VILLAGE OF SCALES MOUND
Regular Meeting of the Board of Trustees
Scales Mound Town Hall, 802 Main Street
June 28, 2021
7:00 P.M.
The Regular Meeting of the President and Board of Trustees was called to order at 7:00 p.m. on Monday, June 28, 2021 by President Davis. Members present were Nicole Busch, John Duerr, Ruth Foley and Bernard Trebian. Also present were Steve Stadel, Village Treasurer, Margaret Townsend, Village Clerk, Ron Duerr, Brandon Behlke, Lindsey Duerr, Melissa Dittmar, Wyatt & Jen Anderson, Sandy Frank and Ryne Laity.
Busch moved, Duerr seconded that the Minutes of the May 24, 2021 Regular Meeting be approved as read. All voted aye.
The Treasurer’s Report was reviewed. Foley moved, Trebian seconded to accept the Treasurer’s Report as presented and to place it on file. All voted aye.
The June bills were reviewed. Steve Stadel stated he received approval from Architect Baranski to pay the bills to Faulkner’s Construction and Montgomery Timmerman, Inc. Duerr moved, Busch seconded that the June bills be approved for payment. On roll call vote, all voted aye.
PUBLIC HEARINGS/CORRESPONDENCE
A) Attorney Terry Kurt – Administrative Law Judge Discussion – tabled to Old Business on the Agenda as Attorney Kurt will arrive a little later.
B) Ryne Laity, Stateline Solar LLC – Discussion of Solar Ordinance/Policy – Ryne Laity has a potential customer in the Village who is interested in putting up a ground solar mount. As the Village has a policy in place prohibiting ground mounts, Ryne was asking the Board to look back over the policy to see if they could consider revising it to allow ground mounts. Laity told the Board both Apple Canyon Lake and The Galena Territory allow ground mounts with certain restrictions. He presented a pack of information for the Board to review at their convenience. The Board thanked Ryne for his presentation and agreed to look over the information he provided.
C) Correspondence from CN RR on Rail Safety/Proclamation Request – Stacy Lyons, Manager of Government & Public Affairs for the CN Railroad explained in an email that Rail Safety Week will be held in the U.S., Canada and Mexico from September 20-26, 2021. They offered a draft proclamation for communities to adopt in an effort to prevent accidents and injuries at rail crossings. The Board agreed to have Clerk Townsend put together a proclamation specific to the Village for adoption. It will then be published in The Weekly Visitor before the Rail Safety Week in September.
D) Email from Senator Stewart’s Office – Mobile Office at Town Hall (?) 7/7/21 – Clerk Townsend shared an email with the Board from Constance Marney, Director of Legislative Affairs for Senator Brian Stewart asking if the Board would be interested in partnering with them to set up a Mobile Office at the City/Village Hall on Wednesday, July 7, 2021. She would come for an hour, from 1:30 to 2:30 p.m. to be available to discuss any concerns, questions or comments any person visiting the center may have. Senator Stewart may be in attendance if his schedule allows. As there were no objections to the offer, President Davis will contact her to set up the Mobile Office at the Stone House on the 7th of July.
E) S.M. Chamber – Steve Stadel stated that over the weekend, the Chamber got out the banner and had pictures taken with the retiring grocery store owners, Pat and Sheila Ohms, congratulating them on their retirement and Matt and Melissa Dittmar, new owners, wishing them well and looking forward to
Minutes – Regular Meeting, June 28, 2021 – Page 2
the new ownership. Sheila Ohms, current Vice President of the Chamber, was thanked for her input/participation into the Chamber since its inception.
F) Other – Nothing
PUBLIC WORKS
A) Monthly Report – Ron Duerr reported: 1) it is being required by the EPA that the Village get a probe for BOD readings for the wastewater system at a cost of about $1700. There were no objections from the Board for Ron to purchase the probe; 2) the water at the Stone House needs to be checked out as it does not get very hot; parts of the restroom mirrors are missing; the door has been installed between the meeting room and the offices; and, 3) as the workers at the school are done moving dirt, there is some fill dirt at the Lagoon site now available to in-town residents. Anyone wishing to get fill dirt should contact Ron for information.
B) Operation /Maintenance/Streets Committee Report – No Report
C) Sewer & Water Operations Committee Report – No Report
ZONING – Davis reported Joe Lee is working on a request for installation of a large flagpole at Old School Saloon and also has an application from Bill Wurm for a small utility shed.
ORDINANCE VIOLATIONS – Nothing
OLD BUSINESS
A) Possible Appointment of 2 Board Members to fill Vacancies – tabled to Closed Session.
B) New Information from B. Stocks on Grants for Infrastructure – Foley – Ruth Foley stated Bridgette Stocks would be able to meet with the Board sometime after the 4th of July. Bridgette would like information on the SCADA project as to the cost, description of what SCADA is and what it will do for the Village. Davis explained that it will be a data gathering system to collect information such as hours of operation and gallons pumped. Foley will ask Stocks to come to the July 26th Regular Board Meeting.
C) Update on Low Interest Rate Loan from Economic Development Funds/Dittmar – President Davis, on behalf of the Board, congratulated Melissa Dittmar on the new ownership of Country House Grocery. A brief discussion on the loan was held. Lindsey Duerr, former Board Member, expressed her disappointment that the loan was not yet completed. Davis stated it was made clear when the topic was first discussed, any loans of public funds would require the loan be secured with the proper collateral. Although a list of equipment was presented, it had no details of the equipment and did not include an appraised value. The Village was working with Attorney Kurt to resolve this issue. Also, the exact date of closing had not been specified. Davis then stated that within the past few days, the current owners have agreed to co-sign the loan and therefore appraisals would not be necessary. Davis further stated that Attorney Kurt now has the information he needs to complete the paperwork and the loan would be completed within the week. Davis then explained that the loan of public funds program is all new to the Board and they are working on a policy to have in place for any future requests. He also stated “we have due diligence to be accountable to the tax payers of the Village.”
D) Other – Nothing
OTHER COMMITTEE REPORTS
A) Finance – 1) Report from June 2, 2021 Committee Meeting – Criteria for a low interest loan policy was discussed at the Committee Meeting.
B) Park & Special Projects – The base for the light by the front corner of the Town Hall is installed.
C) Public Events & Safety – No Report
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D) Trees & Sidewalks – 1) the committee needs to get together and make a plan while using a map of the Village. The information will then be placed in the local paper asking for anyone meeting the criteria and who may be interested in having a tree planted at their property to contact the Board. 2) It was also mentioned that there is sidewalk work that needs to be done by the Town Hall.
E) Ordinance/Policy – Report from June 2, 2021 Committee Meeting – Criteria for a low interest loan policy was discussed at the Committee Meeting.
At this time the meeting was opened to discussion with Terry Kurt regarding becoming part of the Administrative Law Judge system with East Dubuque, IL. Kurt explained that this all came about because the city of East Dubuque became frustrated with the way court cases were being held at the County level with so little of the fines money coming back to the city, so, on February 1 after completing the “leg work”, they began using the Administrative Law system. The following are points he made regarding the system: They are using two judges so there is always one available. The downside of the system is that moving violations are not yet in the program. Violations included are Ordinances, Building Code and Zoning. A ticket is printed right at the scene using special software installed in squad cars. A hearing could be held if desired. The hearings are every third Wednesday of the month. The fine would be paid at East Dubuque City Hall and they will refund a portion to the municipality. East Dubuque has ordinances set up and Kurt will prepare ones for Scales Mound for passing at the July Regular Board Meeting. East Dubuque has offered to donate a printer to the Village if they joined the program. Officer Moyer will be trained on the software in East Dubuque and Scales Mound can begin using the program in September. Attorney Kurt was thanked for his assistance in getting the Village set up for the program. Busch moved, Duerr seconded to have Attorney Kurt get the ordinances together so the Village can proceed as discussed. All voted aye.
John Duerr asked a question regarding who on the Board is authorized to contact Attorney Kurt directly with questions and concerns. Kurt answered that it is his policy, to keep things consistent, that all correspondence be channeled through the Mayor and/or the Clerk.
F) Stone House Committee Pro Tem – 1) Update on Construction – A brief discussion was held on what can be done to the original Stone House structure to update it. Suggestions were given for contractors who could do the work. They will continue to work on this.
G) TIF/Subdivision Committee Pro Tem – It was agreed to “disband” this committee at this time and to remove the item from the Agenda.
NEW BUSINESS
A) Discussion of Water Billing for Temporarily Unoccupied Homes – Treasurer Stadel stated the policy regarding water shutoff and turning back on is not being enforced. It appears homeowners are taking advantage of the system by just not paying for a service if someone is not occupying the residence for a month or two. The policy is if they are not paying for service for a property, they should be paying the shut off fee and have the service shut off and then when someone moves in, pay the fee and have it turned back on. Otherwise it should be paid monthly. It was agreed that this will be better monitored and the correct procedure followed.
B) Accept Audit Agreement for FY2021 Audit with O’Connor, Brooks, P.C. – Foley moved, Busch seconded to accept the Audit Agreement for FY2021 with O’Connor, Brooks. All voted aye.
C) Review of Preliminary Appropriation Ordinance – Ruth Foley previously emailed a preliminary Appropriation Ordinance to the Board for review. A brief discussion was held and several changes were made. Ruth will prepare an ordinance in its final form for adoption at the July Regular Board Meeting.
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D) Other – Nothing
BRAINSTORMING – Nothing
CLOSED SESSION – Foley moved, Busch seconded to enter into Closed Session at 8:40 p.m. as allowed by Open Meeting Law, Sec. 2 ( C) to discuss personnel (board vacancies). On roll call vote, all voted aye.
Trebian moved, Foley seconded to return to Open Session at 8:49 p.m. On roll call vote, all voted aye.
President Davis called for a motion on information discussed in Closed Session. Trebian moved, Foley seconded to accept the appointment of Nathan Wills and Janet Werner to fill the Board vacancies. All voted aye. Clerk Townsend will notify Nathan and Janet and will have the necessary paperwork prepared for the July Regular Board Meeting.
A brief discussion was held on the Solar Panel Policy. The consensus of the Board was they are satisfied with the policy as it is, therefore it will not be placed on the July Agenda for discussion.
ADJOURNMENT
Foley moved, Trebian seconded that the meeting be adjourned at 8:53 p.m. All voted aye.
These Minutes are subject to approval at the next Regular Board Meeting. Minutes are also available online at www.scalesmound.com
___________________________________
Village President
ATTEST: _________________________________
Village Clerk