Carbondale Reporter

Village of Makanda Board of Trustees met May 5.

Here is the minutes 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 Allen, Wolff, Ross, Brouillette, Hilliard, and Dalton were present.

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

CITIZEN’S HEARING: President received call from Nina Kovar, owner of Visions on Makanda Boardwalk on May 4. She advised business owners met over the weekend. We spoke about the Face Covering Ordinance. She does not feel

that any business owners are opposed to this Ordinance. We also discussed possible grants/loans for Village business owners. President advised she had been looking into possibilities to help our businesses with rent and utilities through the pandemic. The Governor’s Office is accepting suggestions regarding reopening strategies and is using that information in developing their proposed future guidance. These suggestions may be submitted to the Governor’s Office directly at GOV.COVID19stakeholder@illinois.gov.

President spoke with Larry Millard at north end of Church Street regarding dirt slide on bank at his property. He feels the ditching that was done has caused the bank to fail. He has had a soil test done by Holcomb Engineering. Will probably have to remove the fence and additional trees from what has already had to be removed. At this point he is trying to save his home and yard. He has been advised that rock needs to be placed on the bank to support further dirt from sliding. Larry feels the Village holds some responsibility and is asking for help from the Village with material and hauling of material. Board discussed and concluded that they are not opposed to taking care of any damage that is caused by Village. At this point there is nothing proving the Village is at fault and needs to be looked at by someone who is experienced to possibly determine what caused this problem.

PETITIONS & COMMUNICATIONS: Letter received from Jackson County Clerk and Recorder, Frank Byrd, thanking Village for use of Community Center as a polling place for election. Many people commented on how smooth the election process was handled due to the Coronavirus.

Letter received from Jackson County Health Dept. regarding Solid Mosquito Larvicide renewal. Due to COVID-19, training that was scheduled for April 22 will be rescheduled. Certificate deadline has been extended to December 31. Health Department has been in touch with Dan and larvicide for this year has been delivered to him.

Email received from Egyptian Sealcoating to see if anything needs to be done to the Village Hall parking lot.

CLERK:

TRUSTEES: Trustee Wolff thanked everyone who donated to the Corzine’s, whose home had recently burned to the ground. Trustee Ross inquired if the President had gotten in touch with the resident who has left their car blocking the Veterans Memorial at the Community Center parking lot, for several weeks. President has not been able to contact the resident, but will continue to try to contact them, and ask that they move their car. Trustee Ross inquired if the flagpole at the Bost Monument was going to be taken down. Trustee Allen will look into the situation.

FISCAL MATTERS:

A. Treasurer’s Report: Treasurer presented the Treasurer’s report. 

B. Bills Payable: Treasurer presented the list of the bills payable. 

$100,000 has been transferred from checking to an existing liquid CD.

President asked for a motion to accept the Treasurer’s Report and pay the bills. Trustee Wolff made a motion to accept the Treasurer’s report and pay the bills. It was seconded by Trustee Dalton. 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: Trustee Wolff commended resident Danny Williams for the improvements he has made on Poplar Camp Rd. along his own property. Trustee Dalton had been asked by a resident if the Village would put cold patch on his driveway. Resident had also talked to the Village President and members of the Street and Road crew about the matter. The Village will only do patching on Village property, not private property. President asked if the Board had any recommendations or suggested changes to the Annual Street and Road Report. Board discussed the report, and which roads need to be double sealed.

The following roads are scheduled to be resurfaced: Church Street, Baggett Lane, Crackers Neck and Heern Street, this fiscal year. Trustee Wolff made a motion to accept the Street and Road Report. It was seconded by Trustee Dalton. Voice vote. All present at roll call voted yes. Motion carried.

D. Subdivision Committee: 

E. Insurance Committee:

REPORTS OF SPECIAL COMMITTEES:

A. Emergency Disaster Committee: 

B. Special Events Committee:

ORDINANCES & RESOLUTIONS: Board discussed the Face Covering Ordinance, that was proposed by the Illinois Municipal League for all municipalities in Illinois. President did check with the Village legal counsel who stated that there is no duty on the Village to adopt the Ordinance. Board decided not to adopt the Ordinance.

EXECUTIVE SESSION:

UNFINISHED/OLD BUSINESS: Signs previously discussed for playground, No Parking at Crackers Neck bridge and parking at Village Hall parking lot have been received and Dan is in the process of putting them up. Cost of signs was $167.60. President asked if date should be set for Village Spring Cleanup day in June or July. The Board agreed to discuss possibly setting a date at the June meeting.

President had previously asked Board about hiring someone local to keep our Village website updated. After talking with Go Daddy, President Shingleton recommended paying Go Daddy to maintain the Village website and keep it current. Updates are done monthly and, in some cases, not all updates are automatic and additional updating must be done manually. They have a new program, Standard Website Care. Cost is $450 for six months ($75/mo.) or $800 annually ($66.67/mo.). President suggested trying this to see if it would be cost effective. They would make sure our website is updated and cost would also take care of any modifications we might need done, such as adding/removing pages, modifications to pages, etc. We would only need to let them know what changes we would like to our website. President asked for approval to try for one year. We appropriated $1,000 in this year’s budget for website maintenance. After discussion, a motion was made by Trustee Wolff to hire Go Daddy to maintain the Village website. It was seconded by Trustee Allen. Voice vote. All members present at roll call voted yes. Motion carried.

Update regarding CN PTC Communications Tower:

Scheduled phone calls with Larry Lloyd took place on April 17 and May 1. The railroad has moved the site 80 more feet north which is across from where Mike Brewer lived. The monopole has been reduced from 185 ft. to 155 ft., which includes the 5 ft. lightening rod. President asked Mr. Lloyd if Village would receive final details regarding installation of tower and if permits will be requested from the State and Village. Mr. Lloyd responded they are working with the FCC (Federal Communications Commission). He was also asked if he had read the Village Floodplain Ordinance to which he replied “yes” but was not familiar with the difference between a floodway and floodplain. Next phone call is scheduled for May 15.

Village legal counsel spoke with Larry Lloyd and their legal counsel on April 21. He was advised that CN has moved the PTC Tower as much as they are willing and able. The area across from the Village Hall is not suitable for various technological reasons and the culvert crossing from the parking lot to the area would be incapable of supporting the heavy equipment needed for construction of the tower. Larry also mentioned that a lattice-style tower is by far the more common style of tower but were being respectful of the Village’s concerns over aesthetics. It is Village legal counsel’s opinion that without IDNR weighing in, it is not in the Village’s best interest to take on the railroad over this issue as the railroad would be able to outspend and outlast the Village in litigation.

The issue regarding the rock fill along the railroad tracks was also discussed. CN said this was needed to ensure safe rail for passengers and hazardous materials/freight. They also mentioned wash-outs, derailments, the need to control their own operations, be as safe as possible, etc. Village legal counsel has reached out to IDNR by phone and email and is waiting to hear back from them regarding both issues.

NEW BUSINESS: President spoke with Tim Chrzan regarding renewal of Keller’s Crossing at Stone Creek liquor license with the Village. State licenses for those expiring March through June 2020 have been extended until July 31. Tim is in the process of getting everything together to renew both their Village and State licenses. President suggested the Village pro-rate the Liquor License fee due the closure of businesses because of the COVID-19 virus outbreak. The Village Board approved pro-rating the annual license fee for Keller’s Crossing at Stone Creek.

ANNOUNCEMENTS: President asked everyone to remind anyone they speak to regarding responding to the 2020 Census. As of April 27, there has only been a 55.9% response from Makanda residents.

ADJOURNMENT: President asked for a motion to adjourn the meeting. Motion was made by Trustee Ross and seconded by Trustee Wolff. Voice vote. All present at roll call voted yes. Motion carried. Meeting was adjourned at 8:20 p.m.

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