Sangamon Sun

Village of Divernon Board of Trustees met Dec. 18

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 on Wednesday December 18, 2024. Mayor Jim Copelin called the meeting to order at 6:30 p.m. Clerk Gail Hedges called roll: Joe Bukantos “Here,” Chuck Apgar “Here, Randy Olson “Here,” Dianne Brenning “Here,” and Larry Baer “Here.” Also present were Chief Mike Lavin and Superintendent Jeremy Rhodes. Trustee Craig Busch was absent.

Baer made a motion, seconded by Apgar, to approve the amended November 27, 2024, minutes. The motion passed 4-1 with Olson voting present.

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

Visitors:

Visitors present were winners of the Annual Christmas Lighting Contest. The winners of each category received a check for $100.00. The winner of Best Christmas lighting went to Anna and Alex Brennan, Best Theme went to Lori and Jim Richards, and the award from the Fire Department went to Jay and Deb Sergent. Congratulation to all!

Public Works:

Superintendent Rhodes indicated the valve on Rt. 104 near the railroad tracks needs to be upgraded to a valve capable of handling higher pressure. Otter Lake will be replacing the current water line along Rt. 104 with a larger water line which will increase the pressure on the valve Rhodes is requesting to replace. The cost of a new valve is $11,254.33. Bukantos made a motion, seconded by Apgar, to approve the purchase. The motion passed 5-0. The current meter reading software is aged and needs to be upgraded. The cost of the upgraded Beacon software is $28,584.00. Apgar made a motion, seconded by Bukantos, to approve the purchase. The motion passed 5-0.

Police Department:

Chief Mike Lavin presented Officer Tait Martin with the Life Saving Award. Officer Martin was dispatched to a call for a subject down. Upon arrival, Officer Martin found the subject was not breathing and had no pulse. Officer Martin, with the assistance of an Auburn officer, provided life saving measures until EMS personnel arrived. Because of Officer Martin’s prompt actions and professionalism, the subject was revived. Thank you and congratulations, Officer Martin! Chief Lavin told the Board the 2015 Ford Explorer is in constant need of repairs. Lavin is requesting the Explorer be traded on the purchase of a new 2024 Dodge Durango for $43,733.00 from Victory Lane Chrysler Dodge Jeep Ram. Apgar made a motion, seconded by Baer, to purchase the 2024 Dodge Durango. The motion passed 5-0. Chief Lavin reported that during the period November 17 – December 17, 2024, 147 tickets for moving violation were issued. A number of were for stop sign violations. The Village is seeing improvement in speeding and stop sign violations in the last month. K-9 Officer Jared Leake brought Officer Gator, Village K-9, into to the meeting where he shared that Gator is doing well with training and was used to search the juvenile detention center for drugs prior to the center reopening.

No drugs were found and Gator performed well. 

Economic Dev., Zoning, TIF, Building Permits:

Village Attorney, Tony Schuering, is working on preparing a redevelopment agreement for the Village. Dollar General is still interested in putting a store on the MacMurray Park property. Village residents have been voicing their opinions to Mayor Copelin and trustees. A public meeting will be held to get feedback from Village residents after the first of the year.

Public Utilities Water, Gas and Sewer:

Tyler Bergeron was approved to pay an additional $50.00 per month on his utility bill until the bill is caught up. The bill is down to $343.60 after a significant payment was recently paid. Baer recommended the early late fees be waived. Discussion followed. The matter will be addressed on at the next meeting in January 2025.

Finance, Personnel, GIS:

Brenning reported the IMRF rate went down 1% to 6.58% which will save the Village money. Baer reported Blue Cross Blue Shield has been selected for the new health insurer for calendar 2025. Mayor Copelin reported the collective bargaining process will begin in the new year.

Public Safety, Health & Safety:

Olson reported that he hasn’t met with the county to discuss the intent of the Intergovernmental Agreement. Olson also reported that Bramley’s is interested in purchasing part of the property of the old gas station south of Brown St. Mayor Copelin asked Olson to get more information from Tim Bramley.

Public Works, Streets, Alleys & Sidewalks:

Nothing to report

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

Bukantos reported that the Yeti blow-up in the park had somehow torn or had been cut. Olson will check it out to see if it can be repaired. Apgar reported he had looked into the cost for Microsoft subscriptionsfor the three new police computers. Apgar made a motion, seconded by Baer, to purchase the three subscriptions and extra emails for an annual cost of $467.40 from Planet Technologies. The motion passed 5-0.

Old Business:

None.

New Business:

None.

Baer made a motion, seconded by Apgar, to go into executive session at 7:37 p.m. The motion passed 5-0. Olson made a motion, seconded by Apgar to return to regular session at 7:44 p.m. The motion passed 5-0.

Apgar made a motion, seconded by Baer, to approved the August 28, 2024, September 25, 2024 and October 23, 2024 executive session minutes. The motion passed 5-0.

Baer made a motion, seconded by Apgar, to adjourn at 7:47 p.m. The motion passed unanimously by voice vote.

https://media.websitecdn.net/sites/219/2025/01/Minutes-12-18-2024.pdf