Carbondale Reporter

Village of DeSoto Board of Trustees met July 6.

Here is the minutes provided by the board:

President John Evans called the second first regular monthly 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.

Present:    John Evans                     Tony Rushing

Paulette Johnson            Jennifer Morgan

Cristy Desormeaux         Eric Schuler

Absent:    Brian Gleason

Motion made by Tony Rushing, seconded by Eric Schuler, to dispense with the reading of the minutes of the previous meeting and the minutes of Public Safety Committee meeting and to approve them. Upon roll call vote: Tony Rushing – Yes; Paulette Johnson – Yes; Jennifer Morgan – Yes; Cristy Desormeaux – Yes; Eric Schuler – Yes. Motion carried.

Motion made by Tony Rushing, seconded by Paulette Johnson, to approve the June expense report. Upon roll call vote: Tony Rushing – Yes; Paulette Johnson – Yes; Jennifer Morgan – Yes; Cristy Desormeaux – Yes; Eric Schuler – Yes. Motion carried.

Motion made by Tony Rushing, seconded by Paulette Johnson, to pay the list of bills as presented. Upon roll call vote: Tony Rushing – Yes; Paulette Johnson – Yes; Jennifer Morgan – Yes; Cristy Desormeaux – Yes; Eric Schuler – Yes. Motion carried.

Mark Kelly of Sheffer Insurance was present to discuss the possibility of the Village pursuing property, casual and workers compensation insurance through Illinois County Risk Management Trust (ICMRT) instead of the Illinois Municipal League Risk Management Association (IMLRMA). Mr. Kelly explained that the agreement with IML requires a 120 day notice of the potential to not renew the current risk management policy. Therefore, Mr. Kelly suggested sending a letter to the IMLRMA giving written notice of withdrawal from IMLRMA’s program. Without the 120 day notice, the Village won’t be able to look for a more competitive insurance premium. The letter would give the Village the opportunity to look at other insurance options but still keep the option of renewing the insurance with IMLRMA. Whether or not to send the letter will be decided at the next board meeting. Mr. Kelly and his partner will present a proposal for insurance through ICMRT when they have the information necessary to give the Board a quote.

Motion made by Paulette Johnson, seconded by Tony Rushing, to renew the annual agreement with Ronald Bandy to use his property for parking at the park for $1.00 and to pay the cost from the Petty Cash fund. Upon roll call vote: Tony Rushing – Yes; Paulette Johnson – Yes; Jennifer Morgan – Yes; Cristy Desormeaux – Yes; Eric Schuler – Yes. Motion carried.

Danny Vancil asked the Board to consider providing a clothing allowance for the city maintenance workers. Board members agreed to take it under consideration when they know how COVID 19 is going to affect the budget.

The Public Safety Committee had met on June 25 to discuss hiring a full time police officer. The committee recommended hiring Joseph Prowell because he is already fully trained and had worked for the Village in the past as a part-time police officer.

Motion made by Paulette Johnson, seconded by Tony Rushing, to hire Joseph Prowell as a full-time police officer at $14.00 per hour with a six-month probation period, effective July 13. Upon roll call vote: Tony Rushing – Yes; Paulette Johnson – Yes; Jennifer Morgan – Yes; Cristy Desormeaux – Yes; Eric Schuler – Yes. Motion carried.

The contract with Homefield Energy for the residential power supply will expire. Select Energy will send out Requests for Proposals to suppliers to determine which company has the best rate. The Village will be notified of the quotes. Due to the quick turnaround needed to get the best rate, Select Energy asked that the Village appoint them as Attorney-In-Fact to execute the contract with the company having the best rate.

Motion made by Jennifer Morgan, seconded by Eric Schuler, to approve the Municipality Power of Attorney agreement authorizing Select Energy Partners, LLC as Attorney-in-Fact to execute a Power Supply Agreement with the selected electric supply bidder on behalf of the Village as a member of the Southern Illinois Aggregation Partnership. Upon roll call vote: Tony Rushing – Yes; Paulette Johnson – Yes; Jennifer Morgan – Yes; Cristy Desormeaux – Yes; Eric Schuler – Yes. Motion carried.

Trustee Paulette Johnson had obtained quotes from Egyptian Exterminating and Enviro-Tech for termite control at the park. Representatives from these companies said the problem at the pavilion is not termites. Carpenter ants or ants like carpenter ants are causing the damage. The representative from Egyptian said there was no need to have a termite contract. The current contract with Terminix is for pest control at the pavilion, kitchen, concession stands, restrooms and the village hall. Trustee Johnson will call Terminix to discuss fulfilling the terms of their contract.

Cathy Payne owns the property at 206 East Washington Street where the Skystar office is located. Since the Village would be installing a sidewalk next to Mrs. Payne’s property between Kim and Pine Streets, she asked if the Village would rock an area along the north side of the island that is across from the office so the area could be used for much-needed parking spaces. Trustee Tony Rushing stated that the area to be rocked would be about 8-10 ft. wide by 25 ft. long. The matter will be on the agenda for the next board meeting.

The bid from Illini Asphalt for oil and chipping the designated streets was $35,205.30. The bid was the only one submitted. Motor Fuel Tax funds are used to pay for the oil and chipping.

Motion made by Cristy Desormeaux, seconded by Eric Schuler, to pass Resolution 2020-1 appropriating $40,000.00 of Motor Fuel Tax Funds for the purpose of maintaining streets and highways for the Village of De Soto. Upon roll call vote: Tony Rushing – Yes; Paulette Johnson – Yes; Jennifer Morgan – Yes; Cristy Desormeaux – Yes; Eric Schuler – Yes. Motion carried.

Director of Public Works David Griffin reported the city maintenance employee Mark Ebersohl had given his two-week notice that he was quitting effective July 20.

The next village board meeting will be held Monday, July 20, 2020 at the village hall at 7:00 PM.

Motion made by Tony Rushing, seconded by Cristy Desormeaux, to adjourn at 8:38 PM. Motion carried.

http://villageofdesoto.com/uploads/1/2/5/0/125085618/minutes_7-6-20.pdf