Carbondale Reporter

Village of Makanda Board of Trustees met Feb. 11.

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, and Dalton were present. Trustee Brouillette and Hilliard was absent.

APPROVAL OF MINUTES: President asked for a motion to approve the minutes of the last meeting. Trustee Wolff 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: Lorraine and Malcolm Leigh were present to discuss the letter from Fletcher & Sippel LLC regarding the white rock the Illinois Central Railroad has placed along the west side of the tracks and east side of Drury Creek, which may cause increased flood damage on the west side of the valley, to the Post Office, and other buildings. Malcolm discussed a possible next letter to the railroad attorneys, stating the damage to the Village that is being caused by the placement of their rock. In placing that rock and changing the flow of the floodwater, the railroad is in violation of not only our Village ordinances, but also state and federal laws as well. Malcom suggested the Village should request an Encroachment Analysis from the railroad.

PETITIONS & COMMUNICATIONS:

President advised Trustee Brouillette is not present as he is not feeling well. She and Trustee Wolff provided an update regarding Trustee Hilliard.

Letter received from Jackson County Clerk requesting use of B.C. Ross Community Center for the Primary Election on March 17, 2020 and the General Election on November 3, 2020.

Received correspondence from Asaturian, Eaton, and Associates advising affiliation with Henry, Meisenheimer & Gende (HMG) Engineers Inc., headquartered in Breese, IL, effective January 1, 2020. They will continue to provide the same quality engineering and land surveying services as in the past. Praveen Sunny is the new President of the company. Rick Asaturian is Vice President and Director of Building Systems Engineering. Both co-founders, Armen Asaturian and Bob Eaton, will continue in the company as it moves forward.

President received a call from Ed Stallman with IDOT on January 11 regarding replacement of culvert at entrance to Old Eastern Star Trail. She assisted with contacting residents to make them aware of the repair. Work was done on January 28.

CLERK: Clerk distributed the Annual Statements of Economic Interest to the Trustees that were present. Trustees completed the forms. President will follow up with Trustees Hilliard and Brouillette, then mail forms to the Jackson County Clerk.

TRUSTEES: Trustee Allen requested the Board consider a salary increase for Danny Walker and Randy Williams, Street and Road Crew. After discussion the Board agreed a raise was in order. Trustee Wolff made a motion to increase the hourly rate for Danny from $19 to $20/hr. and Randy from $16 to $18/hr. It was seconded by Trustee Dalton. Voice vote. All present at roll call voted yes. Motion carried. These raises will start in May 2020, the new fiscal year. Trustee Wolff stated that Rowan Rd. needs ditch work, and the ditch work at the bottom of

Baptist Hill may need to be contracted out. Trustee Allen reported that ditch work is needed on McGuire Rd., he recommended contracting out the ditch work. Trustee Wolff reported that better lighting is needed at the Maintenance Bldg. and an electrical line to the Storage Shed for lighting and a few outlets. Trustees Wolff and Allen will get an estimate for the work and present it to the Board. President stated that electrical work is also needed at the Village Hall and she would talk with the electrician. Trustee Ross had advised the President that a new water heater was needed at the Community Center. President called Thad Ellet Plumbing, for an estimate. Cost will run about $900. President asked for approval to have the repair done. Board approved. Trustee Ross reported that the drainage behind the Community Center needs to be redone with new pipe and rock. There is also standing water at the picnic table. Trustee Ross requested that the rental fee for the Community Center be increased to $45 for residents and $75 for non-residents. Trustee Allen suggested $50 for residents. Board agreed to the $50 and $75 increases. Trustee Ross inquired about the plan for the Bost Monument flagpole. Board discussed. It was decided to take down that flagpole, as there are already several others in the Village. President was contacted by Trustee Ross regarding road repair needed on Baggett Lane. She contacted Dan Walker who checked road and repairs were made to east side of road. Repairs to west side cannot be done until mini track hoe is rented as road is too narrow. Trustee Ross inquired if Danny Williams was going to remove the trees that he had knocked down into people’s yards on the north end of Crackers Neck. President stated that the Village cannot work on private property, but the Village can cleanup the ditches. Trustee Ross inquired about the ditch work on Heern St., President advise that she had received a phone call from Dalton Brown at E. T. Simonds advising that the repair to Heern Street had been done. Trustee Dalton reported that on Church St., there is an ongoing problem with mud across the road from a resident’s property. President will consult with Village attorney, and then talk with the resident.

FISCAL MATTERS:

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

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

Repairs to bathrooms at Village Hall and Community Center were completed on January 23. President spoke with Trustee Hilliard and he suggested to have a shutoff put on a pipe in the Village Hall office that had been crimped and make sure a shutoff was put on the hot water heater. The final cost for repairs was $3,977.52.

President asked for a motion to accept the Treasurer’s Report and pay the bills. Trustee Allen made a motion to accept the Treasures 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: President spoke with legal counsel, Don Prosser, on January 23 regarding broken curbing on Baptist Hill. He contacted Buncombe Water District legal counsel, Mike Twomey and was advised he would request this be placed on the water district February meeting agenda and will call Mr. Prosser after their meeting.

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:

President and Village Clerk met with Beck Simonds on January 9 at the Village Hall to give him history of previous meetings with Stone Creek Homeowners Association regarding maintenance of subdivision roads. Documents previously provided were given to Mr. Simonds.

President spoke with legal counsel, Webb Smith, regarding Abandoned Property located on Cracker’s Neck. She provided site addresses of property to move forward.

President and Clerk gave update regarding the railroad communication tower.

• Phone call with Larry Lloyd on January 31 was canceled. A call took place on February 7 with CN, the FCC, and State Historic Preservation Office in Springfield to discuss impact on historic properties. It does not seem like this will have any effect on placement of the communication tower.

• Phone call took place earlier today (February 11) with Larry Lloyd to review information provided from the 2/7 phone call regarding offered sites. Board was provided photos of the two sites being offered by the railroad which are 200 ft. apart. Mr. Lloyd was advised that neither site should be an option.

• It was suggested we might want the Village legal counsel to write a letter to the Secretary of Transportation, Homeland Security, and FEMA Administration.

• President has contacted State Representative Patrick Windhorst’s office to provide his assistant with an update. She was advised they will contact IDNR to see if required documentation has been received from railroad.

• Village Clerk has spoken with Calvin Beckmann at Giant City State Park. They own some of the property across from the Community Center. They would need a survey done to see where the property lies. Mr. Beckmann put Village Clerk in contact with Charles Frerker with the US Army Corps of Engineers in St. Louis. He advised her the railroad does not supersede State or Federal law. He also said that with the right permits, the potential wet land issues could be modified, and the site made acceptable.

NEW BUSINESS: When repairs were done to bathrooms in Village Hall, President noted the light switch in the furnace room and lights in garage were not working properly. She suggested having an electrician check this issue. It was suggested that this be done when an estimate is provided for electricity work at the equipment building.

ANNOUNCEMENTS: Finance Meeting Saturday February 15, Village Hall at 9 a.m.

ADJOURNMENT: President asked for a motion to adjourn the meeting. Motion was made by Trustee Wolff and seconded by Trustee Dalton. Voice vote. All present at roll call voted yes. Motion carried. Meeting was adjourned at 8:22 p.m.

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