Carbondale Reporter

Village of Makanda Board of Trustees met February 6. 

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 role of the Village Board: Trustees Hilliard, Allen, Wolff, Ross, Dalton and Brouillette were present.

Approval of Minutes: President asked for a motion to approve the minutes of the last meeting. Trustee Dalton made a motion to accept the minutes. It was seconded by Trustee Ross. Voice vote. All members present at roll call voted yes. Motion carried.

Citizen’s Hearing: No guests present.

Petitions & Communications: President received an email from Anna of Select Energy on January 10 regarding a potential opportunity that exists to recover taxes which Ameren Illinois may not have remitted properly to our municipality. They are working with a firm to assist in validating the opportunity and if applicable, to recover those monies. They will be working on a contingent fee basis. There is no out-of-pocket cost to us for this service, and the work required from us in minimal. She will be following up regarding any progress.

President received a request to use B.C. Ross Community Center for upcoming elections on March 20 and November 6. Information has been passed on to Trustee Ross.

We received notification from GoDaddy regarding malware on our website. President contacted Megabytes and they could check but the process could be time consuming. President contacted GoDaddy and they suggested we purchase Security monitoring and Website cleaning service. If we do not have this on our website and continue accumulating malware it could shut down our website. Cost for one year of this service was $151.37. Megabytes has been advised that we have purchased this service in case it is needed in order to maintain our website. Notification was also received from GoDaddy that website renewal is due 3/31/18. The cost is $359.64 for three years.

A hearing was held on January 10 at the Village Hall regarding the liquor license at Keller’s Crossing at Stone Creek. Present were the Village President, legal counsel Webb Smith, Tim Chrzan, owner of Keller’s Crossing at Stone Creek and court reporter. Mr. Chrzan advised that state fees were paid on January 8. The state license is pending. The Village liquor license is suspended until the state license has been reinstated. President is to be informed when this has taken place. If not reinstated within 30 days the Village license is subject to revocation as stated on the Liquor Ordinance. An agreement was drawn up by legal counsel regarding the outcome from hearing which includes reimbursement by Keller’s Crossing of costs incurred by the Village.

President received a phone call on January 24 from Deborah Johnson at Department of Public Health regarding dumpster at Baggett residence. There are also some tires that need to be removed. Burris will not pick up dumpster until bill has been paid. She has been lenient with enforcing but this has to be taken care of. She has been advised by the resident that the Village has a Cleanup Day every year and they plan to remove trash at that time. President advised Deborah that we would be scheduling a date and she asked if someone would call her to let her know when the date is set. She was also advised that some items are not allowed to be placed in dumpster such as tires and refrigerants. If trash is not taken care of at that time Public Health will have to move forward with enforcement. Since conversation with Deborah, President has received several phone calls from residents complaining about the danger to residents, needles, colostomy bags, are scattered around. Needles have also been reported found at the Pavilion/playground area. President will contact Public Health to see if something can be done as this trash is something that probably cannot be taken care of during Cleanup Day.

President advised Board that Dave Eaves from E.T. Simonds and Richard Melcher at IDOT have both retired. Our Motor Fuel contact at IDOT is now Jay Kranz.

It has been mentioned in previous meetings about safety training for Street and Road workers. President has received notice by mail from CoRE (Coordinated Response Exercise) regarding a program taking place in Marion. This had to do with pipeline safety. The date was February 5. An email was received today from JULIE regarding 2 webinars taking place February 14 and 28 regarding RTE (Remote Ticket Entry). There is no cost. Registration is required. President can forward email if anyone from Streets and Roads would like to respond. Other safety meetings are available as well. Email will be forwarded to Trustee Allen to look over.

A second recall for the 2016 Dodge Ram regarding the Diesel Water Pump has been received. The first recall was for the Brake Transmission Shift Interlock. A remedy for both conditions is not currently available. The original notifications for both recalls are to be filed at the equipment building.

Clerk: Clerk recorded man hours for the month of January.

Trustees: Trustee Hilliard reported that all the new road signs are ready to be installed. There are 25 new signs. He has prepared instructions for proper installation and given them to the Street and Road Crew. Trustee Allen reported that a water hydrant had broken at the equipment building, and has been repaired. He reported that about 20 tons of material had been used to treat the roads during the last snow/ice event. 14 tons of cinders has been purchased from Danny Williams. The F450 has been taken to Dave’s Auto for replacement of the plugs and one coil. The new rope for the flagpole at the Pavilion has been ordered. Trustee Wolff reported that a women’s car ran over the signpost at McGuire and Poplar Camp and it needs to be replaced. Trustee Wolff reported that the backhoe has been serviced per the owner’s manual. He mentioned that the smallest hydraulic cylinder on the boomer mower has been sent out be rebuilt. Trustee Ross reported that she and Trustee Dalton had checked out the little cabin by the Village Hall, and found it to be very sturdy. The trees hanging over the cabin need to be

trimmed. Trustee Ross shared pictures with the Board of the neglected/abandoned properties on Cracker’s Neck, including a refrigerator with the doors still on it. She will call the Health Department about it. President reported that the attorney has recommended the Village write a letter to the property owners. Trustee Wolff suggested calling the newspaper to come report on the situation. Trustee Ross expressed her concerns regarding the amount of time the Board meetings take. Trustee Dalton reported on the concerns of the resident on Church Street, during the most recent snow/ice event.

Fiscal Matters:

     A. Treasurer’s Report: Treasurer reviewed the report to date. Village has received a bill from E.T. Simonds for repair of Cracker’s in amount of $28,335.54.

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

Reports of Standing Committees:

     A. Finance Committee: Reminded the Board of meeting on February 19 at 9:a.m.

     B. Ordinance Committee:

     C. Street & Road Committee: Approval of agreement drawn up by Village legal counsel regarding transfer of maintenance and control of Sheppard Lane from Village of Makanda to Makanda Township. Agreement was provided to Danny Williams on January 20 for his review. He contacted President on February 1 and advised he had spoken with Jackson County Highway Department and was told that we would need to annex the road with right-of-way of 50 feet on either side to the Township as the Village is Incorporated and the Township is not. President has contacted legal counsel to find out how to proceed.

We have used $1,450.65 of the $2,000 Motor Fuel Money that was approved. Of this $522 was for labor and $928.65 was for Village equipment rental which was deposited into the General Fund.

     D. Subdivision Committee:

     E. Insurance Committee:

Reports of Special Committees:

     A. Emergency Disaster Committee:

     B. Special Events Committee:

Ordinances & Resolutions:

Executive Session:

Unfinished/Old Business:

New Business: Trustee Ross inquired about a question she had received from a couple regarding rental of the Community Center and asking if it would be okay if it took them until after midnight to clean up after their event was over. President said she did not see anything wrong with that, since they will have paid for the rental.

Announcements:

Adjournment: President asked for a motion to adjourn the meeting. Motion was made by Trustee Allen and seconded by Trustee Brouillette. Meeting was adjourned at 8:12 p.m.

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