Village of Desoto Board of Trustees met June 3.
Here is the minutes provided by the board:
President John Evans called the first regular meeting of the De Soto Village Board of Trustees to order at 7:00 P.M. Village Clerk Paula Parks was present to record the minutes.
Village Clerk Paula Parks administered the Oath of Office to Trustee Brian Gleason.
Present: Tony Rushing, Paulette Johnson, John Evans, Cristy Desormeaux, Eric Schuler, Brian Gleason
Absent: Jennifer Morgan
Motion made by Tony Rushing, seconded by Eric Schuler, to dispense with the reading of the minutes and to approve them. Motion carried.
Approval of the May expense report was delayed while Treasurer Dana Smith made some corrections.
Motion made by Tony Rushing, seconded by Cristy Desormeaux, to pay the list of bills. Upon roll call vote: Tony Rushing – Yes; Brian Gleason – Yes; Paulette Johnson – Yes; Cristy Desormeaux – Yes; Eric Schuler – Yes. Motion carried.
Carol and Bill Cain were present to discuss concerns about their water line on 101 Williams Road. Mrs. Cain explained that the water line was originally installed as part of Butch Hale’s property. The water line is run under water from the north side of their property and connected at the meter on Bridgewood Drive. Nothing has been done to the water line since the original installation. Mrs. Cain expressed her concerns about the age of the water line and the fact that the water line is under water. She said it would be very difficult to find a leak, and they might be without water for an undetermined amount of time. In addition to these concerns, Mrs. Cain pointed out that their line runs across other people’s property, which would make finding and repairing a leak even more difficult. The Cains are trying to be proactive before there is a problem. Mrs. Cain asked if the Village would install a new line from the flush valve at Fred Alstat’s property to the end of the driveway of their property where they would tap on. Trustee Tony Rushing explained there isn’t anything the Village can do unless there is a leak or difficulties such as low water pressure. He felt there might be problems getting a permit from the EPA to install the line. He also explained that installing the new line is currently not economically feasible. However, Mr. Rushing said he would call the village engineer to see what, if anything, can be done.
Motion made by Paulette Johnson, seconded by Tony Rushing, to approve the May expense report as corrected. Motion carried.
Melissa Waterman asked if a crosswalk could be painted where the culvert is at the community garden. She explained that vehicles are not slowing down on Oak Street by the community garden nor stopping at the stop sign at the intersection of S. Oak St. and E. Douglas St., which is a safety hazard for children and pedestrians crossing from the church parking lot to the community garden. Director of Public Works David Griffin will paint the crosswalk and a stop line at the stop sign.
Tom Smith was not present to discuss his request to vacate the end of Briarwood Drive by his house.
Travis Fred presented a verbal bid for repairing the sidewalk at the corner of W. Lincoln and N. Hickory to make the curb ADA compliant. Mr. Fred stated that the oil and chipping would have to be replaced on the side of the street next to the sidewalk that is used for parking. Mr. Fred’s estimate for the sidewalk would be $7,619.49 without the oil and chipping. Director of Public Works David Griffin will get an estimate for the cost of the oil and chipping from Bill Center of J. T. Blankinship. Mr. Fred will submit his final bid at the next board meeting.
President John Evans explained that the Village has been approved for the Phase III Watermain Replacements project and paying off the IEPA loan for the Phase I Watermain Replacements Project would eliminate an annual payment of $19,183.72 for Phase I from the budget. The early payoff would save a total of $46,325.50 in interest. The Village has the funds to pay the loan off in the Water Savings Account.
Motion made by Tony Rushing, seconded by Eric Schuler, to pay off IEPA Loan No. L175314 for the Phase I Watermain Replacements Project in the amount of $287,584.89. Upon roll call vote: Tony Rushing – Yes; Brian Gleason – Yes; Paulette Johnson – Yes; Cristy Desormeaux – Yes; Eric Schuler – Yes. Motion carried.
Trustee Tony Rushing has talked with Deborah Johnson and Bart at the Jackson County Health Department in regard to property maintenance. Mrs. Johnson thought maybe the Village could use the nuisance ordinance to speed up the process on abandoned houses. She asked that the Village to let her know if they find a way to speed up the process so she could pass the information on to other municipalities.
Jennifer Morgan entered the meeting at 7:41 PM and took her seat.
Mr. Rushing said that Mrs. Johnson said that some municipalities rent the machinery to tear the houses down themselves to save money. Demolishing houses still must go through the process required by statute.
Brigitta Mac Rizzo, Deputy Director of the Jackson County Housing Authority, had emailed information about drafting an ordinance for rental regulation in Illinois municipalities.
Brian Gleason reported that Mr. Parsons had started removing the veneer from the building on the corner of Highway 51 and Highway 149. Ben Doan and David Griffin will inspect the building to make sure it is safe. Trustee Gleason asked Jana Fann to send a letter to Mr. Parsons as a matter of record.
Jana Fann had talked with Lloyd Nelson of Jackson County Animal Control in regard to the red foxes. Mr. Nelson said there are no problems having foxes around. They kill snakes and rabbits. The female foxes are denning and giving birth to their kits and most likely will move on when their babies are weaned. He said if people are putting cat food out, they will get used to eating the cat food and hang around. Mrs. Fann also called the Illinois Department of Natural Resources (IDNR), and they said the same thing. People should stay away from the foxes and not feed them.
Trustee Paulette Johnson reported that the dedication ceremony for Jenny Finney Way was nice. There were many smiles and a lot of tears. Trustee Johnson said she appreciated Joe LeForge for providing the sound equipment and setting it up and taking it down and David Griffin for all of his efforts in getting the trailer and hanging the signs.
Trustee Johnson reported information she had obtained from other municipalities, including Dowell, Elkville, Ava and West Frankfort, about what they are doing with rental property maintenance. Elkville and Dowell are getting ready to adopt an ordinance. An attorney is drafting the ordinance that would require landlords to have a property inspection by a licensed inspector before getting the water turned on. This puts the responsibility for the inspection on the landlord and not the Village. The Board needs to gather information for the next few months and schedule a Public Safety Committee meeting in regard to the issue.
David Griffin said the weed man was coming back to spray spots that had been missed.
The next board meeting will be held Monday, June 17 at 7 PM at the Village Hall.
Motion made by Tony Rushing, seconded by Brian Gleason, to adjourn the meeting at 8:31 PM. Motion carried.
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