Sangamon Sun

Village of Pawnee Board of Trustees met June 14.

Here is the minutes provided by the board:

Call to Order: 

President Clarke called the meeting to order to 7:02pm. 

Roll Call: 

Village Clerk, Devona Martin called roll Trustees in attendance: Brian Whitlow, Jan Bowsher, Patrick Murphy, David Skinner, Troy Squires Trustees Absent: Phillip Thompson Also in attendance: Attorney Don Cravens, Treasurer Kelly Thein, Candy Kramer with the Pawnee Post, Chief Barclay Harris, Kevin Rollins, Jeff Schober, Barb Schatz with Pub 1854, John ? 

Visitor's Recognition/Comments: 

Barb Schatz with Pub 1854 appeared before the Board. On June 19, County 5 bar in Kincaid is having a fundraiser for the Kincaid Picnic. They are having a Jeep/UTV ride starting at County 5 in Kincaid. Their first stop will be Pub 1854. They should arrive between 12:30pm - 1pm and will leave by 1:15pm - 1:30pm. They are expecting approximately 20-25 vehicles. She has already talked to Chief Harris. She is asking that they be allowed to hangout outside for approx 1hr. They will sign a waiver through County 5. She doesn't believe they will need anything blocked off. They would like the police dept to assist with escorting them in and out. This is not an event so a certificate of liability is not needed. President Clarke advised that he had a meeting with Trustee Bowsher and Chief Harris and they came up with some criteria for the UTVs that they are planning to propose to the Board. They are not planning to broach the subject until the police department is up and running at full staff as this cannot be policed with just 3 officers. Attorney Cravens is still trying to figure out the 16 - 18yrs old. He is hoping we can have something by the spring. The Chief of Divernon did send Attorney Cravens their ordinance for view. 

Clerk's Report: 

Minutes of May 24, 2021 are tabled 

Personnel & Finance Committee Report: Committee Chair, Trustee Skinner 

Trustee Skinner presented the bills payable for the week ending June 14, 2021 in the amount of $137,794.28 

Motion made by Trustee Skinner presented the bills payable for the week ending June 14, 2021 in the amount of $137,794.28 Second made by Trustee Squires Roll Call Vote Taken: Whitlow-yes, Bowsher-yes, Murphy-yes, Skinner-yes, Squires-yes Motion Carried: (5-0) 

Gas and Water Committee Report: Committee Chair, Trustee Squires 

Trustee Squires advised there were 7 shut offs for May. Trustee Squires advised that they are servicing gas meters by swapping them out as that is the easiest thing to do. 

Streets, Alley and Sidewalk Committee Report: Committee Chair, Trustee Whitlow 

Trustee Whitlow advised they mowed #11 Tamaroa. They are also working on the roads in preparation of rock and oil. Reviewed the motor fuel maintenance program in the amount not to exceed $165,000. Motion made by Trustee Murphy to accept the motor fuel maintenance program not to exceed $165,000. This includes rock and chip. Second made by Trustee Bowsher Roll Call Vote Taken: Whitlow-yes, Bowsher-yes, Murphy-yes, Skinner-yes, Squires-yes Motion Carried: (5-0) 

Police Committee Report: Committee Chair, Trustee Bowsher 

President Clarke thanked Chief Harris and the entire department for the job they did during Pawnee Prairie Days. Chief Barclay Harris presented his monthly police report. Trustee Murphy asked how many juvenile officers we have. Chief advised 5 total as all full-timers are juvenile officers. Motion made by Trustee Murphy to approve Chief Barclay Harris's Monthly Police Report Second made by Trustee Skinner Roll Call Vote Taken: Whitlow-yes, Bowsher-yes, Murphy-yes, Skinner-yes, Squires-yes Motion Carried: (5-0) President Clarke advised the Board that Officer Clyde Ross's stepson passed away from cancer. They are going to have a ceremony at the Crown Plaza from 1-3 if anyone can attend. Any money they collect from the memorial they are donating to another cancer fund. Discussed Officer Ross. The doctor took him out of the cast and he is healing well. 

Sewers and Parks: Committee Chair, Trustee Thompson 

Discussed the slides at North Park. The cost to replace the 2 slides is $10,419. We do have vandalism insurance. We will check into that. President Clarke asks if we want to offer a reward for the name of the person/persons that caused the damage. A mother called in May and advised the Village that the slides were broken. In the future, we will take the slides off in the winter. They are original and installed in 2008. Candy will put it in the paper. President Clarke advised the fireworks are set for July 3rd at Assembly of God Church. Shoot off will be around 9:30pm. Church youth group will be selling water and soda. 

Zoning Committee Report: Committee Chair, Trustee Murphy 

Trustee Murphy advised that they will be having a zoning board meeting on July 12. They have a variance from Don Kern and Cinric Painting and Application to rezone the old Pit Stop from auto to commercial/industrial. Don Kern is selling the property to Cinric Painting and Application. They do painting and refinishing of cabinets and other woodwork/furniture, custom cabinetry and will have a small showroom. 

Bargaining Committee: Committee Chair, President Clarke 

none 

Energy: Committee Chair, President Clarke 

none 

Infrastructure: Committee Chair, Trustee Whitlow 

none 

Exit Regular Session: 7:27pm 

Motion made by Trustee Squires to leave regular session for land purchase and personnel issues Second made b y Trustee Murphy Roll Call Vote Taken: Whitlow-yes, Bowsher-yes, Murphy-yes, Skinner-yes, Squires-yes Motion Carried: (5-0) 

Enter Executive Session: 7:30pm 

Motion made by Trustee Squires to enter executive session for land purchase and personnel 

Second made by Trustee Skinner Roll Call Vote Taken: Whitlow-yes, Bowsher-yes, Murphy-yes, Skinner-yes, Squires-yes Motion Carried: (5-0) 

Exit Executive Session: 7:55pm 

Motion made by Trustee Squires to exit executive session Second made by Trustee Murphy Roll Call Vote Taken: Whitlow-yes, Bowsher-yes, Murphy-yes, Skinner-yes, Squires-yes Motion Carried: (5-0) 

Re-Enter Regular Session: 7:58pm 

Motion made by Trustee Squires to re-enter regular session Second made by Trustee Skinner Roll Call Vote Taken: Whitlow-yes, Bowsher-yes, Murphy-yes, Skinner-yes, Squires-yes Motion Carried: (5-0) 

Unfinished Business: 

None 

New Business: 

Ordinance 21-13 - An Ordinance Appointing Animal Control Officers. They will get 2hrs overtime per call. Motion made by Trustee Bowsher to accept Ordinance 21-13-An Ordinance Appointing Animal Control Officers Second made by Trustee Skinner Roll Call Vote Taken: Whitlow-yes, Bowsher-yes, Murphy-yes, Skinner-yes, Squires-yes Motion Carried: (5-0) 

Trustee Whitlow discussed the backhoe. Our current backhoe is a 2002 model. The maintenance on it is starting to nickel and diming us. The cost of a brand new CAT with a $23,000 allowance on our trade-in is $83,964. This is a brand new CAT and the buckets we have will still attached to the new machine. If we went with the John Deere, we would have to purchase the attachments to go onto it. The quote from Martin's on the John Deere went up 7% from 6 mos ago. Trustee Skinner advised that all of our other equipment came from Martin's and they are here to service it. Trustee Murphy suggested looking to see if there is something available through the state. We might have to sell ours personally. Treasurer Thein advised ours has problems. If we take another 3-4 months to decide, what's the price going to be then? Treasurer Thein advised we cannot write off equipment for motor fuel. The CAT is $106,964 and the John Deere is $107,325. They are both allowing us $23,000 for trade in. Jeff Schober was asked about the difference between the CAT and the John Deere. He indicated he has had no experience on John Deere but they've had good luck with CAT. CATs are higher priced. John Deere's price went up 7% and CATs price went down. He thinks CATs are better machines. He's had good luck with service. They are both comparable on service. The CATs have bigger buckets which is helpful for picking up limbs. They have 2 buckets for the CAT that will work on the new machine. 24" bucket and smaller bucket. He talked to them both last week. Martin's bid is only good for 30 days. CAT does not have a date. There is something mechanical wrong with ours. It has a few leaks but they did have the injectors fixed a couple months ago. It has 6675hrs on it. Treasurer Thein advised $35,000 will come from the sewer dept because they use it also. Motion made by Trustee Bowsher to allow Trustee Skinner and Trustee Murphy to approve the purchase of a backhoe not to exceed $85,000 Second made by Trustee Squires Roll Call Vote Taken: Whitlow-yes, Bowsher-yes, Murphy-present, Skinner-present, Squires-yes, Clarke-yes Motion Carried: (6-0) 

Treasurer Thein advised Brent Wise is available tomorrow or Thursday at 6:30pm. Agreed tomorrow at 6:30pm for the personnel committee to meet with Brent Wise. President Clarke advised he received a letter including an article where someone died on a UTV. The note indicated that the people of Pawnee had already voted against it. The letter was not signed so it will not be discussed any further. Trustee Squires suggested a permit for the driver and a permit for the UTV. 

Motion to Adjourn: 

Motion made by Trustee Skinner to adjourn Second made by Trustee Murphy Roll Call Vote Taken: Whitlow-yes, Bowsher-yes, Murphy-yes, Skinner-yes, Squires-yes Motion Carried: (5-0) 

Meeting adjourned at 8:15pm on Monday, June 14 2021. The next scheduled meeting of the Pawnee Village Board of Trustees is Monday, June 28, 2021 at 7:00pm at the Village Hall.

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