Sangamon Sun

Village of Jerome Village Board met Feb. 16.

Here are the minutes provided by the board:

CALL TO ORDER: 

The President and the Board of Trustees held a regular meeting on Thursday, February 16, 2023, at the Jerome Civic Center, 2901 Leonard Street, Jerome, Illinois. The meeting was called to order at 6:30 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, via phone 

Christina Smith, Co-Trustee of Public Health

Leigh Irons, Trustee of Public Safety,

Dale Lael, Trustee of Building & Zoning

Ralph Irons, Trustee of Water Department

Phil Raftis, Trustee of Public Works

Also Present:

Jason Brokaw, Attorney, Giffin, Winning, Cohen & Bodewes, P.C.,

Steve Roth, Village Treasurer

Lisa Cave, Village Clerk, via phone

APPROVAL OF THE MINUTES: President Lopez asked whether the Board had reviewed the February 2, 2023, Minutes and if they found need for any changes, corrections, or amendments. President Lopez asked the February 2, 2023, minutes would stand approved as presented.

Motion to approve the February 2, 2023, 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 January 19, 2023, Executive Minutes and if they found need for any changes, corrections, or amendments. President Lopez asked the January 19, 2023, executive minutes would stand approved as presented.

Motion to approve the January 19, 2023, Executive Minutes as presented by: Trustee Leigh Irons and 2nd by Trustee Ralph Irons

Upon roll call vote, all voted AYE;

MOTION PASSES 

APPROVAL TO PAY BILLS: President Lopez asked whether the board had reviewed Warrant List 23-20 dated February 16, 2023, totaling $49,876.96. Treasurer Roth added that of this amount $15,326.63 will be paid from the General Revenue Fund, $24,411.92 will be paid from the Water Account, $138.41 will be paid from the 1% Fund and $10,000.00 will be paid from the ARPA Funds. President Lopez asked for a motion to approve Warrant List 23-20 as presented.

Motion to Approve the Warrant List 23-20 totaling $49,876.96 as presented by Trustee Ralph Irons and 2nd by Trustee Leigh 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. Clerk Cave reported receiving no emails.

A Village resident in attendance asked if there was something that could be done with all the cars parking in their yards. Trustee Smith stated she has a list that will be receiving letters to address this issue and will be adding it to the bulletin when it goes out.

This portion of the meeting closed at 6:37 pm.

REPORTS: 

President Lopez stated any and all information that the Trustees would like in the bulletin to send an email to Clerk Cave with the details, this includes the events, large item pickup and the limb pickups that are scheduled. President Lopez stated he has no word from Niemann Foods yet and that the Green Family stores are still occupying the old Shop n Save building and that the Village will only receive funds on the miscellaneous items that is sold at that location, not the car sales. In 2-3 weeks Nate with Matrix Systems will want to meet with the board to distribute the new laptops and go over some training. President Lopez stated that he would like to do this prior to the board meeting soon.

Trustee Smith stated the Village had a downed tree at 7 Allen Lane and that the Public Works took care of removing it from the roadway. Trustee Smith is working with the resident to have them remove the remnants of the tree. Trustee Smith stated she is also sending out garbage letters.

Trustee Raftis stated he had nothing to report.

Trustee DeHart reported the Civic Center floor polishing will be done in February. The Garage, Water and Secretary computers have all been replaced and are up and running. Dave was asked to replace light bulbs in the Police Department and he discovered a leak in the roof. Trustee DeHart has only received one bid and is looking at a few more companies for transparency.

The recorder stopped working at 6:45 pm. The meeting was stopped until it was able to be resumed. Trustee Lael stated he had nothing to report.

Trustee Leigh Irons stated that Alison has been doing an outstanding job as Acting Chief. Trustee Ralph Irons stated he had nothing to report.

Clerk Cave asked for any bulletin items to be emailed to her by the end of February to allow for a bulletin to be sent out by the end of March.

Attorney Brokaw stated he had nothing to report.

TREASURER REPORTS: Treasurer Roth presented to the Board of Trustees the Financial Status as of February 16, 2023, via email: Revenues: As it has almost all fiscal year, we have been in the same pattern where we have seen increases in the Use Tax, Income Tax and Gaming Revenue when compared to this time last year, but have seen some decline in revenues for Telecom, Sales Tax, and 1%, although we actually surpassed the revenue for this time last year for the Telecom account and hopefully that continues. Funds: There are approximately $1,057,609.63 in the Illinois Funds GRF account after I transferred the revenues for February into the 1% and Cannabis accounts. There is $176,678.12 in the MFT funds. There is approximately $23,562.10 in the INB GRF account and $160,689.08 in the INB Water account. The other bank account balances are as follows: Law Enforcement - DUI – $105.36; Law Enforcement – Vehicle - $666.89; 1% NHR - $297,208.98 (with the February revenue included); Road & Bridge - $19,458.78; Police Equipment Fund - $2,893.88, Cannabis Fund - $784.74 (with the February revenue included); MFT-Rebuild Illinois fund – $109,136.94; American Rescue Funds - $130,951.69. 

OLD BUSINESS DISCUSSION: Trustee DeHart asked to table the Leasing of the Jerome Civic Center until the next meeting.

President Lopez opened discussion and approval of Resolution 07-23 Approving the Release of Certain Closed Minutes. Attorney Brokaw stated that this is housekeeping and that the board had a chance to review the minutes prior to the resolution to weigh in on whether the minutes would need to be kept confidential or if they could be released.

Motion to approve Resolution 07-23 Approving the Release of Certain Closed Minutes by Trustee Leigh Irons and 2nd by Trustee Ralph Irons

Upon roll call vote, all voted AYE;

MOTION PASSES. 

NEW BUSINESS DISCUSSION: President Lopez opened discussion and approval of Bids on Replacing the Roof on the Police Department. Trustee DeHart asked to table this until more bids are received.

President Lopez opened discussion and approval of the Water Adjustment for 11 Reed. Trustee Ralph Irons asked to table this item until the next meeting.

President Lopez opened discussion and approval of the Purchase of Sand and Gravel for the Water Department. Trustee Ralph Irons stated that with all the water breaks that the Village has had, Public Works has used all the sand and gravel we had in stock.

Motion to approve the purchase of Sand and Gravel not to exceed $1,000.00 by Trustee Ralph Irons and 2nd by Trustee Smith

Upon roll call vote, all voted AYE;

MOTION PASSES. 

President Lopez opened discussion and approval of the Purchase of a Water Pump. Trustee Ralph Irons stated that our pump is not strong enough to pump the water out of the repairs that the Public Works crew repaired the last month and they had to shut down more water customers to prevent the water from filling the area to be fixed.

Motion to approve the purchase of a Water Pump not to exceed $2,000.00 by Trustee Ralph Irons and 2nd by Trustee Smith

Upon roll call vote, all voted AYE;

MOTION PASSES. 

President Lopez opened discussion and approval of the Purchase of Taser Cartridges. Trustee Leigh Irons stated that the Police Department has used the remaining taser cartridges they had in stock. Trustee Leigh Irons stated she would like to purchase 6-8 cartridges.

Motion to approve the purchase of a Taser Cartridges not to exceed $1,500.00 by Trustee Leigh Irons and 2nd by Trustee Ralph Irons

Upon roll call vote, all voted AYE;

MOTION PASSES. 

EXECUTIVE SESSION: 

A motion was made by Trustee Leigh Irons to go into Executive Session to discuss the appointment, employment, compensation, discipline, performance, or dismissal of a specific employee or legal counsel of the public body (5 ILCS 120/2 (c)(1)); minutes of meetings lawfully closed under the Open Meetings Act for purposes of approval by the Body (5ILCS 120/2(c)(21); Trustee Ralph Irons seconded the motion.

The Board went into Executive Session at 6:59 pm.

The Board returned from Executive Session at 8:25 pm.

President Lopez opened discussion and approval of Hiring of Police Officers. Trustee Leigh Irons asked to table this to the next meeting.

President Lopez opened discussion and approval of Hiring of a Police Chief. Trustee Leigh Irons asked to table this to the next meeting.

President Lopez opened discussion and approval of Hiring of a Water Clerk. Trustee Ralph Irons stated he would like to offer the position to Kathleen Waide.

Motion to approve the hiring of Kathleen Waide as the Water Clerk position for $20.00 per hour and a start date of February 20, 2023, by Trustee Ralph Irons and 2nd by Trustee Smith

Upon roll call vote, all voted AYE;

MOTION PASSES. 

ADJOURNMENT: With no further business, President Lopez asked for a motion to close the meeting at 8:28pm. Motion was made by Trustee Leigh Irons and 2nd by Trustee Smith.

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