East Central Reporter

City of Villa Grove City Council met May 22.

Here are the minutes provided by the council:

CALL TO ORDER - ROLL CALL

The City Council of the City of Villa Grove met in regular session on Monday, May 22, 2023, in Council Chambers. Mayor Eversole-Gunter called the meeting to order at 6:01 p.m. Roll call found the following members present: Alderman Blaney, Lorenz, Cheely, Pangburn, Johnson, and Hooker. City Administrator Athey, Clerk Osborne, PW Director Mixell, PD Chief Rea, CCPS Director Surowka were also present.

PLEDGE OF ALLEGIANCE - The Mayor stood and led all attendees in The Pledge of Allegiance.

PUBLIC COMMENTS - Bruce Allen, Chairman of Ag Days Committee, was in attendance to give an overview of the plans and to ask permission to use the City Streets as has been past practice. There will be a new carnival this year since the one we have had for 30 years has closed down. The Connor Family Amusements will be here August°4-5. Bruce said they are looking forward to having this new carnival to see what they can bring. He also asked for permission to use the parks. He stated there will be more food vendors and other general vendors this year.

SWEARING IN OF ALDERMAN HOOKER - Mr. Tony Hooker was sworn in as a returning Alderman of Ward 1. We welcome Mr. Hooker to another term and look forward to his contributions to the City of Villa Grove.

CITY ADMINISTRATOR/OTHER REPORTS

CITY ADMINISTRATOR REPORT - Jacki Athey reported: She has been doing work related to the audit, GL updates. Also HR update from the Union contracts. Budget meeting with Department Heads will be Thurs. June 22@6 pm. The last batch of letters to residents for the street name changes have been mailed.

DEPARTMENT HEAD REPORTS: Chief of Police Rea: Cole will be moving to 2nd shift-they have 5 officers now. The computers were ordered a long time ago for the squad cars but are still not available. A donation of $600 was given to the police department from Paul’s Machine and Welding.

Director of PW Mixell: Reports they cleaned up a property on Front Street that was in need of mowing-the house is abandoned, but the owner will be billed for the work. Harrison Park has 4 new lights. Only one toilet is working in the restroom there. They have installed a new electrical junction on one pole at Henson. Hand dryers in the restrooms are not working-will be getting an electrical quote for repair. He gave an update to the status of the creek cleanout around Vine and Harrison. Marc also asked for a consensus to replace the curbs at the Subway Restaurant, which are in very poor condition. Council gave consent.

Director of CCPS Surowka: Reported soccer is done. The Junior High baseball goes through the end of June. Doing work on the lights and office windows in the community center. July 15 is Unplug Illinois Day and she is researching an event to do that day.

MAYORAL REPORT - This is Alumni weekend. There will be music at the Main Street Plaza at 2 pm on Saturday. The Korner Beehive is having a Veteran’s Reunion. The VGHS Class reunions will happen in various spots and the Alumni Banquet will be at 6 pm at the school gym. Alderman Blaney left the meeting at this time due to illness.

BUSINESS

1. Ordinance 2023-MC11—An Ordinance Authorizing the Purchase of Real Estate - Alderman Hooker motioned to approve purchasing of real estate listed in Ordinance 2023-MC11. Alderman Johnson seconded the motion. Roll Call: Johnson, yea, Lorenz, yea, Pangburn, yea, Cheely, yea, and Hooker, yea. Motion approved.

2. Approve purchase of Soil Conditioner - Alderman Hooker motioned to approve the purchase of a soil conditioner. Alderman Cheely seconded the motion. Roll Call: Johnson, yea, Lorenz, yea, Pangburn, yea, Cheely, yea, and Hooker, yea. Motion approved.

3. Approve quote for survey work by Rankin Land Surveying - Alderman Johnson motioned to approve the quote for the land surveying. Alderman Hooker seconded the motion. Roll Call: Johnson, yea, Lorenz, yea, Pangburn, yea, Cheely, yea, and Hooker, yea. Motion approved.

4. Approve reimbursement to Mayor Eversole-Gunter for Main Street flowers purchase - Alderman Hooker motioned to approve a reimbursement to the Mayor for plants purchased for Main Street. Alderman Cheely seconded the motion. Roll Call: Johnson, yea, Lorenz, yea, Pangburn, yea, Cheely, yea, and Hooker, yea. Motion approved.

5. Upcoming rodeo events information-The last item brought an exciting presentation to the Council about having a rodeo on the grounds of Richman Park, in the area where the Demo Derby used to be held. The company presenting the rodeo is South Plains Rodeo from Attica, Indiana. They put on rodeos all over that are IPRA sanctioned rodeos. Garrett Miller and Caleb Garrett were presenting. This is a professional rodeo company who will plan for a Friday night IPRA sanctioned rodeo on Friday, August 4, 2023. They will begin at 6:00 pm and will be done by 8:00 pm. Then on Saturday night, Aug. 5, 2023, they will hold a ‘Ranch Rodeo’, lasting 2 hours from 6-8 pm. These are family focused events which should really help to bring people in for Ag Days as well. Bruce Allen voiced concern it might take away from the festival on Main Street, but these gentlemen spoke to the positives and said they could be drawing in a major number of people, who will also attend the other festivities. They will need help from local non-profit organizations for the rodeo, and will reach out to the Boy Scouts, Fire Dept. and VFW, etc. Planning sessions will be held very soon for infrastructure needs and planning.

CLOSED SESSION - No closed session was held.

ADJOURNMENT - With no further business, Alderman Hooker motioned to adjourn the meeting at 7:41 pm. Alderman Pangburn seconded the motion. Roll Call: Johnson, yea, Lorenz, yea, Pangburn, yea, Cheely, yea, and Hooker, yea. Motion approved.

https://villagrove.org/wp-content/uploads/2023/06/Copy-of-2023_0522_CC-Minutes-pwcomp.pdf