Carbondale Reporter

Village of Makanda Board of Trustees met Oct. 3.

Here are the minutes provided by the board:

PLEDGE OF ALLEGIANCE

CALL TO ORDER: Regular meeting of the Board of Trustees was called to order at 7:00p.m. by President Tina Shingleton.

ROLL CALL: Clerk called the roll of the Village Board: Trustees Hilliard, Pitcher, Allen, Ross, Dalton, and Wolff, were present.

APPROVAL OF MINUTES: President asked for a motion to approve the minutes from the last meeting. Trustee Wolff made a motion to accept the minutes from the last meeting, with the change to the wording of the second paragraph under Street and Road Committee, from “the motion was tabled” to “no action was taken”. It was seconded by Trustee Dalton. Voice vote. All members present at roll call voted yes. Motion carried.

CITIZEN’S HEARING: Michelle and Victor Cardenaz to observe. Jamie Hagy Folyer and Erick Wagner were present to request a permit for construction of two new roadways on Lower Cobden Road. Village President will mail it to them. Once they have completed and returned the permit to the Board, the Board will review it, before approval to proceed can be given. Jamie thanked the Board for allowing then 4H group to use the B.C. Ross Community Center during the previous school year.

PETITIONS AND COMMUNICATIONS: President received correspondence from Western Egyptian Economic Opportunity Council regarding the Low Income Home Energy Assistance Program. A flyer with details was included and will be posted at the Post Office and on Boardwalk.

Communication was received from Greater Egypt Regional Planning and Development Commission for membership. Annual fee is $150.00. President will check to see if this membership would be beneficial.

President received an email from the Illinois Municipal League asking for municipalities to send photos of a local festival or event or school children or a group of people or an attraction or historical marker to them to share via their website before October 31.

CLERK: Jim Closson, our IMLRMA representative, has been contacted to come and do a playground inspection, before Vulture Fest, and inspect the broken sidewalk on Baptist Hill. Clerk attended a Zoom meeting for Jackson County Solid Waste and Recycling Planning, which is in the process of reviewing their current plan and gathering input from area municipalities.

TRUSTEES: Trustee Hilliard turned in a bill from Ed for his electrical work on the electrical board at the Pavilion. Trustee Hilliard will install a new lock on the electrical board. Trustee Allen inquired if the Village could patch the potholes in front of the Post Office. President Shingleton stated that it was a state road, and the state is required to fix it. Trustee Allen reported that he had been talking with Senator Dave Fowler and Senator Fowler gave Trustee Allen his card to give to President Shingleton and requested that Trustee Allen asked her to call his office and set up a visit. Trustee Ross reported that half of the Heern Street sign is missing. There is a problem with a resident speeding on Crackers Neck. President Singleton said she would talk to the resident.

FISCAL MATTERS:

A. Treasurer’s Report: Treasurer presented the Treasurer’s Report to the Board. B. Bills Payable: Treasurer presented the Bills Payable.

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 Ross. Voice vote. All present at roll call voted yes. Motion carried.

Board discussed current interest rates at First Southern. They are currently offering 5.15% for 5 months. Trustee Wolff made a motion to transfer $100,000 from General Fund to a 5 month CD at 5.15% at First Southern Bank. It was seconded by Trustee Allen. 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:

Trustees Pitcher and Ross were absent at the September Board meeting, so Trustee Wolff presented a summary of his efforts to find a solution to resurfacing the portion of Baptist Hill that needs to be resurfaced. Trustee Ross stated that tar and chip was not an acceptable solution, for Baptist Hill. Trustee Ross will call Mike Bost and Calvin at Giant City State Park. President will call HMG for an estimate on just the portion that needs to be resurfaced. President Shingleton has looked into grants, but the Village did not qualify for them. President will call Senator Dale Fowler. Board discussed. No action was taken.

D. Subdivision Committee:

E. Insurance Committee:

F. Playground Committee: President has been working with Dan regarding replacement of mulch at Playground before Vulture Fest. Money was set aside for mulch and cost has not changed. Dan called Hileman’s Bobcat Service in Anna to see if they could remove old mulch and replace playground with new mulch. They are booked out and unable to do before Vulture Fest. Dan and Randy should be able to handle it. We will need to rent a ditch witch to remove and replace mulch. Cost for rental is $200/day and should take 3 to 4 days. President asked Board for approval to move forward. Board agreed we should move forward.

REPORTS OF SPECIAL COMMITTEES:

A. Emergency Disaster Committee:

B. Special Events Committee:

ORDINANCES & RESOLUTIONS: President advised that she had talked to Patrick at IDOT and he agreed that the Village could increase the Motor Fuel for snow removal request from $2,000 to $3,000 dollars. Trustee Ross made a motion to increase the amount requested for snow removal to $3,000. It was seconded by Trustee Dalton. All those present at roll call voted yes. Motion carried.

EXECUTIVE SESSION:

UNFINISHED/OLD BUSINESS: President provided an update regarding purchase of property from Bud Barnett and John Newsome. Since there has not been any movement regarding purchase of property, President put together a document which has been reviewed by Village legal counsel giving the Village permission to mow and use their property for parking during Vulture Fest. We will need to advise IML regarding use of this property so they are aware and it can be covered under Village insurance.

President received an e-mail update from Jordan Haarmann with AGE stating they are moving forward with the contracts with Homefield Energy for the electric aggregation program. The contract will be a 5-year base agreement with AGE managing the shorter fixed rate terms throughout the 5-year agreement. The initial rate lock will be for the first 7 months at $0.08473/kWh from December 2023-July 2024. They anticipate Ameren IL will be at $0.084-$0.085 per kWh from January 2024-June 2024 which puts us on par as expected from the initial onset of the agreement and they anticipate savings to grow over the 5-year period. Going forward, they expect to lock rates in 12-month increments. They will be monitoring the market closely. A timeline of when opt-out notices are expected to be sent to eligible residents for the new rate secured is being put together.

President Shingleton advised she had sent a letter to Erick Wagner, advising him that the Village has an Ordinance for new construction of a road entrance along roads being maintained by the Village of Makanda and a permit is required for approval by the Village Board. If he would like a copy of the Ordinance and permit the Village will provide a copy. The letter also asked that the use of the unauthorized entrance that has been opened be immediately discontinued and closed off.

NEW BUSINESS:

GENERAL ANNOUNCEMENTS: President advised that she has receive permit application and fee for Vulture Fest. The liability insurance certificate was received in July.

ADJOURNMENT: President asked for a motion to adjourn the meeting. Motion was made by Trustee Wolff and seconded by Trustee Ross. Voice vote. All present at roll call voted yes. Motion carried. Meeting was adjourned at 8:59 p.m.

https://villageofmakanda.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/11/October-3-2023-Board-Minutes.pdf