that time, it may be ready to be painted also. The estimate was for $4500.00. He could do the work next spring. A motion was made by Bramley and seconded by Busch to accept the bid. The motion carried 5-0.

Old Business:

Hedges reported she was contacted by Senator Steve McClure. He would like to have a meeting with representatives of the Village and Representative Mike Murphy regarding funding requests for infrastructure projects. She along with Copelin and Molnar will attend a meeting sometime in the next few weeks. Molnar reported that the paperwork has been completed on the sale of the property at 609 State Street.

New Business:

Baer reported the Methodist Church will be having an open house of their food bank on December 8th at 10:45 a.m.

A motion was made by Hedges to go into executive session at 7:58 p.m. to discuss personnel.

The Board returned to regular session at 8:17 p.m.

A motion was made by Jones to employ Austin Cronister as a full-time police officer at the rate of $18.00 per hour beginning October 28, 2019. Hedges seconded and the motion passed 5-0.

Motion by Layton to adjourn at 8:20 p.m.

https://divernonil.com/assets/uploads/sites/219/2019/11/Minutes-10-23-2019.pdf