Carbondale Reporter

Village of Makanda Board of Trustees met January 2.

Here is the minutes as provided by the board:

Pledge of Allegiance

Call to Order: Regular meeting of the Board of Trustees was called to order at 7:00 p.m. by President Tina Shingleton.

Roll Call: Clerk called the roll of Village Board: Trustees Hilliard, Allen, Wolff, Brouillette, Ross and Dalton were present.

 Approval of Minutes: President asked for a motion to approve the minutes of the last meeting. One correction she asked be made was under Trustees that Trustee Allen reported a culvert “has been replaced” should be corrected to “needs to be replaced”. Trustee Ross made a motion to accept the minutes as corrected. It was seconded by Trustee Dalton. Voice vote. All members present at roll call voted yes. Motion carried.

Trustees Wolff and Allen disagree that it is a conflict of interest for the Village Board Road Coordinator position, that was approved in the last meeting, to be present to discuss or vote on street and road issues and asked for a motion to amend supervision of Street and Road crew by the Village Board Road Coordinator to the Street and Road Committee. Trustee Wolff suggested abolishing the position of Road Coordinators and just run things through Street and Road Committee. Trustee Wolff also suggested that he or Trustee Allen could resign from the Board and then serve as the Street and Road Coordinator and be compensated for it. Trustee Wolff stated that there needs to be clear communication between the Village Board and the Street and Road Committee/Coordinators to present and discuss Street and Road issues. President stated that she did not object to the Street and Road Coordinators being present when the Board discussed street and road issues/business. President stated that she had talked to the attorney several times, in order to confirm the correct legal meaning of the attorney’s statement. Trustee Allen stated that the street and road work would get done, without Street and Road Coordinators, because he and Trustee Wolff are both on the Street and Road Committee. Trustee Allen suggested removing the attorney’s statement from last month’s minutes. President asked if what they are recommending is that the Street and Road Committee supervise themselves. President than asked if there was no Street and Road Supervisor/Coordinator, would there be a problem with having too many different people telling the Street and Road crew what to do. Trustee Wolff stated that he and Trustee Allen would continue to act as supervisors, without the title. Motion was discussed by Trustees. Trustee Ross made a motion to accept the minutes with the amendment. It was seconded by Trustee Dalton. Voice vote. All members present at roll call voted yes. Motion carried.

Citizen’s Hearing: No citizens present.

Petitions & Communications:

Makanda Municipal Handbooks were handed out prior to the meeting. President asked if anyone had any changes or questions.

     •President’s term of office needs to be corrected on Village Contact List.

     •Responsibilities of Village Board Road Coordinator needs to be amended

President has requested use of the Bicentennial Logo for the Village website.

Regarding Sexual Harassment Ordinance provided by IML, legal counsel has advised this Ordinance is acceptable. He will need a copy of the approved Village Ordinance for his files.

Regarding Nuisance Ordinance, it was determined that more discussion should take place on how to move forward. The Ordinance Committee will meet in the spring to discuss and bring suggestions to the Board.

In the Jackson County Historical Society newsletter, The Jacksonian Ventilator, it was advertised that a publication, The Makanda Album, is available for purchase at $12/copy. This pictorial was put together by Bob Morefield and Phoebe Cox. Trustees Hilliard and Ross have purchased a copy.

President spoke with Jay Kranz at IDOT on December 11 regarding breaking down of Makanda Road across from Mr. Jumps. He will check and report to engineer. Jay has taken over Jackson County roads since Richard Melcher has retired. Trustee Ross met with IDOT on December 20 to show them where the road is breaking down. They will spot a grade on the culvert across from the Village Hall where water is standing, clean the ditch on the east side of Makanda Road, and will place rip rap where road is breaking down. They will also plan to blacktop that stretch of road and include a shoulder.

State mileage rate has increased from the 2017 rate of.535 to.545 for 2018. President asked for a motion to approve change of Village rate effective January 2018 from the current rate of.56 to align with State approved rate of.545. Trustee Hilliard made a motion to accept the minutes. It was seconded by Trustee Wolff. Voice vote. All members present at roll call voted yes. Motion carried.

In November President received a notice from the IL Department of Revenue that Keller’s Crossing at Stone Creek had not paid their Hotel Operators Occupation Tax and had not filed or paid their Sales/Use tax. In order to keep their liquor license inforce, they needed to appear in person before an Administrative Law Judge appointed by the Illinois Liquor Control Commission for a hearing on November 30. The President has been advised no one from Keller’s Crossing appeared at the hearing and fees have not been paid. Because of this, the State has revoked there liquor license. After speaking with Village legal counsel, they have drafted a letter, which will be served the week of January 1, advising Keller’ Crossing that we have suspended their local liquor license and they will need to appear before the Liquor Commissioner (Village President) at the Village Hall on January 10 at 5:15 p.m. Legal counsel and a court reporter will be present. President asked if board thought there should be a fine. Board felt there should be a fine to cover any expenses incurred, such as, the cost for the attorney and court reporter to appear at the hearing, etc.

President asked Board for permission to apply for a credit card for supplies that cannot be purchased locally. Board agreed to this request. Treasurer or President will check with Village bank regarding a bank credit card that is not directly tied to checking account. This credit card will be kept by Treasurer to be used for purchases approved by the Board.

Clerk: Clerk recorded Man Hours for December 2017.

Trustees: Trustee Hilliard stated that the first order of street signs has been picked up and the remaining signs have been ordered. He has prepared an installation booklet for the street and road crew to follow, and tells them to use common sense, as needed. One goal is to eliminate the round metal posts and replace them with the 4x4 or 2x4 metal posts. Trustee Hilliard will present a final bill total for the signs to the Board.

Trustee Allen asked the President if she had been able to contact Barbara Schwartz regarding vacating Sheppards Lane. President stated that she has tried, but has not been able to leave a message for Barbara. The attorney is still looking into the best way to proceed in this matter. Trustee Allen suggested that instead of spraying for weeds around the Village guardrails and sign posts, that they use the weed trimmer 3 times a year. This would eliminate the need to have someone licensed to do the weed spraying. Board agreed to try this for one year. Board discussed what needs to be trimmed and cleaned up around the little cabin, next to the Village Hall. President stated that the cabin needs to be maintained in a safe condition, or possibly removed. Trustee Allen reported that when they had put the culvert in on Church Street, the phone company had flagged their lines on the east side. Frontier had also checked their lines. No one had flagged lines on the west side of the road. In doing the work, a phone line was cut on the west side of the road. In the future, someone from the Village needs to go with them to check the lines, and take pictures and get the names of the individuals, to document what was done.

Trustee Wolff reported that the Clerk had called the Health Department to report the sewage issues on Church Street. The Clerk called Trustee Wolff to inform him that Steve Williams would be calling him for more information. Trustee Wolff spoke by phone to Steve Williams regarding the situation. Steve then stated he would look into it and get back to Trustee Wolff. Steve reported back to Trustee Wolff that there had been no water coming out of the pipe for him to take a sample of, but he would continue to monitor the situation. Steve reported that across the road, he had stopped to talk with the people building there, and had asked them

what they were planning to do with their sewage. Steve was told that they were building a storage house and they would be living up the hill. Steve said the he told them they must get a permit for their sewage disposal, and that he will continue to monitor that.

Trustee Ross distributed copies of the new rules for the Pavilion and Playground sign, for the Board to review. Board discussed making 2 signs, the potential size of the signs, and their placement. Trustee Ross will continue to look into the matter.

Trustee Dalton reported that the street lights are all working.

Fiscal Matters:

     A. Treasurer’s Report: Treasurer reviewed the report to date.

     B. Bills Payable: Treasurer reviewed the bills payable for the month.

President asked for a motion to approve the Treasurer’s report and Bills Payable. Trustee Wolff made a motion to approve the Treasurer’s Report and pay the bills. It was seconded by Trustee Ross. Voice vote. All present at roll call voted yes. Motion carried.

Reports of Standing Committees:

     A. Finance Committee:

     B. Ordinance Committee:

     C. Street & Road Committee: Legal counsel has suggested we split the charge with Frontier regarding         damage to Rowan Road and has drafted a letter to send with a check for $446.23. Board approved                   of paying half of the charge.

It was suggested that a digital camera be purchased to have available, if needed, for photos of roads before and during road work that is being done. Board agreed this would be a good idea and approved a maximum of $100 for purchase of a camera.

Bridge on Cracker’s Neck Street was inspected on December 2. Cost was $350. The structure is in very good condition. The only concern noted during the inspection is the continued slow erosion behind the northwest wing of the bridge. At present the erosion is encroaching into the shoulder area inside the guard rail. Left unchecked this problem could eventually affect the road surface and over an extended period of time may begin to cause erosion under abatement cap. President provided the Inspection Report to Trustee Allen for review and to check on how to proceed and report findings back to rest of Trustees.

Trustee Wolff reported that he is in the process of setting up a filing cabinet, at the Equipment Building, containing files on safety standards for equipment and safety instructions in the operator’s equipment manuals, as required by the American Society of Agricultural Engineers. Trustee Wolff stated that safety training should be provided to the street and road crew, and documented. He stated that one time, the street and road crew had gone to McAfoos for training. Trustee Wolff stated that the Village needs to continue with some sort of annual safety training program. Trustee Wolff would like to replace any of the equipment manuals that are missing. Trustee Hilliard stated that the Village should purchase and post several safety signs at the Equipment Building, to show we are safety minded.

     D. Subdivision Committee:

     E. Insurance Committee: Insurance cards for the Village vehicles have been received. Trustee Allen will put one in each vehicle.

Reports of Special Committees:

     A. Emergency Disaster Committee:

     B. Special Events Committee:

Ordinances & Resolutions: Approval of MFT Resolution for Appropriation of $2,000 for 2018. Trustee Hilliard made a motion to approve the $2000. It was seconded by Trustee Ross. Voice Vote. All present at roll call voted yes. Motioned carried.

Executive Session:

Unfinished/Old Business: President stated that the Illinois bi-centennial flag has been put up at the Village Hall.

New Business:

Announcements: Trustee Hilliard that the Makanda Masonic Lodge, that has been in Makanda for153 years, have sold their building. The Lodge has purchased Cecilia’s property at US 51and Makanda Road and will build a new Lodge and parking lot there.

 Adjournment: The President asked for a motion to adjourn the meeting. Motion was made by Trustee Ross to adjourn the meeting and seconded by Trustee Dalton. Voice vote. All present at roll call voted yes. Motion carried. Meeting was adjourned at 9:08

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