DeKalb Times

Village of Hinckley Committee of the Whole met April 22.

Here are the minutes provided by the committee:

CALL BOARD MEETING TO ORDER: Meeting was called to order by Interim Village President Quirk at 7:38 PM. Roll call was taken showing the following:

Present: Trustees Sarah Quirk, Jennifer Klambauer, Russell Kula, Michael Constant, Alyssa Prickett, and Steve Gayhart. Quorum Established.

Absent: None.

Also Present: Chief Gettemy, Treasurer Dave Maroo, Dale Youngers (TEST, INC.), Brandon Kramer (EEI), Ceneca Wagner, and Members of the Public.

PUBLIC COMMENT

None.

GENERAL BUSINESS

Approval of Committee of the Whole meeting minutes from 04/22/24

Trustee Constant moved to approve the minutes from April 22, 2024, and Trustee Gayhart seconded the motion. Roll call vote: Constant-Aye, Prickett-Aye, Quirk-Aye, Klambauer-Aye, Kula-Aye, and Gayhart-Aye. Motion carried.

PRESIDENT’S REPORT

No report.

CLERK’S REPORT

No report.

ATTORNEY’S REPORT

No report.

ENGINEER’S REPORT

No report.

COMMITTEE REPORTS

Personnel

No Report.

Public Safety

For Discussion: Sidewalk Repair Program

Kula stated that a resident had contacted the Village regarding getting a section of sidewalk repaired in front of the resident’s home. Quirk asked if the Village should resume a 50/50 cost split policy. Discussion followed regarding the cost and availability of cement. Wagner suggested that residents that want sidewalks repaired should make arrangements to have the work done on their own and submit the invoice to the Village for cost reimbursement. He stated that a cement truck load is $1500.00 and the truck must be emptied within an hour. This is not possible for the Village to achieve unless they hire multiple work crews to do several sidewalk locations at once.

Gayhart stated that the Village needs to be able to limit how much is spent at each location and that the homeowner should not be in charge of accepting bids on behalf of the Village. Constant and Lundgren suggested that the Village prioritize sidewalk sections that are clear safety concerns. This discussion will continue at the next Committee of the Whole meeting.

Brandon Kramer stated that most bids for municipal sidewalk removal and replacement are coming back between $10-$15 per square foot.

Streets & Alleys

No Report.

Buildings, Grounds & Parks

No report.

Water & Sewer

For Discussion: IEPA Service Line Replacement Templates

Dale Youngers stated that the IEPA sent email regarding service line notification template letters that MUST be sent to all water system users by May 15, 2024. There are three types of notification letters: Lead, Galvanized and Unknown. A galvanized service line requires replacement if it is downstream from a known lead service line. However, due to recent interpretive changes enacted by the IEPA, any service line that was previously identified to the IEAP as galvanized, will now be considered by the IEPA to be lead, and expected to be treated as such. This determination by the IEPA will cause additional confusion among property owners that have already worked to identify the material make up of their service line.

The Village will work with TEST to draft an explanatory letter that will accompany the template letters provided by the IEPA for each of the above service line identification categories. The Village Clerk MUST send certification of mailing to the IEPA by May 25, 2024.

Discussion followed regarding using a “vac truck” to assist with identification efforts rather than using excavation. Brandon Kramer informed the Board of grants available specifically for the use of “vac trucks” for this project. He will send application information to the Board. A section will be created on the Village website that will contain all pertinent lead service line replacement information. Losiniecki will work with Youngers and Gayhart to determine what information to post.

For Discussion: Source Water Protection Plan

Gayhart and Youngers will meet with Kramer and other EEI staff to discuss and review input from TEST. This will be on the next Committee of the Whole meeting agenda.

Youngers and Kula reported on a fire that occurred over the previous weekend in Big Rock. Kula stated that he had received text messages from Wagner indicating that the local fire departments that responded to the call were coming into Hinckley to fill their tanker trucks. He was concerned about the possibility of water main breaks because the trucks were filling at fire hydrants that were not designated tanker fill hydrants. The hydrant in front of Midwest Facilities on S. Garfield is the only tanker filling location.

There was a discussion about identifying additional hydrants for tanker filling due to traffic management issues with the current location. Further discussion included the possibility of color-coding hydrants and/or placing signage directing crews to preferred hydrant locations. Wagner will contact the Fire Chief(s) to be sure they understand what hydrant to use when filling tanker trucks.

Youngers reported that the water plant had tested above the allowed level for radium during the January, 2023 testing. This exceedance caused the Village to be moved from an annual water sampling cycle to a quarterly cycle. TEST is looking into why the exceedance occurred, including the possibility of it being resin related. The last time the resin was replaced was in 2016 during a full forensic removal. This was slow and costly. Normal resin replacement will take less time and cost less money. Youngers will get estimates and report back to the board at a later date.

Youngers stated that he gave the list of hydrants due for rebuild or replacement to the public works department.

The newly painted Hinckley water tower was featured on this month’s Illinois Rural Water Association magazine.

Finance & Economic Development

No Report.

OPEN DISCUSSION

Gettemy reported that the annual golf cart registration will be held in the parking lot at the police station on May 4, 2024. Hot dogs will be available.

Constant reported that “Give DeKalb County” shopping day is May 2, 2024 and reminded folks to support the Historical Society, Food Pantry and Festival Association.

Quirk stated that the annual town garage sales are the weekend of June 8, 2024. June 8th is also the date for the joint shredding event sponsored by HBR429 and the Village. See the website and school signs for more information. Flyers will be posted soon.

PUBLIC COMMENT

None.

ADJOURNMENT

Trustee Prickett moved to adjourn the meeting at 8:40 PM and Trustee Quirk seconded the motion. Voice vote: all in favor. Motion carried. The next Committee of the Whole Meeting is scheduled for May 13, 2024, immediately following the Regular Board Meeting.

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