Sangamon Sun

Village of Divernon Board of Trustees met July 13.

Here are the minutes provided by the board:

The regular meeting of the Village of Divernon Board of Trustees was held at the Village Hall. Mayor Jim Copelin called the meeting to order at 6:30 p.m. Clerk Gail Hedges called roll: Craig Busch “Here”, Joe Bukantos “Here”, Chuck Apgar “Here”, Larry Baer “Here”, and Dianne Brenning “Here”. Tyler Bramley was absent. Also present were Superintendent Rhodes and Chief Martin.

A motion was made by Baer seconded by Busch to approve the minutes of June 22, 2022. The motion passed 5-0.

Baer made a motion seconded by Brenning to approve the bills. The motion passed 5-0. Visitors

Jack Lucas, who resides at 103 S. First Street, was present to discuss the issue of flooding and damage being caused as a result. Jay Estes and Mary Harbison, who reside at 230 S. Henrietta, were also present to discuss the flooding issue. Discussion followed. The Village will seek engineer recommendations on solutions not only to these specific issues, but also the Village as a whole. Dale Shumaker from Encounters was present to apologize to the board for not showing up at the Village Block Party. He was concerned he wouldn’t be invited to participate in other Village activities in the future as a result.

Public Works:

Superintendent Rhodes reported the water tower had been power washed. An estimate of $1500.00 from Walker’s Sandblasting and Painting was received to repair the criminal damage done on the water tower by several juveniles. Busch made a motion to approve the $1500.00 cost seconded by Bukantos. The motion passed 5-0. Apgar stated the railroad ditch at Madison Street needed to be trenched which would help with some of the flooding issues on Madison and State.

Police:

Chief Martin requested approval to purchase an AED for the new police vehicle at a cost of $1750.00. Apgar made a motion to approve the $1750.00 cost seconded by Baer. The motion passed 5-0. The last of the equipment to be installed in the new vehicle is still on delay. Chief Martin discussed the need for another PTZ camera for the park. Martin reported the bushings were bad on the Explorer and needed to be repaired. A cost estimate of $781.54 was provided by Herman’s Garage. A vote will be taken at the next meeting. Martin also mentioned that digiticket is something we should revisit to make the police department more efficient. More discussion will take place as the next meeting.

Committee Reports: Economic Dev., Zoning, TIF, Building Permits:

Busch reported the Village Block Party was a success. Both the Divernon Fire Department and the Divernon United Methodist Church indicated they would be interested in providing food at next year’s Village Block Party. The new trash receptacles have arrived and are now in the park. The new picnic tables should arrive the week of July 18, 2022. Both Emerson Press and the Divernon Car Wash have approached Busch regarding funding for revenue loss due to COVID 19. Both businesses had intended to make improvements but due to revenue loss were unable too. A meeting will be held July 18, 2022 to continue discussion on the sale of the gas station properties.

Public Utilities Water, Gas and Sewer

Nothing to report.

Finance, Personnel, GIS:

A motion was made by Baer seconded by Bukantos to approve the plaque for the street scraper in the amount of $84.67 from Valco Awards. The motion passed 5-0. Ordinance 2011-002 Gas Revenue was discussed. Mayor Copelin will discuss with the Village attorney to determine if action is necessary. The need for a formal fiscal manual was discussed. Acting Treasurer Jessica Hayes will be asked to prepare a draft manual for board review. The CD in the amount of $175,000 approved at the last meeting will be for one year at a rate of 3%. Baer made a motion seconded by Brenning to approve a second CD in the amount of $175,000 for the highest rate for a period up to 3-years.

Public Safety, Health and Safety:

Apgar reported the Hazard Mitigation Plan goals will be developed at the next meeting. Apgar will be attending a brainstorming meeting prior to the next meeting that should provide some ideas for projects.

Public Works, Streets, Alleys and Sidewalks:

Brenning reported that the new street light pole should be raised soon. Work on installing wiring for the street light will follow. Bukantos reported that John Duval had approached him about a pile of branches located at 500 S. First Street that are in possible violation and needed to be removed

Village Communication/Building, Grounds and Lights, Parks, Recreation:

Busch reported that Heart Technologies had contacted him regarding the firewall renewal. The yearly fee is $495.41. The matter was put on hold until a discussion of a contract for all areas under one contract could be considered. The discussion of a new Village sign coming into Divernon from the west was put on hold.

Old Business:

Zoning Administrator Rhodes reported that the Zoning Board of Appeals had approved the variance for Robert Flowers to extend his porch beyond the ordinance limitation. Rhodes also mentioned the Zoning Board of Appeals was recommending to the Village Board that Garrett Trueblood, located at 201 So. Third Street in the flood plain, must submit to the Village Zoning Administrator a completed Zoning Permit with fees by no later than July 31, 2022. Should a permit not be submitted by July 31, 2022, immediate removal of the fill must begin and be completed by no later than August 31, 2022. Failure to bring the property into compliance may result in a fine up to $750 daily as determined by the Village of Divernon Board of Trustees. The Village Board agreed with the recommendation with the amendment of giving Trueblood until August 1, 2022 instead of July 31, 2022 to submit a completed permit.

New Business:

Apgar is preparing the next newsletter and is looking for dates to include. It was decided that Halloween would be held the nights of Sunday, October 30 and Monday October 31, 2022 from 5:00 p.m. to 8:00 p.m.

Baer made a motion to go into executive session at 8:32 p.m. Baer made a motion to come out of executive session at 8:53 p.m.

A motion was made by Brenning seconded by Baer to release executive session minutes August 28, 2013, November 11, 2015, November 14, 2015, April 27, 2016, April 22, 2020, February 24, 2021, March 10, 2021, June 9, 2021, June 23, 2021, and May 25, 2022. The motion passed 5-0.

The meeting ended with a motion by Baer at 8:56 p.m.

https://cdn.sitepreview.co/assets/uploads/sites/219/2022/07/Minutes-7-13-2022.pdf