Sangamon Sun

Village of Diamond Village Board of Trustees met Dec. 11.

Here is the minutes provided by the board:

The regular meeting of the Village of Divernon Board of Trustees was held on Wednesday, December 11, 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”, Melissa Layton “Here”, Wayne Jones “Here”, Gail Hedges “Here”, Tyler Bramley “Here”, Larry Baer “Here”. Also, in attendance were Police Chief Jason Martin, Superintendent Jeremy Rhodes and Treasurer Christine Nichols. Craig Busch was absent.

A motion was made by Hedges and seconded by Bramley to approve the minutes of November 27, 2019. The motion passed 5-0.

Baer presented the Village bills with a motion they be approved. Hedges seconded and the motion carried 5-0.

Visitors:

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

Brittany Catlin of Maddy’s Tavern asked and received permission to host “Bike Night” again this year. She will notify the Board when she has a firm date. A motion was made by Baer and seconded by Layton to allow Maddy’s Tavern and the Corner Bar and Grill to remain open one additional hour on New Year’s Eve. The motion carried 5-0.

Supervisor Reports: Public Works:

Jeremy Rhodes reported he advertised the 1995 Chevrolet C3500 on Municibid. The bid went to Joseph Biesecker for $2250.00. Rhodes and Hedges met and came up with projects that will be worked on this summer. A list was provided in the Board packets. Rhodes has come up with a nine-year plan which he believes that he and his crew can replace the remaining old water lines in the Village. The cost would be around $45,000.00 each year with the last year costing around $100,000.00. This would save the Village about $1.5 million by not hiring contractors to do the job. Hedges asked about hiring additional staff but Rhodes would like to keep what he has for right now. The item was tabled for now to determine whether a full or part time position is needed. Work is being done this week on the fence around the natural gas border station. He thanked the Board for the Christmas bonus for he and his staff.

Police:

Jason Martin reported Ben Schoonover and Zack Pearce have graduated from the part time police academy and will begin with the Village immediately. He and Schoonover recently responded to an accident on Route 104 where the driver had suffered a heart attack. They were able to revive her with the use of the portable defibulator. He asked to purchase new pads and batteries for each of the defibulators. The Board told him to get whatever was needed. A motion was made by Jones to approve Ordinance 2019-009 dealing with cannabis. Baer seconded and the motion passed 5-0. A motion was made by Layton and seconded by Baer to approve the Towing Ordinance (2019-010). The motion carried 5-0. The Board received an affidavit from the Sangamon County Health Department which outlined what is required from the owners of the old IGA property.

Committee Reports:

Zoning, TIF, Building Permits:

A motion was made by Bramley to approve the Ordinance 2019-011 required to enter into a TIF redevelopment agreement with Jon Hopkins of the Corner Bar and Grill. Hedges seconded and the motion passed 5-0. A motion was made by Jones and seconded by Bramley to approve the TIF redevelopment agreement with Hopkins. The motion carried 5-0.

Public Utilities, Water, Sewer and Gas:

Copelin had Office Manager Heather Rideout print off a copy of the policy regarding landlords wanting utilities shut off. A copy will be mailed to all landlords with a request that they return the enclosed form outlining their requests.

Finance, Personnel, GIS:

Molnar looked into the sexual harassment training offered by the Illinois Municipal League. There will be no cost to the Village. A list of employee email addresses was forwarded to the IML which will send a link to the employees for training. At the end of training a certificate will be printed to put into their file. Hedges asked about a policy for temporary assignment pay. After a short discussion, the item was tabled until more information can be determined about the legality. Nichols presented a proposal from Patton and Associates for the annual audit for the next two years. 2020 would be $7700.00 to $8500.00 and 2021 would be $8000.00 to $8800.00. A motion was made by Baer to accept the proposal. Hedges seconded and the motion was approved 5-0. A motion was made by Jones to put the natural gas CD in Bank of Springfield for two years at a rate of 1.85%. Baer seconded and the motion passed 5-0.

Public Safety, Health and Safety:

Stephanie Kaylor is willing to clean the Village Hall at the rate of $15.00 per hour. This item will be put on the agenda for the next meeting. Carpet cleaning will be done next spring. Jones asked that the Board look at the leaf burning ordinance. Copelin asked Jones to look into some options and bring them before the Board.

Public Works, Streets, Alleys and Sidewalks:

Nothing to report.

Village Communication/Building Grounds and Lights, Parks:

Hedges presented a draft of the Quarterly Newsletter that will be available on the Village Website soon.

Old Business:

Bramley reported on the recent meeting with Auburn and Pawnee concerning the Ordinance Adjudication Court. Pawnee is not interested. Details are still being worked out on sharing of court costs. Another meeting will be held in January.

New Business:

The Board received an email from Utility Gas Management. Panhandle Eastern has filed a request with the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission to increase the cost of transportation of natural gas by nearly 400 percent. UGM asked if the Village would like them to act as their representative in objecting to the request. Copelin will email UGM advising that the Village would like them to be our representative. Baer reported that Ameren has a grant program to replace incandescent lights with LED. He believes that the Village Hall would qualify. Bramley will look into it.

Motion by Hedges to adjourn at 8:25 p.m.

https://divernonil.com/assets/uploads/sites/219/2020/01/Minutes-12-11-2019.pdf