Village of Hinckley Committee of the Whole met May 11.
Here is the minutes provided by the committee:
CALL BOARD MEETING TO ORDER: Meeting was called to order by Village President Nancy Nelson at 7:26 PM. Roll call was taken showing the following:
Present: Trustees Christine Clark, Chuck Riforgiate, Lou Manivong, Daniel Roop, Walter Rainford, and Mike Constant. Quorum Established.
Absent: None.
Also Present: Village Clerk Elizabeth Losiniecki, Chief Gettemy, Attorney Josef Kurlinkus, Treasurer Maroo, Ceneca Wagner, Dale Youngers (TEST Inc.), Chris Ott (EEI), and Members of the Public.
PUBLIC COMMENT on Agenda Items Scheduled for Action Only
None.
GENERAL BUSINESS
Agenda item for Discussion/Approval: Committee of the Whole meeting minutes from 01/27/20 Trustee Constant asked for clarification regarding voting in a Committee of the Whole meeting as he has been advised in the past that the Committee of the Whole is not a voting body. He asked why this was not on the Regular Board meeting agenda. Attorney Kurlinkus stated that Committees approve their own minutes. There was a discussion regarding the approval of committee meeting minutes and Kurlinkus stated that best practice has the approval of the minutes made by the body whose minutes they are. Trustee Manivong asked for clarification on the procedures. Trustee Roop moved to approve the 01/27/20 Committee of the Whole meeting minutes and Trustee Clark seconded the motion. Roll call vote: Clark-Aye, Riforgiate-Abstain, Manivong-Abstain, Roop-Aye, Rainford-Abstain, Constant-Abstain. Motion failed.
Attorney Kurlinkus advised that the unapproved minutes would be put on the website until the Committee is ready to approve.
PRESIDENT’S REPORT:
• Agenda item for Discussion and Recommendation: Cell Tower Land Lease Contract Renewal
The Board of Trustees reviewed and discussed the cell tower land lease contract. Discussion items included the lower lease payment being proposed in the lease renewal, when the lease renews, lease duration, buy out offers, revenue streams, and the long-term viability of cell towers. Trustee Manivong suggested negotiating for a better rate and Trustee Roop suggested delaying any decision until the documents could be reviewed more thoroughly. There was discussion regarding the possibility of adding other carriers to the tower. This item will be on the May 26, 2020 Committee of the Whole meeting agenda. The earliest the decision will be made is at the first Regular Board meeting in June, 2020.
President Nelson stated that her coronavirus test came back negative, but she is self-quarantining for 14 days as a precaution.
President Nelson asked if she can override Governor Pritzker’s orders and start opening some businesses. Attorney Kurlinkus stated that the local governments are the enforcers and that the Chief of Police could agree not to enforce. However, the County Health Department is also an enforcer for food and beverage locations. Chief Gettemy stated that any business regulated by the State or the County will be in violation of Governor’s orders and enforcement/revocation would be handled by the State.
° Personnel
Nelson stated that she is looking at resumes for the utility billing position and that phone interviews are scheduled for later this week.
° Finance & Economic Development
Agenda item for Discussion and Recommendation: Village of Hinckley Capital Asset Policy and Fund Balance/Net Assets Policy
Trustee Constant stated that these documents were a result of last year’s audit and were created based on a template supplied by the auditors. Constant and Treasurer Maroo customized the documents for the Village of Hinckley. Trustee Constant stated that this will be on the next Regular Board Meeting agenda.
° Public Safety
Agenda item for Discussion and Recommendation: Appointment of Code Enforcement Hearing Officer
Chief Gettemy stated that a code enforcement officer is needed to prosecute/enforce code violations. He stated that the Village of Hinckley already has an Intergovernmental Agreement (IGA) with Sugar Grove and Montgomery for the sharing of hearing officers. This is a “pay as you go” arrangement. Attorney Kurlinkus stated that there needs to be a Village Resolution supporting the IGA. This item will be on the next Regular Board Meeting agenda.
° Streets & Alleys
Trustee Riforgiate stated that street patching needs to be evaluated. He stated that streets and sidewalks are deteriorating rapidly. An assessment needs to be done to prioritize street repairs. There was a discussion about the street repair priority list that was developed (by EEI) a couple of years ago. It was agreed that Chris Ott would update the list and (re)distribute it to the Board of Trustees. There was discussion regarding funding and timing of street repairs.
Mr. Ott stated that there is a “rebuild loan/grant program” administered through the Motor Fuel Tax program that will be disbursed through six payments over two years. The Village will receive approximately $22,000 per payment but the money cannot be used on sidewalk or roads.
Ceneca Wagner stated that the crosswalk signs arrived and are in the process of being assembled.
Trustee Constant inquired regarding the status of the alley vacation and President Nelson stated that there were problems with filing the paperwork with the County.
° Buildings, Grounds & Parks
Agenda item for Discussion and Recommendation: Potential Donation to the Village of property located at 142 W. Lincoln Avenue (Marwaha Building) by Dr. Vijay Marwaha
President Nelson stated that she had received a phone call from Dr. Vijay Marwaha regarding the potential donation of 142 W. Lincoln (parcel id #15-15429008) to the Village of Hinckley. Nelson and the Village Attorneys are handling the negotiations. At this time, Marwaha has requested that the building continue to be used as a medical facility, but feasibility will have to be assessed. Depending on the interior condition of the building, the Village is considering converting for use as a parks and recreation facility. The Village will have the building thoroughly inspected. Trustee Riforgiate stated that the Village should not expend any money in the acquisition. Trustee Constant suggested that equity in the building could be used to finance any rehabilitation required.
Resident Jennifer Klambauer stated that she had been in contact with Marwaha for 18 months in an effort to get him to donate the building to a non-profit entity (as yet to be determined/identified). She stated that she had toured the building with the Real Estate agent and that the interior is a “disaster.” She stated that grants may be possible through the County, which are probably more readily awarded to non-profits. She stated that the “first” office was “Doc Key’s” office and that all of his personal items are still in there. She would like to have those personal effects preserved. Trustee Constant suggested that Ms. Klambauer approach the Harvesting Our Future not-for-profit, which has an economic development focus. All Trustees were in agreement to continue discussions regarding the donation/acquisition. This item will be discussed at the next meeting.
° Water & Sewer
Agenda item for Discussion and Recommendation: Water Tower Project
Trustee Manivong stated that elevated water storage tank rehabilitation quotes had been received and submitted for review to the Board of Trustees. Trustee Roop asked if the project needs to go out to bid and Attorney Kurlinkus stated the Village can choose to continue with a pre-existing relationship wherein which no formal bid process would be required.
Trustees discussed current and former relationships with engineering firms and also discussed funding for the project. Trustee Constant stated that the financing should not be an issue as the Village as been accruing the sales tax increase money into a dedicated account for this project. Treasurer Maroo stated that the there is approximately $130,000.00 in the account now. The project could be almost half funded by the time work starts next year. There was additional discussion regarding funding, including loans and grants. EEI will be preparing a “rebuild Illinois” grant application for the Village (at no charge).
There was additional discussion regarding the selection of an engineering firm for the elevated water storage tank rehabilitation project and determined that, all things considered, EEI had comparable, competitive pricing, which includes the grant application. Trustee Riforgiate pointed out that EEI also included 100 hours of job site oversight. Trustee Rainford stated that, in the interest of full disclosure, he wanted to inform the Board and Attorney(s) that his sister-in-law works for EEI. Attorney Kurlinkus stated that there is no conflict. All Trustees were in agreement that EEI would be the engineering firm selected for the Elevated Water Storage Tank rehabilitation project. This item will be on the next Regular Board meeting agenda.
Agenda item for Discussion and Recommendation: Invoice Cloud ePayment Proposal
Trustee Roop stated that this proposal for electronic billing is from a vendor recommended by Harris Computer (MSI). The package offers electronic bill presentation and payment, via text, email, or portal access. It would be able to accept all forms of payment (parks registrations, utility billing, police fines, etc.). This would replace the Illinois epay system currently in use. There are user fees associated with this service which are higher than the fees for epay. The fees would be for the user, not the Village. President Nelson asked Mr. Roop what the purpose of this change would be, and he stated that it would save staff time coding and processing payments and offer residents the option to use ebilling and payment. Nelson stated that this item will be on the next agenda for additional discussion/consideration.
Chris Ott stated that he had checked the Rebuild Illinois grant program guidelines and the Village would be eligible for grant awards ranging from $250K - $2M. There is no local matching requirement.
PUBLIC COMMENT
Resident Jennifer Klambauer thanked the Board of Trustees for the support for the 60520 day celebration. She stated that this has been postponed to 2021 due to the coronavirus executive orders regarding social distancing. She stated that there will still be a commemorative stamp available at the post office, T-Shirts and signs.
Resident Rob Zimmermann inquired regarding the condition of Prairie View Lane. He also stated that he felt that the Elevated Water Storage Tank engineering firm selection process should have been handled differently.
Resident Peter Totzke stated that he (and many other residents) are on a fixed income and additional fees for electronic utility billing should not be passed on to the user. He asked if all of the other projects discussed would also wind up on the water bill and President Nelson stated that they would not. Mr. Totzke stated that the Village had installed a sidewalk in front of his house several years ago and that it is not being shoveled. He stated that the sidewalk was part of the safe routes to school grant that the Village received. President Nelson stated that the Village does not have the manpower to shovel all the sidewalks in town and that the residents are responsible for shoveling. Mr. Totzke asked if there would be mosquito spraying this year and Nelson stated that there would. Mr. Totzke mentioned that there are many ATVs driving around town with open beer and he wondered why the police aren’t doing anything about it. Chief Gettemy stated that if the police don’t know about it, they can’t do anything. Gettemy stated that the police department has addressed a few complaints regarding the ATVs in town.
OPEN DISCUSSION
None.
ADJOURMENT
Motion: Trustee Constant moved to adjourn the meeting at 9:47 pm. Trustee Roop seconded the motion. Voice Vote: All members voted yes. Motion carried.
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