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Minutes from December 23, 2024

Jan 28, 2025 | Minutes

VILLAGE OF SCALES MOUND

Regular Meeting of the Board of Trustees

Stone House

December 23, 2024

7:00 P.M.

The Regular Meeting of the President and Board of Trustees was called to order at 7:09 p.m. on Monday, December 23, 2024.  The members present were Nicole Winter, Ruth Foley, Scott Ohms, Kristy Hesselbacher, and Janet Werner. Garrett Hillary was absent. Village Clerk Deven Morgensen, Village Treasurer Marissa Marquith, Ron Duerr, Zach Winter, Margaret Townsend, Jerry Edwards, Jim Davis, Dave Hoftender, and Lauren Ray were also present.

APPROVAL OF MINUTES – REGULAR MEETING NOVEMBER 25, 2024

Werner moved; Foley seconded that the minutes of the Regular Meeting November 25, 2024, be approved as read. All voted aye.

APPOINTMENT OF TRUSTEE

  1. President Winter expressed that she would be bringing Elizabeth Korte forward as an appointed trustee at the January meeting.

TREASURERS REPORT

The Treasurer’s Report was reviewed. Hesselbacher moved; Werner seconded to accept the Treasurer’s Report as presented and to place it on file.  On roll call vote, all voted aye.

APPROVAL OF BILLS

The monthly bills were reviewed. Foley moved; Werner seconded that the December bills be approved for payment. On roll call vote, all voted aye.

ORIGIN DESIGN

  1. Task Order 24-02 Sanitary Sewer Improvements – Foley moved; Werner seconded to approve the Task Order 24-02 Sanitary Sewer Improvements which covers Origin Design’s preliminary design, final design, and bidding services. On roll call vote, all voted aye.
  2. Task Order 24-03 Water System Improvements – Foley moved; Werner seconded to approve the Task Order 24-03 Water System Improvements which covers Origin Design’s preliminary design, final design, and bidding services. On roll call vote, all voted aye.
  3. Subdivision Concepts – Origin Design presented a third option for the subdivision. The board selected their preferred option for Origin Design to continue to evaluate. Werner expressed that the board is attempting to grow the village. There is a lot of chatter around town regarding the subdivision, but she has not personally received any comments. Residents are encouraged to attend meetings, review meeting minutes, and ask questions.

CITIZENS COMMENTS/COMMUNICATIONS

  1. Citizens Comments – 1) Margaret Townsend – Margaret commented that she liked the street mirror. Margaret also advised she had all the original meeting minutes that she would deliver to the Stone House. 2) Jim Davis – Jim suggested the board check with Fehr Graham regarding COVID funds. 3) Scales Mound School District – Asphalt Projects – Dave Hoftender provided the board with the Scales Mound School District plans for their upcoming asphalt projects. The school was requesting the village contribute approximately $50,000 to their project. 4) FOIA Requests –
  2. S.M. Chamber – 1)
  3. Contact Us Submissions – A resident complaint was received regarding snow being pushed in their yard.
  4. Other – None.

ORDINANCE VIOLATIONS/ADMINISTRATIVE LAW REPORT

1) None.

PUBLIC WORKS

  1. Monthly Report – 1) Ron Duerr reported that the lift station was pumped and will be good until March of 2025. 2) Ron Duerr indicated that the desk and file cabinet in the pump house were his and he is donating them to the Village. 3) Ron reported that the tube at the Chatterbox has blacktop that is going down.

ZONING

  1. Report – 1) None.

OLD BUSINESS

  1. Addition of Street Mirrors – Ohms reported that one (1) mirror is up, and positive feedback has been received.
  2. Portable Building Placement Agreement with Art Morby – The agreement has not been received by the lawyer as she has been in contact with Art Morby to finalize the agreement.
  3. Tax Levy Ordinance – The board discussed the Tax Levy Ordinance options. Hesselbacher moved; Ohms seconded to accept the Tax Levy Ordinance as presented at a 4.99% increase rather than the 11% discussed in the hearing. On roll call vote, Schuller, Ohms, and Werner voted aye, and Foley voted no.
  4. Repeal of the Grocery Sales Tax – The State of Illinois is repealing the 1% grocery sales tax in January 2026. The village has the option to pass an ordinance to impose the 1% after that date.
  5. Water Main Replacement – Bids have not been requested. President Winter will discuss with Origin Design to determine if the water main replacement can be added to the scope of the project to fix the existing infrastructure. The board requested that Steve Winter, Ken Schueller, Adam Brant, and Ron Duerr meet to discuss the scope of the project.
  6. Village Maintenance Job Posting – The Village will continue to advertise but will modify the advertisement to be for Maintenance only.
  7. Water Collection – Firehouse – The board discussed creating a document to fill out when pools are filled, or other water is obtained.
  8. TIF Redevelopment Agreements – The TIF Attorney provided guidance and suggested the board set a cap on the figure that could be given out, if available, when TIF funds are requested. Hesselbacher moved; Werner seconded to set the TIF funds request cap at up to $20,000 of the eligible costs at completion of the project, provided the requester’s project has eligible costs up to the cap amount. On roll call vote, Hesselbacher, Werner voted aye, Foley voted no, Ohms Abstained, President Winter voted aye.

OTHER COMMITTEE REPORTS

  1. Street/Maintenance – None.
  2. Sewer/Water – None.
  3. Finance – None.
  4. Park & Special Projects – None.
  5. Public Events & Safety – None.
  6. Trees & Sidewalks – None.
  7. Ordinance/Policy – None.
  8. Development – None.

NEW BUSINESS

  1. Review Closed Session Minutes from the Past 6 Months/Recordings from 18 Months – This was tabled for the January meeting.
  2. Seasonal Employment – This agenda item was discussed in closed session and action from closed session is below.
  3. Set Date for TIF Joint Review Board Meeting – The audit is not yet complete as a new auditor was assigned to The Village of Scales Mound.
  4. Other – None.

BRAINSTORMING – None.

CLOSED SESSION – Werner moved; Hesselbacher seconded to go into closed session at 9:31 to discuss personnel. All voted aye. Hesselbacher moved; Ohms seconded to go out of closed session at 9:56.

ACTION FROM CLOSED SESSION – 1) Snow Removal – Ohms moved; Foley seconded to hire Dan Davis, with Greg Hesselbacher as a backup, at $35 per hour to remove snow temporarily until a maintenance employee is hired. On roll call vote, all voted aye. 2) Water/Sewer – Foley moved; Ohms seconded to hire Mark Travis at $600 per month to conduct the water/sewer operations. On roll call vote, all voted aye.

ADJOURNMENT – Hesselbacher moved; Ohms seconded that the meeting be adjourned at 9:58 PM. All voted aye.

These Minutes were prepared by Village Clerk, Deven Morgensen.

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