McLean County Times

Village of Downs Board of Trustees met June 13.

Here is the agenda provided by the board:

1. Mayor Mike James called the June 13, 2024, meeting to order at 7:01 pm.

2. Roll Call was taken. Trustees present were Maureen Roach, Anna Milliken, Stephanie Adkisson, Sarah Gassaway, Brian Warfel, and Toby Twyford. Also present were Clerk Julie James, Treasurer Julie Bakewell, and Village Attorney Dawn Wall. A quorum to do business was declared by Mayor James.

3. The Pledge of Allegiance was recited.

4. A Motion to Approve Agenda and Order was made by was made by Roach and seconded by Twyford. Approved 6-0

Discussion:

No action would be taken in New Business.

5. Events

• Installation of insulation started this week in the haunted house.

• The HVAC will be installed before July.

• The Freedom Run is on 6/29. The committee is looking for a new event coordinator for next year.

• Sponsorships are coming in.

• The 4th of July plans are coming along.

• Our fireworks contract with J&M is up next year. If we are going to use J&M, we will need to get someone to be the lead.

6. Engineer & Development Report

1. Downs Water Plant Improvements

• We are in the process of getting the filter on and getting it online.

• The filter needs to be painted.

• They are going to be putting siding on the outside of the building.

• The brine tank is almost complete.

• Leander is 34 days ahead of schedule.

• Pit less adapter for the new well is here.

• Kickapoo Drilling is hoping to get the pit less adapter and pump installed next week.

• Leander just sent the 10th payout request.

2. Downtown Streetscape and Parking Lots design

• There is not a lot of activity on this right now.

• We are still waiting on HUD.

• We have an agreement with McLean County to keep some of our parking spaces downtown.

• James said we need to decide what to do with E Main.

• Gassaway and Milliken preferred the one-way option.

• Adkisson thinks it needs to be closed. People will be confused with the one-way. We could create a nice little park where children can play and eat ice cream.

• Warfel says he does not think one-way streets in small towns make sense.

• One-way was the consensus and the angled parking was moved to the north side.

3. Downs Crossing Watermain Extension – Nothing new to report.

4. S. Lincoln and Colleen Lane Water and Sewer Extension

• Almost 1000 ft of sewer has been completed.

• Roanoke is moving right along with their building.

5. S. Lincoln, Colleen Lane, and Hillard Court Road Projects – Nothing new to report.

6. Other Engineering or Development Updates - Nothing new to report.

7. Mayoral Report

• James said he has been in contact with the county and their efforts to do EV charging station in Downs.

• He put the village in for a potential charging station at the Mobile station. The owners would have to approve, but this is the only logical location in Downs right now. Future location could be added on Franklin but not exactly sure where.

8. Trustee Reports

1. Building Report

• Gassaway reported there is not much going on.

2. Water and Sewer Report

• Hydrant flushing is going to be started this week.

3. Police Report

• Roach said the department sent out 20 ordinance violation letters back in the fall.

• Half the violators have corrected.

• Roach asked the board for direction. Do we start fining?

• These violations include weeds, inoperable vehicles, refuse and garbage.

• The ordinance allows us to issue violations.

• Roach will issue letters and issue fines.

• Dingler has 2 cases in progress.

• There is an ongoing case at the Mobile Station.

• Arrowsmith had an assault with a deadly weapon.

• Dingler is getting a lot of complements on Officer Thornton.

• McLean County assisted in Downs and Arrowsmith.

• There was unlawful restraint at Downs Crossing storage units.

• Last month we had 74 stops in the 3 villages.

• 31 of those stops were in Downs.

• Dingler is analyzing the extra hours being used at the school.

• The intern is doing a fantastic job.

• The speed bumps are going to be on a trial basis.

• Officer King is overseas and will be back in Oct.

• Officer Guest has been shorthanded in Farmer City and has not been working for the village.

• Officer Thornton is being deployed in October and gone for several months.

4. Streets Reports

• The crew has been busy.

• They have been putting in the sewer main.

• There was a driveway in Raef that had to be pulled out to fix a water main.

• Warfel went ahead to get an estimate of how much it would cost to replace the driveway.

• We will determine how much we will cover and how much they need to pay.

• Do we need a low bridge sign to prevent campers and tall trucks from trying to go down Huff Rd?

• We are down 3 mowers and a weed eater.

• We may need to get a new mower. The John Deere is having serious issues.

5. Parks, Community Center and Food Pantry Report

• Adkisson is working hard on getting the 4th of July event ready.

• After the 4th, the committee will focus on Kickapoo and getting the pavilion cleaned out.

6. Finance and Services Report

• Milliken is looking into a food truck permitting process.

• Heyworth has an event permit and those operating outside an event.

• Milliken proposes a $50/year permit.

• Several trustees thought the fee was too low. We need to protect our businesses.

• We had an incident where a food truck showed up at the car show. The CIA was already there doing a fundraiser. We had no way to tell them they needed to go away.

• Milliken is also looking into a hotel and short-term rental tax (Airbnb, VRBO). We have one Airbnb currently in the village.

• VRBO has a nice process to remit the tax to municipalities.

Unique bills on the BTP

• Semi-annual insurance bill

• Plumb Crazy Plumbing

• Vehicle maintenance bill

• Weber Electric (75% Police fund, 25% Street fund)

• Boring work on RT 150

Other discussion

• The 1st of the 3 property tax installments has been received.

• TIFs revenue came in over budget.

• We received the 10th disbursement for Leander Construction.

• Bakewell said they will be closing the ledger for FY24 in July.

• The audit is scheduled for 7/29.

• We have a treasurer candidate that we will be interviewing.

• QuickBooks has been updated.

9. Discussion

1. Other

• The events committee recommends Ken and Dorothy Adkisson will be the 4th of July Grand Marshals.

10. Public Comment

• There were comments about the ordinance violations and the driveway on Raef.

11. A Motion to Approve Items Contained within the Consent Agenda was made by Twyford and seconded by Adkisson. Approved 6-0

12. A Motion to Approve Consent Agenda was made by Roach and seconded by Twyford. Approved 6-0 1. Motions

a. Motion to Approve the June 6, 2024, Village Board of Trustees Special Meeting Minutes

b. Motion to Approve the June 6, 2024, Village Board of Trustees Executive Meeting Minutes

c. Motion to Approve the Extension of Dooley Park Hours on 7/4/2024 until 12 am 7/5/2024.

d. Motion to Approve Washington St Road Closure from Lincoln to Woodlawn on 7/4/2024 after the Parade.

e. Motion to Approve Dooley Park Road Closure from 7/3/2024 to 7/4/2024.

f. Motion to Approve Payment of Budgeted Expenses for Freedom Run and July 4th Events as Needed and Approved by Village Clerk, Finance Trustee, and Mayor

g. Motion to Approve Parade Route and Road Closures Required During the Parade on 7/4/2024.

h. Motion to Approve Events Committee Recommendation of Kena and Dorothy Adkisson as the 2024 4th of July Grand Marshal

2. Ordinance

3. Resolutions

13. New Business – There was no action in New Business.

1. Motions

a. Motion to Continue the Village of Downs Regular Board of Trustees Meeting on

_____________, @ 7 pm at the Village Hall

2. Ordinances

a. Ordinance 2024-__ Authorizing and Approving Food Truck Permitting

b. Ordinance 2024-__ Authorizing and Approving Hotel and Short-Term Rental Tax

3. Resolutions

14. Old Business – There was no action in Old Business.

1. Ordinance 2024-__ Amending the Municipal Code of The Village of Downs by the Addition of Article [Chapter] _________ Establishing Standards for the Construction of Facilities on the Rights-of-Way

15. A Motion to Approve Payment of Bills was made by Milliken and seconded by Twyford. Approved 6-0

16. A Motion to Enter Executive Session for Development and Annexation Agreements was made by Roach and seconded by Adkisson. Approved 6-0

Mayor Mike James called the June 13, 2024, meeting back to order at 9:35 pm.

Roll Call was taken. Trustees present were Maureen Roach, Anna Milliken, Stephanie Adkisson, Sarah Gassaway, Brian Warfel, and Toby Twyford. Also present were Clerk Julie James, Treasurer Julie Bakewell, and Village Attorney Dawn Wall. There was a quorum to Wall.

17. No Action was taken on Executive Session Items.

18. Other Business

• Amended Leroy Intergovernmental Agreement – Wall is not in favor of the hold harmless clause. It does not say unless due to negligence of the operator.

19. A Motion to Adjourn at 9:38 pm was made by Gassaway and seconded by Twyford. Approved

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