Sangamon Sun

Village of Divernon Board of Trustees Met Dec. 9.

Here is the minutes provided by the board:

The regular meeting of the Village of Divernon Board of Trustees was held electronically. Village President Jim Copelin called the meeting to order at 6:30 p.m. Clerk Rod Molnar called roll: Jim Copelin “Here”, Craig Busch “Here”, Melissa Layton “Here”, Wayne Jones “Here”, Gail Hedges “Here”, Tyler Bramley “Here”, Larry Baer“Here”, Also in attendance was Superintendent Jeremy Rhodes.

A motion was made by Hedges and seconded by Layton to approve the minutes of November 25, 2020. The motion passed 6-0.

Baer presented the Village bills with a motion approve after adding an invoice for Bolash Construction for $5800.00. Hedges seconded and the motion carried 6-0.

Visitors:

Tasha Tomerelli asked for an extension on paying her utility bill until after the shut off date. She has paid all but $60.00. She felt she could have it paid by December 20th. Copelin said she could have until December 23rd, the date of the next Board meeting.

Supervisor Reports: Public Works:

Superintendent Rhodes reported the final connection was made on the water main extension project. Bolash Construction completed work on insulating the east shop at the Public Works garage. Weather permitting, they will begin work on the police garage driveway next week. Of the 999 natural gas safety survey cards that were mailed, only 93 were returned. He would like to find a way to improve the response level. A letter was received from the employees at Emerson Press. They wanted to express their thanks to part time employee Jeff Allen for the work he had done in the park this summer. They said he had it looking great.

Police:

A discussion was held concerning some problems lately dealing with juveniles. There have been some issues with assault, bullying and stealing Christmas lights. There were a couple of nights when the Village had no police on duty for a variety of reasons. Some children were caught on camera stealing lights. Copelin and Layton said the police department was notified, but theydidn’t feel the problem was followed up on in a timely manner. Copelin said we need to get on top of this and some issues would need to be further addressed. Copelin would like to use whatever is needed to get the word out the Village is looking for both full and part time officers.

Committee Reports:

Economic Development, Zoning, TIF, Building Permits:

Busch reported TIF attorney Kathy Orr has received an estimate from PGAV Planners to put together the plans for two business districts at a cost of $11,000.00 each. A motion was made by Jones to have Orr continue work on the project to determine what would be required from the Village to continue moving forward on the project. Busch seconded. The motion carried 6-0. Copelin has asked Wade Wiseman for a bid on demolishing the old gas station on the south side of the intersection. The annual TIF Joint Review Board meeting will be held at 6:00 p.m. on Wednesday December 23, 2020. The meeting will be held at the Masonic Lodge.

Public Utilities, Water, Sewer and Gas:

Nothing to report.

Finance, Personnel, GIS:

Baer reported he received estimates for dental and vision insurance for employees. Dental would be $19.38 per employee per month and vision $6.61. A minimum of five employees would be required to sign up. The employees will be surveyed to see how much interest there is in the program. This along with employee Christmas bonuses will be put on the agenda for the next meeting. Judging for the Christmas lights contest will be on December 16th and prizes will be awarded at the Board meeting on December 23rd.

Public Safety, Health and Safety:

A request for a new stop sign on Third Street was tabled. Copelin will have the police do additional patrols in the area for now.

Public Works, Streets, Alleys and Sidewalks:

Nothing to report.

Village Communication/Building Grounds and Lights, Parks:

Hedges presented a draft of the quarterly newsletter. There were requests for a couple of additions before it is published. She hopes to have it mailed in early January.

Old Business:

None.

New Business:

Pastor Kurfman of the United Methodist Church was granted permission to use the park pavilion on Christmas Eve for church service. Hedges asked if the Village’s computer network had the ability to have a shared server where the employees could access documents such as pending ordinances, financial documents and any other document that is now only in hard copy. Busch will put her in touch with Heart Technologies.

Motion by Baer to adjourn at 8:10 p.m.

https://divernonil.com/assets/uploads/sites/219/2020/12/Minutes-12-9-2020.pdf