Village of Hudson Board Officers & Trustees met March 1.
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., Tuesday, March 1, 2022 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
Mayor Dave Brutlag
Trustee Joe Boyd
Trustee Kathy Brooks
Trustee Aaron Kinder
Trustee Steve King
Trustee Lynne Norris
Village Clerk Allison Brutlag
Absent
Trustee Phil Morris
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 February 1, 2022 board meeting
b. Financial statement and payment of bills for February
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 FEBRUARY. SECONDED BY KATHY BROOKS. ALL YEA- MOTION PASSED.
VILLAGE PRESIDENT: Dave Brutlag
Status of DCEO Grant application and related projects
Dave reported all paperwork was submitted a week and a half ago. He hasn’t heard anything back from the state. Since the paperwork was submitted, Denny got an email with a bid on the addition of the building. The price went up $16,000 once labor was added in but it is still the low bid. If we end up doing all of the projects for the $200,000 grant, it would total $296,985.
We would need $25,000 out of next year’s budget. The list of projects include design and engineering for the sewer study, building bays, roof and siding for construction, and hydrants, valves and radar signs for equipment. Dave hopes we hear within a month or two.
Budget meetings March 8 and March 15
Budget meetings are scheduled for March 8 and March 15. Both meetings will start at 7:00 P.M. and will be in the police conference room at the police department.
Sewer Study Status- Greg Gustafson
Mr. Gustafson brought the village plan sheets. There are 24 sheets that they transcribed from the original drawings. These will likely determine the routing for the sanitary sewer system. Mr. Gustafson stated he will begin contacting Bloomington Normal to start looking at points of origin. They will also start looking at some other sewer options that would require property around the village. Within the next 3 months, Mr. Gustafson said they will have more plan sheets for the village. Those will determine a collection system within the village. There will be further discussions with Denny and the board during this process.
Discuss and vote to replace heating unit in east shed- transfer $2,500 from Water Temporary Personnel Services to Water Building Maintenance and $2,500 from Streets Temporary Personnel Services to Streets Building Maintenance
The heating element in the east shed has gone out again. The recommendation to the board is to replace the unit; the total would be just under $5000. Kathy would like Denny to get another quote for the heating unit. Denny will get another quote and it will be added to the agenda for next week’s budget meeting.
WATER, PUBLIC PROPERTY, STREET AND ZONING: Denny Engel Denny Engel reported water usage for last month was 2,250,000 or 80,000/day. Denny thanked Chris, Mark, Tyler and Kevin Kelly for helping out with the snow. He is working on getting budget stuff ready. Dave thanked Denny, Chris, Mark and all the snow plow drivers for their help with snow removal.
VILLAGE MARSHALL: Police Chief Mark Kotte
Police Chief Mark Kotte thanked the citizens of Hudson for following the snow parking ban. They had very little problems as far as removing cars from the streets. Mark attended the weekly EOC and EMA meetings. Mark reported he and Chris helped assist stranded motorists during the last snowstorm. A draft copy of the McLean County multi-jurisdictional all hazards mitigation plan has been completed. This document has to be in place county wide so if we ever have a disaster, we can then apply for federal and state money from FEMA. Dave thanked Mark and Chris for helping out with the snowstorm.
CIVIL DEFENSE DIRECTOR: Fire Chief Jeff Thomas
The civil defense director was absent. It was reported that the sirens didn’t go off at the police department. The siren definitely went off on the south end and probably went off on the north end. Sara will contact Jeff Thomas to let him know.
CITIZENS HEARING
Barbie Emmert, 204 S. Washington, thanked the board for their continued support of the Quill. The Quill goes out to 100% of village and township residents. Ms. Emmert reported the yearly budget for the Quill is $1600. From April-September, the balance due is $559.10. The amount is lower due to sponsors. The payment from October to March is set at $800 (subject to change due to sponsors). Ms. Emmert said if the board approves this in the budget, she and Sara will talk about the timing of the invoice.
Victoria Novichenko, 706 Havens Dr., has done research about solar panel ordinances. Her neighbor has a ground solar panel and it is impacting her view. It is a 20x30 accessory. Ms. Novichenko stated she has found other cities and counties that have solar ordinances. She is definitely supportive of solar/wind systems but also wants people to consider adjacent properties. The village doesn’t have a solar ordinance at this point and neither does McLean County. Pat McGrath reported he has prepared several solar ordinances. Overall, most communities permit solar panels for roof mounts. For the ground solar panels, some disfavor it and prohibit it. There are also a variety of other factors that are put into the ordinances. Denny said the first request he got for a solar panel installation was for a roof mounted one. He called the town of Normal to see how they handle it. Denny went on some inspections and training with Normal. The ground mount solar panels are labeled as an accessory structure even though it isn’t listed in the ordinance as an accessory structure. Denny would like to have something in writing for him to be able to follow. Dave asked if we have the ability to suspend installations for 3 months while we research this. Pat responded that we can’t deny a permit if a resident comes with all necessary information. However, we can adopt a short ordinance that says they are prohibited. Denny agrees that we should do this. There are a lot of incentives through taxes and the power company to install solar panels. After board discussion, it was decided we move forward with creating an ordinance to prohibit ground mount solar panels for a specific timeframe. Pat will get samples to the board for review.
REPORTS OF THE STANDING COMMITTEES
Finance, Budget, Contracts and Employees Department: Trustee Lynne Norris Trustee Lynne Norris reported she has been working on updating the employee handbook. She will send the new guidelines to Dave, Joe and Kathy to review and schedule a time to discuss.
Street Department: Trustee Phil Morris
Trustee Phil Morris was absent.
Ordinance and Zoning Department: Trustee Kathy Brooks
Discuss solar panels
Trustee Kathy Brooks stated this has already been discussed.
Police Department: Trustee Steve King
Trustee Steve King mentioned we should get garage sale dates and times, as well as parking rules, in the Quill. He is working on scheduling a mass golf cart renewal for a Saturday in April. More specifics will come later.
Water Department: Trustee Joe Boyd
Trustee Joe Boyd talked to Frontier and they can’t do voip service because they don’t do fiber here. Joe will send out more information to the board.
Public Property: Trustee Aaron Kinder
Trustee Aaron Kinder had no report.
Liquor Commissioner: Mayor Dave Brutlag
There was no report.
There is one item for closed session, to discuss bonuses.
A MOTION WAS MADE AT 8:04 P.M. BY JOE BOYD TO MOVE INTO CLOSED SESSION TO DISCUSS BONUSES. SECONDED BY KATHY BROOKS. ALL YEA- MOTION PASSED.
Once back into open session at 8:15 P.M., roll call was taken.
A MOTION WAS MADE BY JOE BOYD TO GIVE A $3500 BONUS TO DENNY ENGEL. SECONDED BY KATHY BROOKS. ALL YEA- MOTION PASSED.
THERE BEING NO FURTHER BUSINESS, A MOTION WAS MADE BY JOE BOYD AT 8:19 P.M. BY TO ADJOURN THE MEETING. SECONDED BY KATHY BROOKS. ALL YEA- MOTION PASSED.
The next Hudson Village Board Meeting will be held Tuesday, April 5, 2022 at 7:00 P.M., at the Hudson Police Department.
https://drive.google.com/drive/folders/1GyCinyKDPsNrhY41RUCIofr-uwTbLobV
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