Sangamon Sun

Village of Jerome Board of Trustees met Aug. 4.

Here are the minutes provided by the board:

CALL TO ORDER: The President and the Board of Trustees held a regular meeting at the Jerome Civic Center, 2901 Leonard Street, Jerome, Illinois. The meeting was called to order at 6:32 pm by President Lopez, followed by Roll call and the Pledge of Allegiance.

ROLL CALL: The following were present:

Mike Lopez, Village President

Kathy DeHart, Trustee of Public Property & Co Trustee Public Health

Leigh Irons, Trustee of Public Safety

Ralph Irons, Trustee of Water Department

Dale Lael, Trustee of Building & Zoning

Phil Raftis, Trustee of Public Works

Christina Smith, Co-Trustee of Public Health

Also Present:

Jason Brokaw, Attorney, Giffin, Winning, Cohen & Bodewes, P.C., arrived at 6:34 Steve Roth, Village Treasurer, by phone

Lisa Cave, Village Clerk

APPROVAL OF THE MINUTES: President Lopez asked whether the Board had reviewed the July 21, 2022, Minutes and if they found need for any changes, corrections, or amendments. President Lopez asked the July 21, 2022, minutes would stand approved as presented.

Motion to approve the July 21, 2022, Meeting Minutes as presented by: Trustee Leigh Irons and 2nd by Trustee Ralph Irons

Upon roll call vote, all voted AYE;

MOTION PASSES.

President Lopez asked whether the Board had reviewed the July 25, 2022, Special Meeting Minutes and if they found need for any changes, corrections, or amendments. President Lopez asked the July 25, 2022, minutes would stand approved as presented.

Motion to approve the July 25, 2022, Special Meeting Minutes as presented by: Trustee Leigh Irons and 2nd by Trustee Ralph Irons

Upon roll call vote, all voted AYE;

MOTION PASSES.

PUBLIC COMMENTS:

President Lopez opened the Visitors Acknowledgement portion of the meeting at 6:35 pm.

There were no public comments. This portion of the meeting closed at 6:36 pm.

President Lopez stated he thanks everyone for being here, unfortunately President Lopez slipped and fell outside of the Village Hall prior to the meeting. President Lopez has reached out to the City of Springfield regarding the bad internet service on some streets and has asked for free Wi-Fi hot spots or better access to Wi-Fi through the Village. Flu Clinic will be forthcoming to the Village, Trustee Smith is finalizing the details with Sangamon County Department of Public Health. President Lopez spoke with Brad Miller regarding the acquisition of land fill dump tickets for September or October. Brad will be working to obtain possibly 30 tickets for the Village to use. Trustee Leigh Irons will be overseeing the installation of all new laptops and computers for the Police Department. Trustee DeHart will oversee the computers in the Administration. President Lopez reached out to Sangamon County, and they have offered to dispose of the old laptops and computers at no charge to the Village, this includes the bad laptops or old car computers that are nonoperational and are currently in the Police Department. Some residents may have received a text regarding the Springfield Fire Department, that text is a scam.

REPORTS:

Trustee Smith reported that she is working on complaints for overgrown weeds and lawns and will have the letters to residents that had limb piles that were put out after the pickup ready to go out.

Trustee Raftis reported the patching and equipment rental we are anticipating 2 to 3 bidders, costs will go down if we do part of it ourselves, repairing the bad cracks and patching them. The concrete blocks that were purchased are working wonders keeping the rock and dirt contained. The advertisement on the micro surfacing project is out in the State Journal Register and Illinois Times, again should have 2 or 3 companies bid on that project. Matt Turner is starting on Monday for CDL school, Monday through Friday for a month. 3 out of the 4 speed humps on Iles are installed. The Village has received several calls on appreciation for them and they are asking for more. Trustee Raftis stated he is going to reach out to the City of Springfield regarding closing the road by the townhomes to install the last one. President Lopez recommended calling the Deputy Chief of the Springfield Police Department to see if he can assist. Trustee Raftis also stated the Astro Van is currently out on Craigslist and Facebook asking for a sealed bid, the Astro Van is a 2000 with 241,000 miles and the winning bidder will need to tow it when picked up.

Trustee DeHart stated the freezer is now working per Dave, it has been defrosted and has a -20 temperature. The Eagle Scout is finishing his database on the library and Trustee DeHart received a donation of hardback Barnes and Noble books. No news on the volunteers although Trustee DeHart is reaching out to them to create a schedule and hopefully an open house in the Fall. Fall Garage Sale is set for September 9 & 10 and Jacomini is willing to put it on their billboard for the Village and the Village can place the date on the water bills. Matrix Computers will be in the Village next week installing the wiring.

Trustee Lael stated Wing Stop opened last week. Trustee Lael reported that the Sangamon County Natural Hazard Mitigation Task Force meeting was Thursday and the next one will be in October, there are a few homework assignments he is finishing up and hopefully some grant funds will come of this.

Trustee Leigh Irons stated Alison is graduating on Friday. One of the police vehicles needed a battery and oil change. Matrix Computers have been working on the police department computers and will be installing them. Trustee Leigh Irons has been reviewing part time applications. Trustee Leigh stated there was a situation on Iles/Welch that was taken care of.

Trustee Ralph Irons stated that Denise is doing a great job. Trustee Ralph Iron and Dave will be meeting and will give information at the next meeting. There was an issue on the auto bill pay not having enough information, Trustee Ralph Irons contacted the State, and they ware formatting it to reflect the actual bill that residents receive. The auto bill pay system is a slow gradual process, it will take time for this to catch on to the residents. Trustee Ralph Irons stated he will add the memo on the bills regarding the September garage sales.

Clerk Cave stated she is working on the Executive Minutes review and should have that ready for Trustees to review to finalize them in September.

Attorney Brokaw had nothing to report.

APPROVAL TO PAY BILLS: President Lopez asked whether the board had reviewed Warrant List 23-07 dated August 4, 2022, totaling $30,726.77. Treasurer Roth added that of this amount $13,759.61 will be paid from the General Revenue Fund, $15,435.86 will be paid from the Water Fund, and $1,531.30 will be paid from the 1% Fund.

President Lopez asked for a motion to approve Warrant List 23-07 as presented. Motion to Approve the Bills to be Paid as presented by Trustee Smith and 2nd by Trustee Ralph Irons.

Upon roll call vote, all voted AYE;

MOTION PASSES.

TREASURER REPORTS: Treasurer Roth presented to the Board of Trustees the Financial Status as of August 4, 2022, via email: Revenues: We have received no revenue for August as of yet. Funds: Currently there is approximately $916,163.79 in the Illinois Funds GRF account and $140,890.14 in the MFT funds. There is approximately $27,952.92 in the INB GRF account and $166,060.63 in the INB Water account. The other bank account balances are as follows: Law Enforcement - DUI – $595.00; Law Enforcement – Vehicle - $712.43; 1% NHR - $509,637.02; Road & Bridge - $18,991.94; and Police Equipment Fund - $2,893.88, Cannabis Fund - $4,467.16, MFT-Rebuild Illinois fund – $90,947.45, and the American Rescue Plan Fund $65,505.79.

OLD BUSINESS DISCUSSION: Trustee DeHart asked to table the Leasing of the Jerome Civic Center until the next meeting. Trustee DeHart stated she has submitted a request and should know more regarding the program under IML called TULIP, as it offers us and individuals who would be renting the civic center to help cover negligent acts. Once we have a cost on the additional liability insurance we can make a determination on how much the costs of rentals and deposits will need to be. Trustee DeHart stated residents were under the impression that the Civic Center was not available for rentals and that is not

true, the Civic Center has been rented. Trustee Ralph Irons stated it’s been very busy down here. Trustee DeHart will reach out to Bill Benedict with Fire Safety for the occupancy capacity of the Civic Center as well as the library.

President Lopez opened discussion and approval of the Presentation of Patching and Micro Surfacing Project. Trustee Raftis stated that bids need to be advertised for two separate projects the Micro Surfacing project and the Mill and Patch at various locations.

Motion to approve Advertisement on the Micro Surfacing Project and the Mill and Patch at various locations by Trustee Raftis and 2nd by

Trustee Ralph Irons

Upon roll call vote, all voted AYE;

MOTION PASSES.

Trustee Smith asked to table the bids for tree removal and tree trimming in the Village right away issues. Trustee Smith stated there was a bid the Village received in the spring before the growth of this year happened and she would like to give the company a chance to revisit their bid prior to selecting a company.

Trustee Raftis asked for the Large Item Pickup be tabled as he has been out of town for work and has not been able to reach out to Lake Area Disposal again.

NEW BUSINESS DISCUSSION: President Lopez opened discussion and approval of hiring a part time police officer. Trustee Leigh Irons stated James Winters is an experienced police officer from up north and is willing to work any hours but does not want full time. Trustee Leigh Irons would like to start him out at $21.00 per hour.

Motion to approve hiring James Winters as a part time officer at $21.00 per hour effective September 1, 2022, by Trustee Leigh Irons and 2nd by

Trustee Ralph Irons

Upon roll call vote, all voted AYE;

MOTION PASSES.

President Lopez opened discussion and approval for Personnel Action with respect to the Secretary Position. Attorney Brokaw stated that as the Board is aware, President Lopez recommended dismissing Regina Morgan and there has been no word from Ms. Morgan. The Board will need approval for dismissal effective August 4, 2022.

Motion to approve dismissal of Regina Morgan effective August 4, 2022 by Trustee Leigh Irons and 2nd by Trustee Raftis

Upon roll call vote, all voted AYE;

MOTION PASSES.

President Lopez opened discussion and approval of Conflict Counsel for Potential Zoning Matter. Attorney Brokaw stated that an attorney in his firm has been retained for a potential zoning relief in the Village of Jerome. Should this matter continue, the Village will need to hire a Conflict Counsel to represent the Village. Attorney Brokaw has reached out to Don Craven and discussed the option of a Conflict Counsel with Mr. Craven and his is willing to act as Conflict Counsel at a rate of $225 an hour and will be sending over an agreement.

Motion to approve Don Craven as conflict counsel and approval of the execution of the engagement letter by Trustee Smith and 2nd by

Trustee Ralph Irons

Upon roll call vote, all voted AYE; except for Trustee Leigh Irons voted

NO

MOTION PASSES.

President Lopez opened discussion and approval for Appointments to the Zoning Board of Appeals and Plan Commission. Attorney Brokaw stated that in the last few years, Villages have veered away from having a Zoning Board of Appeals due to qualifications and have appointed a Zoning Hearing Officer. Having a Zoning Hearing Officer speeds up the process, the Village would need to make an amendment to the Zoning Code to allow for a Zoning Hearing Officer. Attorney Brokaw asked Trustee Lael to reach out to the Zoning members and see if they will continue to serve for litigation issues down the road.

ADJOURNMENT: With no further business, President Lopez asked for a motion to close the meeting at 7:23 pm. Motion was made by Trustee Raftis and 2nd by Trustee DeHart.

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