Members of the Village of Pleasant Plains board met Monday, May 9.
Here are the meeting minutes as provided by the Village of Pleasant Plains board:
Village of Pleasant Plains
200 West Fourth Street, P. O. Box 177, Pleasant Plains, Illinois 62677 (217)626-1024
9:00 a.m. - 1:00 p.m.
Monday through Friday
MAY, 2016
The Village Board of Pleasant Plains met in a regular session on Monday, May 9, 2016, at 7:00 p.m., at the Village Hall. President Jim Verkuilen called the meeting to order and roll was recorded:
Mike Huber present
Elizabeth Rollins present
William Riggins, Jr present
Darrell “Duey” Blair present
Frank Sommer present
Wayne Heideman present
President Verkuilen declared a quorum present.
Staff Present: Jim Verkuilen, Mayor
Carl Draper, Attorney
Brett Keyes, Treasurer
Judy Reiser, Village Clerk
Dave Stewart, Water Superintendent
Neil McCafferty, Assistant Water Superintendent
Greg Miles, Streets Superintendent
Visitor(s): Greta Myers, Ben Spreen, Tony Nudo, Larry Wade, Gary Kiel, Rex Jaronske
Agenda for the Village Board Meeting was reviewed. There were no additions or corrections.
Minutes were reviewed for the April 11, 2016, Village Board Meeting. Trustee Bill Riggins, Jr. verified that he was re-appointed as the Finance Committee Chairman. Trustee Bill Riggins, Jr. made a motion to accept the minutes as written and a second was made by Trustee Mike Huber President Verkuilen declared the motion carried by a unanimous aye vote.
Water Department: Superintendent Dave Stewart stated the water department was “thriving”. Ben Spreen, Benton & Associates, reviewed apparent water losses, unmetered water, unbilled water, and water for flushing, leaks which will bring the water loss percentage down which will give us a better idea of what the actual percentage of loss what is. Ben states 10% of water loss would be acceptable. Test well proposals will be mailed soon to four contractors. Brotcke, Layne, Water Solutions and Cahoy. They will also send one to Grouse from Mason City. Ben asked that if there is anyone else interested please get in touch with him so he can send them a proposal.
Multi service hook-ups were brought up for discussion. There are at least four residents that have been identified as being in violation of this ordinance. However it may be necessary that a check valve be installed for safety issues. If they change the use, i.e. make a garage into an apartment after the bathroom was installed; add hook-up to mobile home on property, turn a structure into rental property, etc. then something will need to be done so they are not in violation of the ordinance. This topic will be discussed further in the future.
Street Department: Greg reports that he has been working on the budget for the Street Department and his MFT plan. He will be submitting his plan to the engineers at Benton & Associates to be forwarded on for approval from IDOT. He is recommending the use of $32,000 MFT funds and $15,660 from Road & Bridge to cover the costs he is predicting for oil & chip this year. Greg also presented a map of the problem areas he is planning to apply a seal coat. Township is not sure they will be receiving the landfill tags this year from the Sangamon County Health Department. If not, we will need to take that extra cost into consideration this fall when we schedule clean-up days.
Water Drainage on Jefferson Street Update: Greg is still waiting on someone to blow out the culverts on Jefferson Street. It is possible the Fire Department may be able to assist. Trustee Wayne Heideman will follow on this. The school is still in their planning stage on this project.
Dumpsters: Rex Jaronske, Lake Area Disposal, brought to the attention of the board his concern with waste hauling companies, that are not licensed in the village, that are providing construction boxes, etc. to the residents in Pleasant Plains. He feels it only fair that these companies pay their annual license fee as well. Since the residents would not be aware of this, Rex suggested we notify the companies they are in violation. Attorney Draper will do further research and it will be placed on the agenda next month.
Chickens: Tony Nudo presented some guidelines that he felt the Board may want to go by when rewriting the ordinance pertaining to chickens. Trustee Darrell “Duey” Blair indicated to Mr. Nudo he was not aware they were going to rewrite this ordinance. Mr. Nudo stated, “I’m asking you too.”
Larry Wade spoke indicating he felt there was an overwhelming majority of people that are not in favor of having chickens in their neighborhood due their filth and the decrease in property value it would cause. He indicated he would get a petition started if need be. Gary Kiel expressed his concerns about chickens. He has nothing against chickens themselves however the issue is the eyesore and dirty chicken coups, the smell, brings rodents to the area, and the fact wondering cats kill wondering chickens. He feels it would create more problems with people wanting other animals like geese, etc. Trustee Mike Huber stated he has nothing against chickens but is it feasible for the Board to continue the discussion if there isn’t a majority vote. Trustee Bill Riggins, Jr., stated the Village has already spent $1,000 in attorney fees over this matter. Trustee Frank Sommer made a motion that the discussion continue next month, motion failed. Trustee Wayne Heideman indicated he sees no problem with having chickens in the village. Trustee Bill Riggins, Jr. recommended to Larry Wade to go ahead and get his petition started. It was determined that since the Board was split in their decision, the subject would be dropped.
Police Department: In the Chief’s absence, the Board reviewed his written report. There was nothing out of the ordinary reported.
Audit: The Board reviewed the Understanding of Services received from Pehlman & Dold concerning fiscal year audit ending April 30, 2016. Their fee this year is not expected to exceed $7,700. Trustee Wayne Heideman made a motion to accept this agreement. Trustee Darrell ‘Duey” Blair seconded this motion.
Ayes Frank Sommer, Bill Riggins, Jr., Elizabeth Rollins, Mike Huber, Darrell “Duey” Blair, Wayne Heideman
Nays: N/A
Abstain: N/A
Absent: N/A
President Verkuilen declared the motion carried by a roll call vote
Parking Lot: The property located at 314 North Clay (west of the old gas station on Rt.125) A zoning variance to change the zoning code from residential to business has not been requested. According to the zoning ordinance a public parking lot cannot be located on R1 property. If the property owner applies for a variance a public hearing will be held and the proper procedures will be followed.
Sign Ordinance: We are aware of a few signs in the area that are not within our ordinance however the ordinance is being revised and will be up for review next month. Trustee Wayne Heideman asked if we could do something for businesses that are not on the highway.
Budget: This year’s budget will propose a dollar amount that will be regulated between hours for the clerk position and a deputy clerk. The Board is responsible for setting the salaries however the hours will be dictated by the clerk. Trustee Bill Riggins, Jr. stated the salary has gone up, since 2011 we have increased in 6 years, with the $30,600, a 91% increase on the office hours. Trustee Darrell “Duey” Blair stressed the importance of getting another person in the office trained so if the clerk is away from for an extended period, daily operations would continue.
Budget meeting was scheduled for Monday, May 23, 2016, at 7:00 p.m.
Treasurer’s Report: The Board reviewed the Balance Sheet, General Fund, Special Revenue Funds, Water and Sewer Funds. The sewer fund is showing an outstanding loss of approximately $90,000. Trustee Bill Riggins, Jr., indicates the rate structure was not set to cover the sewer’s yearly expenses. The sewer line of credit has a limit of $100,000 and we are currently at $86,600. It was suggested sewer charges be increased by a $1 for every 1000 gallon. Trustee Wayne Heideman made a motion to approve the Treasurer’s Report. Trustee Elizabeth Rollins, seconded the motion.
Ayes: Wayne Heideman, Darrell “Duey” Blair, Mike Huber, Elizabeth Rollins, Bill Riggins, Jr., Frank Sommer
Nays: N/A
Abstain: N/A
Absent: N/A
President Verkuilen declared the motion carried by a roll call vote
Payment of the bills was presented. The bills this month include the $67,222.85 to IEPA to cover the yearly loan payment and the $16,825.81 to Risk Management Insurance. Trustee Bill Riggins, Jr., presented a chart of the 1% infrastructure tax we have received and the recent decrease of our allocation. Trustee Bill Riggins, Jr., asked if the $4,232 fee for the test well drilling had been mailed to Mr. Milstead. The status of this check will be reviewed; if not this will be mailed tomorrow and included in the approval for payment of the bills. Trustee Wayne Heideman made a motion to approve the payment of the bills to include the above mentioned $4,232. Trustee Elizabeth Rollins seconded the motion.
Ayes Frank Sommer, Bill Riggins, Jr., Elizabeth Rollins, Mike Huber, Darrell “Duey” Blair, Wayne Heideman
Nays: N/A
Abstain: N/A
Absent: N/A
President Verkuilen declared the motion carried by a roll call vote.
There being no further business, Trustee Darrell “Duey” Blair made a motion to adjourn the meeting. Trustee Bill Riggins, Jr. seconded the motion. The motion was passed by voice vote. President Verkuilen declared the meeting adjourned by a unanimous vote at 8:40 p.m.
Submitted by,
___________________________
Judy Reiser, Village Clerk
Approved by
_______________________
Jim Verkuilen, President
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