Carbondale Reporter

Village of DeSoto Board of Trustees met Dec. 21.

Here are the minutes provided by the board:

President John Evans called the second 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. The meeting was held via telephone conference due to COVID-19 restrictions.

Present: Tony Rushing Brian Gleason

Paulette Johnson John Evans

Jennifer Morgan Eric Schuler

Absent: Cristy Desormeaux

Others present on the call were David Griffin, Julie White, Doug Hexamer, and Tracy Rone of CourtMoney.

Motion made by Paulette Johnson, seconded by Jennifer Morgan, to dispense with the reading of the minutes and to approve them. Upon roll call vote: Tony Rushing – Yes; Brian Gleason – Yes; Paulette Johnson – Yes; Jennifer Morgan – Yes; Eric Schuler – Yes. Motion carried.

Motion made by Eric Schuler, seconded by Tony Rushing, to approve the November revenue report. Upon roll call vote: Tony Rushing – Yes; Brian Gleason – Yes; Paulette Johnson – Yes; Jennifer Morgan – Yes; Eric Schuler – Yes. Motion carried.

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

Tracy Rone of CourtMoney explained the details of their services as a credit/debit card provider for municipalities that gives customers the option of paying their utilities bills with their credit/debit cards at no cost to the Village. The cardholders pay a minimal fee to CourtMoney for the service at the time of payment. In addition, CourtMoney handles all credit/debit card disputes, fraud or chargebacks that occur, eliminating this risk for the Village. The fee scale is $1.75 for payments up to $50 and 3.5% on payments over $50.

Motion made by Paulette Johnson, seconded by Jennifer Morgan, to contract with CourtMoney for the credit/debit card payment services. Upon roll call vote: Tony Rushing – Yes; Brian Gleason – Yes; Paulette Johnson – Yes; Jennifer Morgan – Yes; Eric Schuler – Yes. Motion carried.

President John Evans had talked again with Joe Dively, CEO of First-Mid Bank and Trust. President Evans felt that First-Mid’s decision to close the De Soto branch was final. Mr. Dively gave President Evans permission to give his phone number to anyone who wants to talk directly with him.

President Evans appointed Paulette Johnson as chair of the special committee for trying to get another bank to put a branch in De Soto. Committee members are Paulette Johnson, Tony Rushing, Jennifer Morgan, Dana Smith and Lola Jones.

Mr. Evans recommended passing a resolution to move the Village’s money to the new bank if another bank puts a branch in De Soto.

Trustee Tony Rushing reported that Harold Sheffer said the Village has until the middle of March to decide if they want to pursue an EPA loan for a Phase IV Watermain Replacements project.

Trustee Rushing said the Water Committee will meet after the first of the year to decide on a recommendation for a water rate increase.

Mr. Rushing reported that J. T. Jenkins of Kinkaid-Reed Water Conservancy District had determined that their meter was running about 8.5% more than actual gallon usage.

Trustee Rushing stated that he is very impressed with the city maintenance workers’ performance.

Trustee Paulette Johnson stated that Santa (Trustee Eric Schuler), Mrs. Santa (Trustee Jennifer Morgan) and Santa’s elf (Joseph Morgan) rode around town and greeted children on Sunday, December 20. They were well received.

Trustee Johnson had found that Ken’s Reproductions has the best price for lighting on the park walking path.

Mrs. Johnson reported that the Village’s grant application for the demolition of abandoned properties had been denied. Trustee Johnson wants to use the Village’s revitalization funds to pursue cleaning up the property at 215 N. Walnut.

Director of Public Works David Griffin had met with Jeff Boling of IDOT in regard to the installation of a sidewalk across from the school crosswalk on Highway 149. Mr. Griffin had previously submitted his sketch of the plan. Mr. Boling returned the sketch with notes. Mr. Griffin feels that this project is getting more complicated than originally anticipated. He will give the new plan to Travis Fred for his input and a new price quote. Trustee Johnson commented that there might not be enough students impacted by the sidewalk to justify the cost and that installing a sidewalk was a suggestion and not a requirement.

Mr. Griffin reported that Kinkaid had recalibrated the meter on December 1. From that point on, the readings have been down.

The next village board meeting will be held Monday, January 4, 2021, at 7:00 p.m. via telephone conference. The public may join the meeting by calling 1-978-990-5087 and entering the access code 536100.

Motion made by Paulette Johnson, seconded by Tony Rushing, to adjourn at 7:51 PM. Motion carried.

http://villageofdesoto.com/uploads/1/2/5/0/125085618/minutes_12-21-20__1_.pdf