McLean County Times

Downs Board of Trustees met Thursday, Dec. 1.

The Downs Village Board of Trustees is a six-member board, with each member elected to a 4-year term.

Here is the agenda as provided by Downs:

VILLAGE OF DOWNS BOARD OF TRUSTEES REGULAR MEETING MINUTES 7:00 PM December 1, 2016

Village Hall 211 S. Seminary St, PO Box 18 Downs, IL 61736

1. Mayor James called the December 1, 2016 regular meeting to order at 7:00pm.

2. Roll call was taken with trustees Roach, Goveia, Keylin, Lush and Gassaway were all present.

Trustee Tywford was absent. Also present were Clerk James, Attorney Dawn Wall and Treasurer Bakewell.

3. The Pledge of Allegiance was taken.

4. A motion to approve the agenda order was made by Lush and seconded by Roach. Approved 5-0 Discussion:

There was no action on Motion to Authorize and Approve Reimbursement of $375, Fair Market Value, to Officer Brian Hempstead for His Damaged Service Pistol during Training.

There was no action on Ordinance 2016-28 approving and Adopting Amendments to the Village of Downs Code Provisions of Chapter 5 "Local Improvements".

No action was taken on Ordinance 2016-29 Approving and Adopting Amendments to the Village of Downs Code Provisions of Chapter 10 "Animal Control".

5. Engineer Report-

Shawn, from Farnsworth reported not much has changed Downs Crossing. They didn’t break ground on the water loop, but should next week.

Mark Bowers has paid all of his outstanding fees with Farnsworth.

The BNWRD sewer work on County Rd. 700 is all done. They didn’t need to shut down our sewer system.

Nothing happened last month at Cross Creek Subdivision.

Shawn has a baby on the way and may not make it to the next meeting.

6. Mayoral Report –

Mayor James reported that Royal Publishing calls religiously asking for the village to purchase ads. In the past, we have purchased an ad in the fall and the winter Tri-Valley programs. He wanted to make sure that was still what we wanted to do.

The event committee has purchased a new LED Santa sled for McManus Park. Peggy Keylin’s aunt has graciously allowed the village to use electricity.

Our TIF attorney wrote an ordinance that affirms the State’s extension granted for TIF 2 out to 2032. This was not completed in 2009. TIF 1 was affirmed when we adopted the revised plan.

7. Trustee Reports

1. Building Report-

 Goveia reported we had 2 building permits this month.

 Kevin refused occupancy the first time around. But this has been resolved.

 She is still working on the renter’s agreement. She is struggling on how to get funding.

Goveia and Keylin have been working on the animal control. She and Keylin are at an impasse. Goveia has made a report and would like the trustees to look at and discuss at continuation.

2. Water and Sewer Report

Kevin Whitehouse reported the water quality was very good for the month of November.

He put in an extra 1000 lbs. of filter media which helped with iron.

The fluoride sample was good.

The new public works van is here. Kevin is in the process of getting it customized for tools.

Kevin is also seeking bids for the village logo on the van.

Roach asked about the Beecher Trails water complaint. Kevin said he took a water sample from her home and it came back fine.

3. Police and Services Report-

Roach

Roach reported she resubmitted the Enbridge grant request with a different title. The request was sent to the Houston branch.

Roach is working on an inventory of all police property.

The police department is using some of their own personal equipment. Officer Hempstead’s gun was broken during training. This issue has facilitated equipment planning and 1, 3, & 5 yr. planning. Chief

The chief reported that 2 residents had their unlocked cars gone through. They took a computer and books. Chief feels this group is not local and they have hit the subdivision behind the Freedom station.

There were 2 fraud cases. One case may have happened the Mobil Gas station and the other was a credit card.

The chief reported 1 misconduct case which the child was turned over to the parents.

There was 1 violation of order of protection.

Chief assisted 4 other agencies.

He wrote 4 tickets in Downs.

Hempstead has finished his 1st phase of training.

The village received a grant from State Farm to upgrade laptops and computers.

4. Streets Report-

Lush reported that the town clean-up is finished for the year. The streets department is getting geared up for winter.

Lush put notes on homeowner’s drives, whose are too high, in Beecher Subdivision. He has not heard anything from them. The mayor said there are a couple of drives out in Cross Creek as well.

5. Parks, Community Center and Food Pantry Report-

Keylin reported there was no park meeting in November.

John Grant has installed the counter top in pavilion. Citizens have been putting decorations up in the park.

The food pantry would like to thank the fire department for loading turkeys for Linda Bowman.

The Downs Topnotchers gave a $100 donation for Christmas hams.

Keylin reported on behalf of the Village Market. The market is asking for donation to help celebrate their 15th anniversary.

They would like to do a remote broadcast with WJBC’s “On the Road”. The broadcast would take place from 4pm-6pm on June 28th. and the cost is $400.

The village market doesn’t have a lot of money. They are seeking a donation and would like to promote the 4th of July for the village.

6. Finance Report-

The BTP report is pretty usual.

The police did add some assets.

Roger Reynolds has submitted some bills for TIF.

The whole Pure Management bill will be taken out of general fund.

Bakewell went over the profit and loss. She will email the individual funds out tomorrow.

We are short in “other income”. We are waiting on a City of Bloomington payment.

The audit is progressing very well. They spent 3 full days here. The rest of the time they have been communicating by email. A draft will be ready on 12/15.

8. Discussion

1. Annexation petition cost for individual, residential, and commercial

 The mayor reported we don’t currently charge anything outside of annexation with zoning.

 Roach thinks that’s a good idea, but may need to look at a developer versus an individual.

 Goveia and Keylin would like to see what other communities charge.

 Gassaway would like to see an analysis the costs.

2. Intergovernmental Agreement with Heyworth for Resource Sharing

The mayor said Heyworth is considering the continuation of resource sharing at their meeting. Next month we will also consider the continuation of this agreement if approved by Heyworth.

9. There was no public comment.

10. New Business

1. Motions

a. A motion to Authorize and Approve a one-time donation of $350 to the Downs Village Market was made by Keylin and seconded by Gassaway.

 A motion to amend was made by Keylin and seconded by Gassaway. Approved 5-0

 An amendment to the motion to Authorize and Approve a one-time transfer of $350 to the Downs Village Market was made by Keylin and seconded by Gassaway. Approved 5-0 Discussion:

 Bakewell asked why we are making a donation rather than a transfer to the village market fund.

 Wall says they don’t get any taxpayer dollars.

James noted that the Events Committee is considered a committee and the Village Market is not outlined that way in Chapter 2.

It was decided that Chapter 2 needed to include the Village Market.

d. A motion to Approve Revised Job Description for Assistant Treasurer was made by Lush and seconded by Gassaway. Approved 5-0 Discussion:

Gassaway reported that Bakewell has requested some help to cut back on her hours. Bakewell noted she runs her own accounting and consulting business and needs to scale back her hours here. The finance department has already to discussed, vetted and approved.

Bakewell foresees this person would probably be working between 40-60 hrs. /month.

Roach asked if this person would be bonded. Wall said if you are bonding you, you have to list that in the posting. It was decided that the applicant needs to be eligible for bonding.

e. A motion to Authorize and Approve Posting for Part-Time Assistant Treasurer was made by Gassaway and seconded by Lush. Approved 5-0 Discussion:

 Bakewell said she would like this position to pay $15+-/hr. based on experience.

f. A motion to Authorize and Approve use of TIF Funds to Complete Office in Village Public Works Building not to Exceed $2,000 was made by Roach and seconded by Goveia.

 A motion to amend the motion was made by Roach and seconded by Goveia. Approved 5-0

An amendment to the motion to Authorize and Approve use of TIF Funds to Complete Office in Village Public Works Building not to Exceed $5,000 was made by Roach and seconded by Goveia. Approved 5-0 Discussion:

This money is to help build an office space in the brown building for Chief Dingler.

This space will primarily be used for police.

Lush says $4000 is a more realistic figure.

Lush will coordinate the resources and Roach will take care of the finance aspect.

g. A Motion to Authorize and Approve Submission of RR Crossing Application to Norfolk Southern with Reimbursement of $500 Application Fee from Tim Norman was made by Lush and seconded by Keylin. Approved 5-0 Discussion:

The Village will be proposing a railroad crossing for Tim Norman. The Village is in a better position in getting this access granted.

Norman will reimburse for us. The railroad crossing is how he will access his potential subdivision. Currently, he doesn’t have a way to access this. We will be paying any re-occurring fee.

11. Ordinances

a. A motion to approve Ordinance 2016-30 Approving the Levy and Assessment of Taxes for the Corporate Purposes of the Village of Downs, McLean County, Illinois for the Fiscal Year of May 1, 2017 thru April 30, 2018 was made by Gassaway and seconded by Lush. Approved 5-0

 Even though the IML insurance premium has increased. The amount levied for the IML insurance was kept the same. But the amount levied for street lighting was bumped up. b. A motion to approve Ordinance 2016-31 Approving the Extension of the Tax Increment Financing District #2 to 2032 as Approved by Illinois General Assembly in 2009 was made by Goveia and seconded by Gassaway. Approved 5-0

12. A motion to Approve Payment of Bills was made by Lush and seconded by Gassaway. Approved 5-0

13. A motion to Approve the November 3, 2016 Village Board of Trustees Regular Meeting Minutes was made by Lush and seconded by Keylin. Approved 5-0

14. Motion to enter Executive Session at 8:59pm. for Purchase of Property and Easements was made by Gassaway and seconded by Lush. Approved 5-0

A break until 9:08 pm. was taken prior to entering executive session.

15. Mayor James called the December 1, 2016 regular meeting to back to order at 9:41pm.

16. Roll call was taken with trustees Roach, Goveia, Keylin, Lush and Gassaway were all present.

Trustee Tywford was absent. Also present were Clerk James, Attorney Dawn Wall and Treasurer Bakewell. There was a quorum to do business

17. There was no action on executive session items.

18. A motion to Approve continuance of the Village of Downs Regular Board Meeting to December 20, 2016, 7:00 pm at the Village Hall at was made at 9:55pm. by Roach and seconded by Keylin. Approved 5-0

19. Mayor James called the continued December 1, 2016 regular meeting to order at 7:00pm. On December 20, 2016.

20. Roll call was taken with trustees Roach, Goveia, Keylin, Lush, Gassaway and Twyford all present.

Also present were Clerk James, Attorney Dawn Wall and Treasurer Bakewell. Trustee Twyford was not present on December 1, 2016, so he was unable to vote on anything.

21. There was a small discussion on Chapter 10. Keylin and Goveia have come up with something.

They sectioned off into 2 sections the areas where they didn’t agree. Enforceability is still the issue.

22. Motions

b. A Motion to Approve FY 2015-2016 Audit by Striegel, Knobloch & Company, LLC. was made by Gassaway and seconded Lush. Approved 5-0 (Twyford-present) Discussion:

 Bakewell emailed out a draft copy of the audit to trustees on Sunday.

 She asked that trustees refer to the “Personal Opinion” letter portion on page 4.

 Bakewell gave the board a high level overview of the audit process. She said that 3 auditors spent 3 days at the village hall in November. They were very thorough and she is very pleased.

c. A Motion to Approve FY 2015-2016 Annual Treasurer's Report was made by Gassaway and seconded by Keylin. Approved 5-0 (Twyford-present)

d. A Motion to Approve FY 2015-2016 Annual TIF Reports for District 1, 2 and 3 was made by Lush and Gassaway. Approved 5-0 (Twyford-present) Discussion: Mayor James explained the FY 2016 Annual TIF Report for the State of Illinois Comptroller.

e. Motion to Authorize and Approve Reimbursement of $375, Fair Market Value, to Officer Brian Hempstead for His Damaged Service Pistol During Training- No action

23. Old Business

1. Resolutions

a. Resolution 2016-R08 Authorizing the Execution of an Amended Annexation Agreement between the Village of Downs and Living Hope Christian Church, Inc.-No Action

1. Ordinances

a. Ordinance 2016-28 Approving and Adopting Amendments to the Village of Downs

Code Provisions of Chapter 5 "Local Improvements"- No Action b. Ordinance 2016-29 Approving and Adopting Amendments to the Village of Downs

Code Provisions of Chapter 10 "Animal Control"- No Action

24. A Motion to Adjourn at 7:58pm.was made by Roach and Lush. Approve 5-0 (Twyford-present)

Julie James Village of Downs Clerk