VILLAGE OF SCALES MOUND
Regular Meeting of the Board of Trustees
Stone House
June 30, 2025
6:30 P.M.
The Regular Meeting of the President and Board of Trustees was called to order at 6:30 p.m. on Monday, June 30, 2025.
The members present were Ruth Foley, Nicole Winter, Deven Morgensen, Kristy Hesselbacher, Janet Werner, and Joshua
Altfillisch who entered at 6:33 p.m. Village Clerk, Tami Koons, Village Treasurer, Marissa Marquith, Zach Winter, Dave
Fosler, Jerry and Fran Edwards, Carrie Stier, Jason James, and Stacy Szynkowski were also present. Ron Duerr entered at
6:51 p.m.
PRESIDENT PRO-TEM
Foley Moved; Werner seconded to appoint Nicole Winter as President Pro-Tem. All voted aye.
APPROVAL OF MINUTES – REGULAR MEETING MINUTES MAY 27,2025, CLOSED MEETING MAY 27,
2025, SPECIAL MEETING MINUTES JUNE 11, 2025, AND CLOSED MEETING MINUTES JUNE 11, 2025.
Werner moved; Hesselbacher seconded to approve the minutes for the Regular Meeting for May 27, 2025, Closed Meeting
minutes for May 27, 2025, Special Meeting minutes for June 11, 2025, and Closed Meeting minutes for June 11, 2025, be
approved as read. All voted aye.
TREASURERS REPORT
The Treasurer’s Report was reviewed. Hesselbacher moved; Werner seconded to approve 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; Hesselbacher seconded that the June bills be approved for payment. On
Roll Call vote, all voted aye.
CITIZENS COMMENTS/COMMUNICATIONS
A) Citizens Comments – 1) Jerry Edwards asked for an update on the house on Franklin St. with mattresses on the
curb and how the Village is handling this clean-up. Winter stated the property owners were sent an ordinance
violation letter to have the trash on the curb and in the yard cleaned up. Carrie Stier offered to pay for
Montgomery to pick up the mattresses. Winter stressed that if the Village pays to remove resident’s garbage this
will create an expectation of the Village and residents will just leave their trash until the Village has it removed.
2) Jerry Edwards thanked Josh Altfillisch for trimming the bank by the Memorial and Jerry Edwards thanked Ruth
Foley for calling the County and figuring out the truck route sign ordering status. 3) Jerry Edwards commented on
how great the town looks since Ron Duerr has come back temporarily to assist in the maintenance. 3) Stacey
Szynkowski inquired about the length of time boats and trailers can be stored within the village prior to being
towed at Sarah Hesselbacher’s house. The Village Board will review and send an ordinance violation letter
addressing the violations. Stacey also inquired about who was responsible for tree trimming when the tree is on
one property, but the branches of the tree go over a fence into another property. Stacey asked if complaints can be
made verbally or if they need to be in writing. The board advised that complaints are accepted in both forms.
B) SM Chamber –Carrie Stier stated Music in the Park was another successful year, and a good time was had by all.
C) Contact Us Submissions – 1) Received an inquiry on why the Village does not have a contract with JoDaviess
County Animal Control? Winter stated that Jo Daviess County charges the Village for a contract, but the residents
already pay for this in their taxes and the Board did not feel we should be paying double for these services. Also,
the Jo Daviess County Animal Control does not assist with wild animals such as skunks. 2) When the Board
receives a “Contact US” form and the box is checked to receive a response a member of the board will respond to
the resident after the next scheduled board meeting.
D) FOIA Requests – None
E) Other – None.
ORDINANCE VIOLATIONS/ADMINISTRATIVE LAW REPORT
1) The Staver’s trailer is still parked on the street/ally; the Board will send another violation letter, and a ticket will be
issued. 2) A report has been received that there is a truck parked in front of Sarah Hesselbacher’s house that does not
move and does not appear to be registered; the Board will send another letter. 3) A shipping container has been
temporarily placed by Wills Garage for the transition of ownership. The Village needs to determine the length of time
the shipping container will be parked at Wills Garage. The board will contact Wills Garage to inform them the shipping
container cannot stay there permanently as it is on a residential lot and our zoning ordinances do not allow it. 4) Wills are also looking at tearing down a house across the street. However, if it is a historical property the approval needs to
go through the Village historic demolition process before demolition can begin.
PUBLIC WORKS
A) Monthly Report – 1) Ron Duerr reported that the sewer issue at the ponds has been resolved for now, but we need to
make sure the resident’s do not flush wipes as this is very costly for the Village. 2) Ron Duerr indicated that he ordered
cold patch to fix various streets. 4) Ron reported that he is working on getting the brush cut around the pond.
ZONING
A) Report – 1) Co-Zoning Administrator, Zach Winter reported that they had two (2) building permits, one (1) for Cory
Rogers for his front porch and one (1) for Meghan Davis for a house building permit. The board discussed having Steve
Winter evaluate the water connection for this permit.
OLD BUSINESS
A) Water Main Replacement – This topic was tabled as there is not currently an update.
B) Rebuild Illinois Bond Fund – Unassigned Fund Usage – Approval was received for the items submitted for the
Rebuild Illinois Bond Fund unassigned funds.
OTHER COMMITTEE REPORTS
A) Street/Maintenance – None.
B) Sewer/Water – None.
C) Finance – None.
D) Park & Special Projects – Werner spoke with The Scales Mound Community Foundation as they want to fund a
project for the Village, such as in the Village Park. Morgensen suggested community park equipment for little children as
the park does not currently have any playground structures for younger children. Stacy Szynkowski suggested that we look
for used equipment. Werner will follow up with The Scales Mound Community Foundation to provide the suggestions as
well as request a budget.
E) Public Events & Safety – None
F) Trees & Sidewalks – None.
G) Ordinance/Policy – None.
H) Development – None.
NEW BUSINESS
A) Preliminary Appropriation Ordinance – Foley sent the board the Preliminary Appropriation Ordinance numbers
at the meeting for the board to review for approval at the next regular meeting.
B) IML Conference – The annual IML Conference is being held September 18 – 20 , 2025. The Village receives one
(1) free admission to this conference and Winter will attend. Winter inquired with the board for additional
attendees and board members will check their schedule to possibly attend as well.
C) Approval of Liquor Licenses – The Old School Saloon, Temple Turner, completed the liquor license application
for the village to have on file. Hesselbacher moved; Werner seconded to approve the liquor license application for
The Old School Saloon as it transferred ownership. All Voted Aye.
D) Truck Route and Street Signs – 1) Foley contacted Jo Daviess County about the truck route signs and for one (1)
lighted sign the prices are approximately $5,000. The County also stated that they cannot put up any more signs
heading north as we are at the max. The County advised that signs do have an expiration date at the bottom of each
sign. The Village should be able to order our own signs and Foley will follow up with the County to determine
who they order signs through.
E) Hire Village Maintenance Employee –The Village Board has been activity interviewing candidates who have
applied for the position and will make a hiring decision shortly.
F) Other – Bill Foley with the Visitor stated that since he does not get paid to publish the Village meeting minutes,
he will publish as space allows.
BRAINSTORMING – None.
CLOSED SESSION – None.
ACTION FROM CLOSED SESSION – None.
ADJOURNMENT – Werner moved; Altfillisch seconded that the meeting be adjourned at 7:27 PM. All voted aye.
These Minutes were prepared by Village Clerk, Tami Koons.