East Central Reporter

City of Villa Grove City Council met June 24.

Here are the minutes provided by the council:

Call to Order—Roll Call: The City Council of the City of Villa Grove met in committee session on Monday, June 24, 2024, in the Council Chambers. Mayor Eversole-Gunter called the meeting to order at 6:03 p.m. Roll call found the following members present: Aldermen Blaney, Cheely, Hooker, Johnson, Nieto and Pangburn. City Administrator Athey, Police Chief Rea and PW Director Mixell were present as well as TIF Consultant Emily Calderon of Moran Economic Development. City Clerk Osborne and CPS Director Surowka were absent.

Pledge of Allegiance: The Mayor stood and led all attendees in The Pledge of Allegiance. Public Comments: No residents were present for comment.

Reports:

Athey – all files have been relocated to the current office building; she attended the first meeting of the Douglas County Economic Development Corp where she will serve as Treasurer and a Board Member for three years; board still looking to possibly add Atwood and Camargo; working on GL in preparation for the upcoming audit. Rea – had nothing to report. Mixell – shade structure is installed at the Community Center splash pad and benches to go in tomorrow; Eagle Scout pavilion project materials are in and ready; fireworks launch area is prepared; has call in to IDOT concerning misspelled signage for Henson Park; rodeo prep already underway.

Blaney asked for what material would be used under the benches, as she favors something that will not require constant maintenance such as gravel or concrete. She also noted that some of the new plants placed by the landscaper are already dying in the extreme heat. Mixell responded that most of the sod and planted grass seed has taken extremely well.

Athey noted in Surowka’s absence that the vending machine had been ordered. Discussion of Pending Business:

Emily Calderon discussed the resolutions and ordinances needing to be passed at the upcoming voting meeting, as well as the general timeline to create the new TIF2 district. At the mayor’s urging, she gave a general overview of TIF’s are created and function, so that board members had a refresher should they receive questions from the public concerning “increment”. Drafts of those documents are provided and will be on the Council’s agenda for action on July 8.

Consensus was given to approve the document terminating the lease agreement for the former administrative office spaces now vacated, and to allow the mayor and clerk to execute this year’s IDOT forms for annual MFT work.

After discussing the upcoming IML Conference, the consensus of the Council was to have Administrator Athey as well as Aldermen Hooker and Nieto attend.

Consensus was also given for reservation of the live reindeer from Dahnke farms for this year’s Christmas Tree Lighting Festival on November 30. After some discussion, it was decided that live trees would again be available for sale and that the horse/carriage rides had been confirmed.

Adjournment: With no further items to be discussed, all members concurred to conclude the meeting at 7:03 p.m.

https://villagrove.org/wp-content/uploads/2024/07/2024-0624-cotw-minutes-jsa-comp-pw.pdf