Village of Hudson Board Officers & Trustees met Oct. 5.
Here are 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., at the Hudson Police Department, 107 Front St., Hudson, IL.
PLEDGE OF ALLEGIANCE
Mayor Dave Brutlag led the Pledge of Allegiance to the Flag.
ROLL CALL
Present (in person) Present (via Zoom)
Mayor Dave Brutlag Trustee Kathy Brooks
Trustee Joe Boyd
Trustee Lynne Norris
Trustee Steve King
Trustee Phil Morris
Trustee Aaron Kinder
Village Clerk Allison Brutlag
Phil introduced Brad Franklin from Key Equipment. He has joined the meeting on Zoom tonight to answer any questions the board might have about the vac truck.
CONSENT AGENDA
“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:
a. Approval of open minutes and closed minutes (if needed) from the September 7, 2021 board meeting
b. Financial statement and payment of bills for September
Dave asked if there were any questions on the minutes or treasurer’s report; there were none.
A MOTION WAS MADE BY JOE BOYD TO APPROVE THE CONSENT AGENDA FOR SEPTEMBER. SECONDED BY STEVE KING. ALL YEA- MOTION PASSED.
VILLAGE PRESIDENT: Dave Brutlag
Appoint Mayor Pro Tem Phil Morris
Phil was mayor pro tem last year and because of elections, he will continue to be so.
5 Year Plan status
Dave reported there has been good progress on the sidewalk to Dollar General. Completion of some other things will depend on whether we get the vac truck or not.
ARP Money status
We got our ARP money ($123,000) and it has been deposited. There haven’t been any seminars yet to answer questions.
Sewer Study Plan Contract Status
Greg Gustafson from Berns Clancy and Associates shared that they are in the process of going through the basic copy of the agreement and revising a number of sections. Mr. Gustafson wants to make sure the study is complete enough so the village is in a position to satisfy the IEPA. A meeting will be scheduled in the next couple of weeks between Mr. Gustafson, the village and our attorney, Pat McGrath.
Website Updates
Dave has talked with Scott regarding the village website. It needs to be updated. Sara will be working with Scott to learn how to update the website. Carol will work with them as well to be a backup.
Social Media Policy
This will be discussed later in the meeting.
Dave attended a McLean County transportation committee meeting today to follow up on the golf cart ordinance change. He said it is pretty much a dead issue. There is no support on the county level. Dave will update again next month.
WATER, PUBLIC PROPERTY, STREET AND ZONING: Denny Engel Denny Engel reported he, Marc and Tom went to the water conference a few weeks ago. Water usage for last month was 2,939,000 or 97,000/day. We had a 2% loss. We need to have 60% of the cross connection surveys returned to be compliant. We aren’t quite there yet. Denny shared that we have to have a service line inventory completed for the entire village by 2023. By 2027, we will need a plan to make sure all homes have compliant materials. We have ordered the tests to start working on the nitrification plan. This will give us a baseline.
For building and zoning, there will be 3 new houses built: 1 in Prairieview, 1 in old town and 1 on the corner of Broadway and Franklin. Most projects are completed from the parks list. Denny stated that over the course of the summer, there have been a few spots around the bleachers and sidewalks where the concrete has become uneven. We might need to look at that on the off session to remedy the trip hazards. The MFT work is basically done except for crack sealing in Prairieview and that will be done within the next 2 weeks. Several drainage projects are on hold.
Denny met with the new manager at Dollar General. He is trying to keep the ball rolling on their end to get their piece complete on the sidewalk. The piece over the creek was done today and pouring on either side of the box culvert will be done tomorrow. Hopefully by the end of next week, we will be able to walk from Casey’s to the police department.
Denny thanked Marc, Sara, Tyler and Phil for keeping in communication while he was out. Marc shared that the lead and copper rules are going to change soon. 20 samples will be done every 6 months.
Steve asked if there was an easy way to tell people how to check their pipes. So far, people have been calling the water house for help. Steve also asked about the corner sidewalks that have been going in on Broadway. There was one poured on the corner where the house burnt down, but there isn’t a full sidewalk in front of the house. Denny said that as the county resurfaced S. Broadway, all the approaches have been updated to become ADA compliant. He said he wanted them to go ahead and let them make those updates and then we might want to go ahead and connect at some point. It saves us a lot of cost if we decide to add sidewalks at some point.
Dave complimented Denny and the staff to be able to keep things going while Denny was gone.
VILLAGE MARSHALL: Police Chief Mark Kotte
Police Chief Mark Kotte reported the new police officer, Chris Lane, is training this week and next week. Most of his training deals with geography (Hudson, Lake Bloomington and Evergreen). Officer Lane knows how to use the computer system. The new police truck is here. It came in $800 under budget. It is striped but waiting on lights and other equipment because of supply change issues.
Mark said there has been citizen concern on N. Broadway with grain trucks coming into town going too fast. There will be extra enforcement. Mark will also talk to the grain elevator and tell the grain drivers to slow down when coming into town.
Tom, Chris and Mark went to a training to learn more about the Illinois police reform bill. This is going to change how police departments across the state do service. There will be more equipment needed as well as additional training.
Mark has also attended an EMA readiness and preparedness meeting. All of our information has been turned in however there will still be more meetings to attend. Mark attended a Covid 19 meeting at the McLean County Health Department. We can get PPE equipment from the county and it won’t cost us anything.
CIVIL DEFENSE DIRECTOR: Fire Chief Jeff Thomas
The civil defense director was absent. All of the sirens went off.
CITIZENS HEARING
Barbie Emmert, 204 S. Washington, talked about the Quill. The Quill is funded by the village ($1600), township ($1600) and the Kuchen foundation ($1000). Mrs. Emmert stated that she, Mike O’Grady, and Jenny Losey, have been looking at ways to help offset the costs from these 3 resources. They are looking at advertisements; the more advertisements , the higher the discount for the village, township and Kuchen foundation. Last year, the village made a one year commitment for the $1600 but split it into 2 checks. Mrs. Emmert said the main goal is for 100% of residents to get information. She is asking the board to again commit to the $1600 for the next 12 months. The price may fluctuate depending on the number of advertisements that are sold. $1600 would be the max. Sara said we are good budget wise. Mrs. Emmert will be in contact with Sara before budget time to get an idea on the price. The bill for the next 6 months will be sent to the village.
REPORTS OF THE STANDING COMMITTEES
Finance, Budget, Contracts and Employees Department: Trustee Lynne Norris Discuss and vote on the McLean County Animal Control Shelter contract and the removal contract
Lynne asked if there were any questions about the animal control contract and the removal contract. There were no questions.
A MOTION WAS MADE BY LYNNE NORRIS TO APPROVE THE MCLEAN COUNTY ANIMAL CONTROL SHELTER CONTRACT AND THE REMOVAL CONTRACT. SECONDED BY JOE BOYD. ALL YEA- MOTION PASSED.
Lynne reported the final garbage contract was revised and finalized. The new company will start in November. Residents will be made aware of when the old totes will be picked up and the new totes dropped off. Dave thanked Lynne for her work with this. The repair of the siding on the Unit 5 siding is well underway. The roof will be replaced soon. Lynne said she thinks a metal roof will be put on. Our insurance money will be used and Unit 5 will cover the rest.
Street Department: Trustee Phil Morris
Discuss and vote on purchasing a year 2007, Vactor 2110 Model Hydro-Vac Truck, for the price of $126,000.00 from Key Equipment from Springfield, IL
Trustee Phil Morris stated we have had several discussions as a board about the vac truck. He asked if anyone had questions for Mr. Franklin. Kathy asked what the life expectancy is for the truck. Mr. Franklin said the unit we are looking at is in good working order with relatively low hours. With proper maintenance, he thinks it will probably last 15 years. Dave asked if they would be willing to do a demo for us. Mr. Franklin said absolutely. In a few weeks, he can bring it over and demonstrate how it works. Steve asked if there was a warranty on the truck. Mr. Franklin said yes, there is. The proposal has a 90 day warranty.
A MOTION WAS MADE BY PHIL MORRIS TO PURCHASE A 2007, VACTOR 2110 MODEL HYDRO-VAC TRUCK, FOR THE PRICE OF $126,000 FROM KEY EQUIPMENT FROM SPRINGFIELD, IL. THE PURCHASE IS DEPENDENT ON A SUCCESSFUL DEMONSTRATION OF THE PRODUCT. SECONDED BY AARON KINDER. ALL YEA- MOTION PASSED.
Discuss and vote on raising part time employee, Tyler Eft’s, rate of hourly pay Phil stated that he has been very impressed with Tyler’s work while Denny was out. Tyler currently makes $16.38/hour. Phil asked the board if we can bump him up to $20/hour. Our other part time employee, Logan, is making $15.75/hour. Logan is learning really quickly and has been mowing and weed whacking . Dave said it is rare to have a part time person that has as many skills and the work ethic of Tyler. The raise will hopefully encourage him to stay with the village. Steve asked if this is how we normally do raises. Phil stated that in years past, employee’s salaries were handled in closed session. However, when Pat became our attorney, he informed us that if we want to discuss it in closed session, that is allowed but it is also subject to open session. This is a merit raise and most annual increases are on a predictable schedule. Phil said if we do this increase, he would like it to go back for the days Tyler worked when Denny was gone (which would be September 21st). Dave said from a budget perspective, we have the salary to support this raise. Denny stated his perspective is he really likes how the public works department has changed over the course of the summer. He can’t express enough gratitude for Tyler.
A MOTION WAS MADE BY PHIL MORRIS TO INCREASE TYLER EFT’S RATE OF PAY TO $20.00/HOUR RETROACTIVE TO SEPTEMBER 21ST. SECONDED BY KATHY BROOKS. ALL YEA- MOTION PASSED.
Ordinance and Zoning Department: Trustee Kathy Brooks
Discuss Census prize
Kathy would like to issue the prize to the census contest winner. She has a phone call into the population division of the census. The numbers don’t seem accurate. Final numbers won’t be received until 2022.
TIF- discuss and vote on additional bay
Kathy stated we had discussed back in May about using TIF funds for an additional bay but she didn’t see that we voted on it. We did budget $63,000 for it. Denny had quotes back in May. Kathy would like to get final approval for the bay which will assist with storage. But she also understands if this isn’t a priority right now.
Kathy also would like to recommend that we use equipment until it dies. She doesn’t think we have to trade it in when we think the trade in value is going down. Dave thinks this will be a good discussion when everyone is in person at the meeting. Phil thinks Denny should get new prices for the additional bay. Sara said right now we have $22,000-$24,000 in the building fund. Denny said the original quote in May was good for only 2 weeks. He said it would be unrealistic for work to be done still this year.
Police Department: Trustee Steve King
Discuss and vote on the roof replacement for the police station
Trustee Steve King stated we haven’t budgeted for the roof but we had discussed using TIF funds for the project. The company from Washington quoted us at $28,272 and asked for 50% down. Morton buildings quoted us at $27,668 and $8300 down, $16,600 when delivered and a final payment of $2767 when the project is completed. Both companies would be ripping off the old and putting on the new. Morton buildings said they could get the job done this year and the company in Washington wasn’t sure they could get it done this year. Life expectancy of the roof should be as long as the current roof has lasted, which is 57 years. Dave said there have been some water leaks.
A MOTION WAS MADE BY STEVE KING TO ACCEPT MORTON BUILDINGS BID OF $27,668 FOR REPLACEMENT OF THE ROOF AT THE POLICE STATION. THIS MONEY WILL COME OUT OF THE TIF FUND. SECONDED BY PHIL MORRIS. ALL YEA- MOTION PASSED.
Steve talked about the Hudson sign that was damaged on the west side. His idea is to move the north side sign (a structured sign) over there and replace that one. The new sign on the north side would cost between $1200-$1500. It would be a metal one sided sign with white filler posts on both sides. Dave would like to go ahead and move the north side sign to the west side. Denny said they should be able to get that done.
Steve spoke with Mark about a social media policy. There are some local police departments that have social media policies. A rough draft will be put together and emailed out for discussion.
Water Department: Trustee Joe Boyd
Discuss and vote on changing ordinance to add PEX to the list of acceptable water service line materials
Trustee Joe Boyd stated the ordinance right now says type K copper pipe or as specified by the Illinois plumbing code. The company who is building the house on the corner of Franklin and Broadway wants to use PEX. Joe asked if we can remove the copper part. Denny isn’t sure what the proper legal terminology would be but the state EPA compliance would ultimately be who would be putting forth what we would need to have as a service line material. Pat thinks stating the reference of the plumbing code would suffice and we could eliminate the specific reference to copper. He will get it written up and sent to Kathy. Kathy asked what PEX is. It is flexible plastic tubing for plumbing.
Public Property: Trustee Aaron Kinder
Trustee Aaron Kinder reported he will be working with Steve and Denny to discuss the batter’s boxes and concrete at the ballpark.
Liquor Commissioner: Mayor Dave Brutlag
There was no report.
Dave asked the trustees if they wanted to continue to stream the meetings. There have been audio issues on the replay. We aren’t going to vote tonight but we need to make a decision next month. We can use Zoom for trustee attendance. However, once the pandemic is over, the reason we can use Zoom will really tighten up.
The historic building by the ballpark needs some work done. An effort was started with the history club 5-6 years ago. Due to the type of work that needed to be done and price, the history club changed their mind at that point. The village started a reserve for the work that needed to be done and we have $4500 in reserve for that. A person will be able to do the work (some bricks replaced, some tuckpointed and sealed) for $1000-$1500. Work will be started within a week or 2 and the history club is very happy it will be done.
There is nothing for closed session and no additional business.
THERE BEING NO FURTHER BUSINESS, A MOTION WAS MADE AT 8:37 P.M. BY JOE BOYD TO ADJOURN THE MEETING. SECONDED BY PHIL MORRIS. ALL YEA- MOTION PASSED.
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