Sangamon Sun

Village of Pawnee Board of Trustees met Nov. 13.

Here are the minutes provided by the board:

Call to Order:

Roll Call:

President Clarke called the meeting to order at 7:00pm

Village Clerk, Devona Martin called roll

Trustees in attendance: Dale Walters, Troy Grant, Patrick Murphy, David Skinner, Brian Whitlow Also in attendance: Attorney Don Cravens, Treasurer Brent Wise, Candy Kramer with the Pawnee Post, Chief Barclay Harris, Jeff Schober, Brandon and Nicole Goodall, Cindy Ladage

Visitor's Recognition/Comments:

Cindy Ladage appeared before the Board to discuss the stories she has covered. She still has several more businesses to cover. Consensus was that she will continue through the year of 2024.

Brandon and Nicole Goodall appeared before the Board. She is our Jr. High and High School Principal. She is living east of town on the Christian County line, just south of the railroad tracks. They would like the Village to consider bringing water to their area. Due to the drought, they are hauling water. She has been reaching out for funding. Pat Waylon, with USDA advised there is a good possibility for a grant up to 30% and as well as some loans. There are several other houses down their road and around the corner that would be interested. President Clarke advised he is concerned with having the manpower to service the line along with the fact that if you do it for one area, we would have to do it for anyone that asks. An example would be Cotton Hill. President Clarke also advised that Andy Lee indicated it would be extra draw on the water tower. Trustee Skinner advised the Board that Otter Lake is upgrading our water line from 10" to 16" and it will be operational 1 year from now. President Clarke stated Fry Farms has city water. They got permission from the railroad and then paid someone to bore. Trustee Walters thought Andy Lee said something about issues with the syphons. Andy Lee is on vacation this week. Trustee Murphy asked, since they are in Christian County and on the Tovey side, have they checked with Tovey. Nicole indicated they have but haven't really gotten many answers. They have not yet gone to a Tovey Board meeting. Trustee Murphy advised he doesn't think it is in the best interest of the Village. If we do it for them, we would have to do it for anyone else that asks. Nicole stated there is potential funding out there for them, but it is only accessible through a municipality. Consensus was that they will come to the next board meeting when Andy Lee can attend to discuss further. Trustee Skinner provided a name/number to the Goodall's of someone in New City that had been working to get water. He thinks he would be a good resource for her.

Clerk's Report:

Minutes of October 23, 2023 were presented for review and approval

Motion made by Trustee Skinner to approve the minutes of October 23, 2023 as presented Second made by Trustee Murphy

Roll Call Vote Taken: Walters-yes, Grant-yes, Murphy-yes, Skinner-yes, Whitlow-yes Motion Carried: (5-0)

Personnel & Finance Committee Report: Committee Chair, Trustee Skinner

Trustee Skinner presented the bills payable for the week ending November 13, 2023 in the amount of $548,452.74

Motion made by Trustee Skinner to approve the bills payable for the week ending November 13, 2023 in the amount of $548,452.74

Second made by Trustee Whitlow

Roll Call Vote Taken: Walters-yes, Grant-yes, Murphy-yes, Skinner-yes, Whitlow-yes Motion Carried: (5-0)

Gas and Water Committee Report: Committee Chair, Trustee Whitlow

Trustee Whitlow advised the guys have been working on last minute repairs in preparation of the winter. He also advised Petersburg Plumbing has been MIA. We are not sure if they will be back before the first of the year to start Phase 2,

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

Jeff Schober advised they have been putting up Christmas decorations, picking up tree limbs, doing some patching and preparing for winter.

President Clarke advised we received the estimate from our engineer for the storm drain at 4th and Sherman. This bid is out of house and the cost is $40,000 for construction, $10,000 engineering and an additional engineering fee for a total of about $60,000. They will have to relocate a gas main. No decision will be made tonight. Jeff Schober advised they could put the pipe in. President Clarke advised if we are moving a gas line, we would need welders. Consensus was to wait for Andy Lee to get back from vacation to discuss. For years, we have been wanting to run a storm drain from the creek. We'll discuss further at the next meeting.

Trustee Grant advised we received the quote for winter start up in the amount of $65,000. Motion made by Trustee Grant to Kuhn & Trello Motor Fuel Tax not to exceed $65,000 for the winter start up/rock salt

Second made by Trustee Murphy

Roll Call Vote Taken: Walters-yes, Grant-yes, Murphy-yes, Skinner-yes, Whitlow-yes Motion Carried: (5-0)

Police Committee Report: Committee Chair, Trustee Skinner

Chief Barclay Harris presented the Police Report

Motion made by Trustee Skinner to approve Chief Harris's Police Report

Second made by Trustee Murphy

Roll Call Vote Taken: Walters-yes, Grant-yes, Murphy-yes, Skinner-yes, Whitlow-yes

Motion Carried: (5-0)

President Clarke commended our Chief and the entire department for the quick response.

Sewers and Parks Committee Report: Committee Chair, Trustee Thompson

Trustee Walters advised that the San Terra lift station upgrade was completed on September 20, 2023. He further advised the trees have been planted at North Park and the automatic transfer switch has been installed.

Zoning Committee Report: Committee Chair, Trustee Murphy

Trustee Murphy advised there have been a few small fence style building permits. He advised he has been working on 915 Lincoln. After several meetings with the County and per our agreement, they have agreed to move forward with this property being a nuisance property.

Trustee Murphy advised Tim Glenn is redoing the building on the corner. He is wanting to use one of two types of siding to make a front fascia. Stone/brick will be on the bottom up to the window and then siding on the top. Consensus was to allow him to move forward with materials as he is in compliance with our ordinance for properties on the square.

Bargaining Committee Report: Committee Chair, President Clarke

No report

Energy Committee Report: Committee Chair, President Clarke

No report

Infrastructure Committee Report: Committee Chair, President Clarke

No report

Unfinished Business:

None

New Business:

Brent Wise advised that Chief Harris can no longer run background checks. He thought it would be a good time to review our solicitation ordinance. He advised we had 3 solicitors over the summer. We've had several inquires and some complaints regarding the hours. Currently, we are 9am - 9pm. Consensus was to update the hours from 9am - 7pm Monday - Saturday and 1pm – 6pm on Sundays. We currently have 1 solicitation permit that will expire in 6mos. They would be grandfathered in. Attorney Cravens will update the ordinance and we will review at the next meeting.

President Clarke discussed the hiring of a part-time employee. We had discussed hiring Kelly Haney as backup to Brent and to take care of the website, fill in for Kim and handle state shred requirements, etc.

Motion made by Trustee Murphy to hire Kelly Haney for a maximum of 599 hours per year at a rate $1750/mo

Second made by Trustee Grant

Roll Call Vote Taken: Walters-yes, Grant-yes, Murphy-yes, Skinner-yes, Whitlow-yes

Motion Carried: (5-0)

Motion to Adjourn:

Motion made by Trustee Murphy to adjourn

Second made by Trustee Walters

Roll Call Vote Taken: Walters-yes, Grant-yes, Murphy-yes, Skinner-yes, Whitlow-yes Motion Carried: (5-0)

Meeting adjourned at 7:45pm on Monday, November 13, 2023. The next scheduled meeting of the Pawnee Village Board of Trustees is Monday, November 27,2023 at the Village Hall.

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