Carbondale Reporter

Village of De Soto Board of Trustees met June 16.

Here are the minutes provided by the board:

President Eric Schuler called the second 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 : Tony Rushing Brian Gleason

Nichole Galloway Eric Schuler

Jennifer Morgan Cristy Desormeaux

Rachel Alstat

Motion made by Brian Gleason, seconded by Cristy Desormeaux, to dispense with the reading of the minutes and to approve them. Motion carried.

Motion made by Jennifer Morgan, seconded by Rachel Alstat, to approve the May revenue report. Motion carried.

Motion made by Tony Rushing, seconded by Brian Gleason, to pay the list of bills. Upon roll call vote: Tony Rushing – Yes; Brian Gleason – Yes; Nichole Galloway – Yes; Jennifer Morgan – Yes; Cristy Desormeaux – Yes; Rachel Alstat – Yes. Motion carried.

President Schuler opened the hearing at 7:30 PM petitioned by Tyler Woods and Julie Jordan because they had not been able to obtain consents from property owners within 100 ft to place a manufactured home at 106 N. Pecan St. President Schuler read Section 23-1-8 of the ordinance, Effects of Beng Unable to Obtain Consents’

Julie Jordan addressed the Board and stated that she had contacted a realtor to get an estimated value and assessment of the property, but the realtor was unable to get back to her with written documentation. The realtor told her that the manufactured home would add value to the lot by adding utilities to the lot and with their planned landscaping. Ms. Jordan said the manufactured home was valued at $60,000.00. They also planned to add vinyl siding on the manufactured home once it was moved. Ms. Jordan explained that it was a 1985 mobile home that had been completely gutted in 2024 - electrical, water, walls, ceiling and floor. She said the home has been brought up to code and has passed safety and fire inspections. She presented pictures of the home. Ms. Woods had tried to reach all property owners within 100 ft, but she was unable to do so.

President Schuler stated that in accordance with Section 23-1-8 (E) of the manufactured home ordinance, notice had been mailed via certified mail to all of the property owners whose consent was required. Four people had signed for their letters, and two people had not. None of these property owners were present at the meeting. Board members were given an opportunity to ask questions, and community residents present were given an opportunity to present evidence concerning the matter.

As there was no further discussion, motion made by Cristy Desormeaux, seconded by Rachel Alstat, to waive signatures for the frontage consents to place a manufactured home at 106 N. Pecan St. Upon roll call vote: Tony Rushing – Yes; Brian Gleason – Yes; Nichole Galloway – Yes; Jennifer Morgan – Yes; Cristy Desormeaux – Yes; Rachel Alstat – Yes. Motion carried.

The hearing ended at 7:27 PM.

Discussion then began regarding Tyler Woods and Julie Jordan’s request for a variance to place the 1985 manufactured home since it did not meet the age requirements according to Section 23-1-5 of the manufactured home ordinance, Minimum Size and Maximum Age. One board member was concerned that even though the inside of the mobile home looked good, there was no guarantee that the vinyl siding would be installed once the mobile home was moved. Also, there was no written documentation of the inspections and the appraised value of the manufactured home.

Motion made by Cristy Desormeaux, seconded by Rachel Alstat, to approve the application from Tyler Woods and Julie Jordan for a variance to the age requirement to place a manufactured home at 106 N. Pecan St. Upon roll call vote: Tony Rushing – Yes; Brian Gleason- No; Nichole Galloway – No; Jennifer Morgan – No; Cristy Desormeaux – Yes; Rachel Alstat – Yes. The motion failed due to a lack of 5 yes votes per Section 23-1-5 of the manufactured home ordinance. The variance was not granted.

Trustee Tony Rushing left the meeting at 7:49 PM.

Motion made by Jennifer Morgan, seconded by Brian Gleason, to reimburse the De Soto Little League $1,200.00 for one-third of the cost of $3,600.00 that De Soto Little League paid to Big Muddy Land Surveying for extensive work on both ball fields. Upon roll call vote: Brian Gleason – Yes; Nichole Galloway – Yes; Jennifer Morgan – Yes; Cristy Desormeaux – Yes; Rachel Alstat – Yes. Motion carried.

Motion made by Jennifer Morgan, seconded by Nichole Galloway, to reimburse the De Soto Little League $251.67 for one-third of the cost of $755.00 that De Soto Little League paid to RMP Sports, Inc. and CH Driver and Anchor Products for supplies used on both ball fields. Upon roll call vote: Brian Gleason – Yes; Nichole Galloway – Yes; Jennifer Morgan – Yes; Cristy Desormeaux – Yes; Rachel Alstat – Yes. Motion carried.

Effective January 1, 2026, the state of Illinois will repeal the 1% grocery retailers occupation tax and grocery service occupation tax. Municipalities are allowed to implement the 1% grocery taxes. This would replace the revenue lost from the repeal of the state taxes.

Motion made by Brian Gleason, seconded by Nichole Galloway, to implement the municipal 1% grocery retailers’ occupation tax and municipal 1% grocery service occupation tax. Upon roll call vote: Brian Gleason – Yes; Nichole Galloway – Yes; Jennifer Morgan – Yes; Cristy Desormeaux – Yes; Rachel Alstat – Yes. Motion carried. The ordinance implementing these taxes will be presented at the next board meeting.

Residents from the 300 block of E. Lincoln St. were present to complain about an individual speeding up and down the street as well as two persons driving dirt bikes recklessly up and down the streets. They have called the De Soto, county and state police but the police can’t do anything unless they actually catch the person or persons in act, even with videos. These residents feel unsafe in their community. Police Chief Ben Doan stated that the police department is aware of the problem, and they are doing what they can to resolve the problem. President Schuler told them to keep taking videos and to keep calling. He said the De Soto Police Department was doing the best they could.

Trustee Jennifer Morgan, reported that the Park Committee had met at 6:00 PM to discuss the Party at the Park to be held July 12, 2025. They discussed sponsorships, various events, and ordering banners. The Park Committee will meet again on Monday, July 7 at 5:30 PM.

Trustee Morgan said there were concerns about the flooring in the small concession stand at the park and the dirt from the west ball field running across the sidewalk causing a potential hazard.

Trustee Jennifer Morgan presented an application for a building permit from Kenneth Gillmore to build a 20’ by 24’ garage at 103 S Camelot. The owner had already poured the concrete for the garage but it was not within the required specifications of 10 feet from the property line.

Motion made by Jennifer Morgan, seconded by Brian Gleason, to deny the application from Kenneth Gillmore for a permit to build a 20’ x 24’ building at 103 S. Camelot based on the inspection by Director of Public Works Danny Vancil that the building would not be at least 10 feet from the property line. Upon roll call vote: Brian Gleason – Yes; Nichole Galloway – Yes; Jennifer Morgan – Yes; Cristy Desormeaux – Yes; Rachel Alstat – Yes. Motion carried.

The next village board meeting will be held Monday, July 7, 2025, at 7:00 PM at the village hall.

Motion made by Brian Gleason, seconded by Rachel Alstat, to adjourn at 8:46 PM.

https://villageofdesoto.com/uploads/1/2/5/0/125085618/minutes_6-16-25.docx