Village of Hudson Village Board Met Feb. 2.
Here is the minutes provided by the board:
CALL TO ORDER
Mayor Dave Brutlag called the regular meeting of the Hudson Village Board to order at 7:00 P.M.
PLEDGE OF ALLEGIANCE
Mayor Dave Brutlag led the Pledge of Allegiance to the Flag.
ROLL CALL
| Present |
| Mayor Dave Brutlag
Trustee Joe Boyd Trustee Kathy Brooks Trustee Jim Campbell (via Zoom) Trustee Mark Kotte Trustee Phil Morris Trustee Lynne Norris Village Clerk Allison Brutlag |
“All matters listed under CONSENT AGENDA are considered to be routine and non-controversial by the Village Board and will be enacted by one motion and one roll call vote. There will be no separate discussion on these items. If discussion is desired by a Citizen or Trustee, the item will be removed from the Consent Agenda and discussed immediately after approval of the Consent Agenda.”
Items for the consent agenda are:
Approval of open session minutes from the January 5, 2021 board meeting
Treasurer’s report and bills- Sara Hill
Financial statement and payment of bills for January
Dave asked if there were any questions on the minutes or treasurer’s report. There were no questions.
A MOTION WAS MADE BY MARK KOTTE TO APPROVE THE CONSENT AGENDA FOR JANUARY. SECONDED BY PHIL MORRIS. ALL YEA- MOTION PASSED.
PRESIDENT’S REPORT: Mayor Dave Brutlag
Revenue review
Mayor Dave Brutlag reported the revenue is still hanging in there. We are in pretty good shape. He said to keep in mind the extra $70,000 in revenue and expenditures are both from CARES.
Covid 19 and CARES Program Status
Dave shared the COVID numbers are still going up but the rate is going down. We will continue to have meetings in person and trustees can still attend via Zoom if they prefer. The due dates for the CARES bills have been extended and will be submitted for an entire year. Any that we haven’t submitted, we can still submit. We won’t know if we will get any additional funds for at least a year. We’ve done everything we can and will have to wait until January 2022 for all the other villages and cities to submit bills.
5 Year Plan Status
We hope to hear by the end of February if the sewer grant was approved. The sidewalk plan is a major part of our 5 year plan. Denny doesn’t have a lot new to add from last month’s discussion about the sidewalk. Sidewalk activity for Dollar General is still going on and Dave said he hopes to have confirmed information by next month. Denny will be working on a drainage plan for the village.
Status of Lampert land swap
We are waiting for all signatures to finalize the land swap.
Information on McLean County Hazardous Mitigation Planning (necessary if we want to apply for a FEMA grant after a disaster)
Dave shared this new effort from McLean County. In order for us to receive money from FEMA following a disaster, we have to participate. There is a virtual kickoff meeting coming up. Dave and Dale will be attending.
Budget (need date for February budget kickoff meeting- think about major additions such as the sewer study- will need about $20,000 out of general fund)
Dave would like to set a date for a budget kick off meeting. Trustees are to think about major additions that might need to be added for the budget. The estimate for the sewer study is $20,000-$25,000 higher than the initial proposal. Farnsworth said the cost will be $40,000-$45,000 which would leave us with paying the extra. Part of the sidewalk work would be TIF eligible. MFT money can be used for sidewalk repair but not for new sidewalks.
The budget meeting will be February 18th at 7:00 P.M. at the police department. Dave asked trustees and employees to start thinking about the budget for next year.
MFT- investigate alternatives for managing MFT and completing forms
We are going to investigate alternatives for someone other than Farnsworth to complete our MFT paperwork. They haven’t been ruled out, we just want to discuss alternatives and choices.
WATER AND PUBLIC PROPERTY: Superintendent Jeff Waller
Superintendent Jeff Waller reported there isn’t much for water this month. They’ve picked up over 100 truck loads of limbs. Jeff wished Denny a happy birthday. In parks, they are doing a lot of trimming and picking up limbs. When it gets warmer, Jeff said they will use temporary help to get the trees trimmed. The big tree at the ballpark was taken down. Jeff said the new truck is working great.
STREET AND ZONING: Street and Zoning Inspector Denny Engel
Street and Zoning Inspector Denny Engel stated they have primarily been using the new dump truck for limb pick up. It has been set up for salt and snow and then they take it apart for hauling limbs. Denny said for residents to keep bringing limbs to the curb and they will keep picking them up as time allows. The hydraulic thumb on the backhoe works great for picking up branches. Some of the rebuild forms have been submitted. Denny said they could have a busy summer for different projects. At the last meeting, Denny shared rough numbers about the Dollar General sidewalk. He is still working on it, but the snow, ice and tree limbs have taken priority. Denny thanked Embark Tree Service for taking the tree down at the ballpark.
Dave shared he has received compliments on the great job being done with limb pickup and cleaning the roads.
VILLAGE MARSHALL: Police Chief Dale Sparks
Police Chief Dale Sparks reported there are criminal reports they are following up on. We are required to become accredited to get DOJ money. Overall things are going well. Dale said we continue to tweak this meeting room. The wifi issue got worked out.
CIVIL DEFENSE DIRECTOR: Fire Chief Jeff Thomas
The civil defense director was absent. The sirens went off at 10:00.
CITIZEN’S HEARING - none
REPORTS OF THE STANDING COMMITTEES
Finance, Budget, Contracts and Employees Department: Trustee Lynne Norris
Discuss and vote on the shed lease from Unit 5
Trustee Lynne Norris shared we have been looking at changing the wording in the termination section of the shed lease from Unit 5. Pat contacted the Unit 5 attorney. Since Unit 5 already met and voted on the lease before we had a chance to meet, Pat doesn’t really want to take it back to them. The lease is for 25 years. We got an estimate for the work that needs to be done at the shed. The roof repair would be minor and could be covered by insurance. The total amount for the rest of the work (gutter, soffit, siding, door and door cap) would be $13,896. If everyone agrees, Lynne said we can accept the lease as written.
A MOTION WAS MADE BY LYNNE NORRIS TO APPROVE THE SHED LEASE FROM UNIT 5 (WITH $100/YEAR BEING THE ONLY COST WE ARE COMMITTING TO). SECONDED BY KATHY BROOKS. ALL YEA- MOTION PASSED.
Discuss garbage contract details
The garbage contract is up in October this year. We need to talk about what we want to see in the new contract. Lynne said she talked with Denny and Sara about what we would like to see in the new contract: continue with Tuesday pickup, every other week recycling, bulk pickup once a month (preferably without having to call), and a side loader truck (to lessen the possibility of the garbage blowing out on a windy day). We also need to discuss the length of the contract. Joe mentioned the possibility of having a leaf pickup (maybe having bags to put the leaves in and then they pick them up). Totes were discussed and they are part of the service. Jeff asked about having an electronic recycling program once a year. Sara said that it is free to take electronics to Normal so if it would add to the lease, we can use the program in Normal. Dale suggested a clause for the garbage company to provide dumpsters for special events. Dave said we can go ahead and let Area know that we will be putting it up for bid. We need to look at our purchasing manual because it looks different than what the municipal one looks like now. Dave asked Pat if there are any sample purchasing manuals we could look at from other similarly sized towns. Pat said most communities our size don’t have purchasing manuals. He doesn’t have any samples to pull from but would be glad to vet ours and see about changes. Dave said maybe we could have a one or two page document instead of an entire manual. Garbage contracts are customarily done with a sealed bid process. Republic has been very aggressive in recent bids. Pat encouraged us to put out for a sealed bid with specifications and musts and then we can work through the publication, notice and call for bids. Lynne asked how long we’d want the contract for; she mentioned a 7 year contract with an option to cancel at 5. Pat said that the bottom has fallen out for recycling. Curbside pickup is more expensive now. We may want to look at a shorter term so if recycling value increases than we can get a better price for curbside. Dave suggested 2 years. Pat said nothing less than 2 years. Dave asked if the board agrees with a 4 year contract with a 2 year opt out. Mark asked if we could get a copy of the current contract. He also suggested having a central place in town that people could take recycling to if their bins are full before the 2 week period. Pat asked if we charged an administrative fee or markup for work that we do regarding garbage and no, we do not. He reported that for the last half of 2020, Minier’s garbage contract through Republic, charged a $13/month service charge. We have the right to impose an administrative fee per month. Whatever amount we set, would go to the village for any work we do concerning garbage. This is something we can bring up for consideration.
Street Department: Trustee Phil Morris
Trustee Phil Morris had no current business to discuss. He thanked Denny and Jeff for keeping the streets clean and for picking up limbs.
Ordinance and Zoning Department: Trustee Kathy Brooks
Trustee Kathy Brooks asked Pat to give an update on the 2 outstanding legal issues. Pat will give us that update later on in the meeting. Dale did say that both cases are scheduled for a hearing in March.
Kathy would like the board to continue involving the planning commission on projected projects. She suggested when the budget comes around, we start a capital improvement fund. This would be an independent fund for projects that we don’t have enough money for and we need to string it out.
Presentation by Greg Gustafson
Greg Gustafson is a civil engineer from Berns, Clancy and Associates out of Urbana. He has experience with water, waste water and sewer. He works with many small villages. He is willing to do additional work that is necessary for the village. Mr. Gustafson comes from a smaller firm and they are cost competitive. He has had a considerable amount of sanitary sewer system experience. In about 3-4 weeks, Mr. Gustafson said the streets would need to be evaluated for the MFT. He has talked with Kathy and Phil and is aware about the upcoming sidewalk and bridge project. He said he is fully capable of working on that. He is familiar with grants and grant writing. Mr. Gustafson said he has considerable experience with surveying. Denny asked if he had any experience with MFT in small towns around here. Mr. Gustafson said Piatt County would be the farthest from Urbana he’s worked with. He said the state requirements are fairly uniform across the state. Denny asked if he has any relationship with the McLean County Highway Department; and Mr. Gustafson said he doesn’t at this moment. He has worked with a number of contractors across the state but hasn’t worked a lot in this part of the state. He is very familiar with the bidding process.
Dave thanked Mr. Gustafson for coming and we appreciate his interest in the village.
Pat gave an update on the 2 legal issues and the status. The swimming pool case will go to trial in March. For the animal case, we have to serve them with the notice. March is the soonest possible court date for both of these cases.
Police Department: Trustee Mark Kotte
Trustee Mark Kotte stated he doesn’t have anything to add. He said it takes extensive work getting the policies up to date.
Water Department: Trustee Joe Boyd
Trustee Joe Boyd had no report.
Public Property: Trustee Jim Campbell
Trustee Jim Campbell had no report.
Liquor Commissioner: Mayor Dave Brutlag
There was no report.
We will be going into closed session to discuss a possible real estate purchase.
A MOTION WAS MADE AT 8:08 P.M. BY JOE BOYD TO MOVE INTO CLOSED SESSION TO DISCUSS A POSSIBLE REAL ESTATE PURCHASE. SECONDED BY PHIL MORRIS. ALL YEA- MOTION PASSED.
Once back into open session, roll call was taken. Dave asked if there was any additional business to discuss. Phil mentioned he had a brief discussion with Dale Whitwood about the damaged “Welcome to Hudson” sign across from the Dollar General. The sign was ordered from a company in Fairbury through the Garden Club. Mr. Whitwood told Phil he’d talk with his mom and get information back to the board about fixing/replacing the sign.
Dave said he hopes people are getting to the Dollar General and supporting the local store.
THERE BEING NO FURTHER BUSINESS, A MOTION WAS MADE BY MARK KOTTE AT 8:50 P.M. TO ADJOURN THE MEETING. SECONDED BY JOE BOYD. ALL YEA- MOTION PASSED.
The next Hudson Village Board Meeting will be held Tuesday, March 2, 2021 at 7:00 P.M., at the Hudson Police Department.
https://docs.google.com/document/d/1oyY_tR2hMVJTrTWAfvpHC8jU3muTDkes/edit
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