McLean County Times

City of Chenoa City Council met July 23.

Here are the minutes provided by the council:

The Chenoa City Council met in regular session on July 23, 2024 at 6:30 p.m. at City Hall. Mayor Shane, Commissioners Pickett, Myers, Lopeman, Hernandez, Treasurer Rowold and City Clerk Rhoades were in attendance. Attorney Mann was absent.

#5694 Commissioners Myers and Pickett moved and seconded the Motion for the Approval of the bills to be paid in full with JD Financial withheld and Mounce 09 Ford Moved 56079.The roll call vote was affirmative.

#5695 Commissioners Lopeman and Herndanez moved and seconded the Motion to Approve to Enter into Executive Session to Discuss the Appointment, Employment, Compensation, Discipline, Performance or Dismissal of Specific Employees of the City of Chenoa - Section 2(c)(1) and Executive Session to Discuss Litigation – Section 2(c)(11) – Pending Probable or Imminent Litigation. The roll call vote was affirmative.

#5696 Commissioners Lopeman and Herndanez moved and seconded the Motion Approve to Return to open Session. The roll call vote was affirmative.

#5697 Commissioners Pickett and Myers moved and seconded the Motion Approve to Move Susan Steinsultz to Full Time at Current Pay. The roll call vote was affirmative.

#5698 Commissioners Lopeman and Herndanez moved and seconded the Motion that the council do now adjourn. The roll call vote was affirmative.

IN OTHER BUSINESS BEFORE THE COUNCIL:

Melissa Cooper for Kids Carnival Date Change

Melissa said they have to change the date to the 3rd of August instead of July 27 due to conflict with the mcLean County Fair and some of her people have to work the fair. She also asked to do donation buckets at the 4-way stop on August 31. The council had no concerns or issues.

Silliman Trust Advisory Board Recommendation for Funding

JD Skaggs said that Melissa Cooper came to them from the CARES Charity asking for funds. They are losing some of their storage due to circumstances and are looking to purchase a storage container. He said they do a lot for the community and the people in need. The Board agreed to make the recommendation but leave the details of the location and anything else up to the council to be sure it meets all codes. Mayor Shane confirmed that this would be a donation for CARES Charity for them to own the container. It was decided that Attorney Mann will need to review this and the council would discuss it again at that time. Melissa Cooper said they would place it on the property behind TNT as there are two businesses with cameras that would be on it, it is zoned commercial and the property owner has already agreed.

Discuss and Vote to Sign FGI Professional Services Agreement for Water Main Improvements

This has been tabled until the next meeting due to not all council members have reviewed the agreement yet.

Discuss and Vote on an Ordinance Amending Metal Siding Provisions Under the Chenoa Zoning Code

This was not reviewed by the Zoning Board at a meeting after the last changes were made. They will have the board discuss this at their next meeting before the council votes.

Discuss and Vote to Change Susan Steinsultz Employment Status to Full-Time

This will be discussed in closed session but they do need to discuss adding Susan Steinsultz to the bank accounts at the State Bank of Graymont in order to be able to sign checks. The council had no issues or concerns and agreed to add Susan to the City’s bank accounts as a signer.

Discuss and Vote to Sell House City Owns

Mayor Shane someone has offered to pay $1 to take the vacant house on City property off their hands. He spoke with the Attorney who said they may be able to bypass the bid process if the council deems the property no longer needed by the City. This will need to be further discussed with the Attorney.

Discuss and Vote on Signing Contract with IDEAL Environmental to Solicit Bids for Asbestos Abatement

Commissioner Lopeman said this is to solicit bids and not accept any bids. He got some rough numbers from a company of about $8,000 or less for the asbestos abatement in 2 to 3 days. It would cost the City $1,500 to put the bids together and solicit from IDEAL. They could have IDEAL monitor the abatement process for $1,000 per 8 hour shift. Commissioner Lopeman suggested doing that as there are a lot of laws that go along with abatements. He feels that would be a good sense of security for the City. He also said the street department has already put time and money into turning the garage into a salt shed. There is no asbestos in the garage and they have already put in around $5,000 and $2,000 on the asbestos test. Mayor Shane said we do not have to do the abatement if they sell the house. The council agreed that they will need to look into this deeper.

Comments from the Floor

Rick Wahls said the old docks at Silliman Lake have been sitting there for 4 years and he would like someone to put a deadline on cleaning them up. He said there have been kids playing on them and it is a liability to have them there. After some discussion Mayor Shane said they will be moved into town. Rick also asked if something has been done with the overgrown house on Sheridan. Mayor Shane said him and Commissioner Hernandez are going to be working on getting the properties around town letters and start the required process.

Barry Martian informed the council that he is very disappointed in the city street issues that he was hopeful would be fixed when the new council came in. Commissioner Lopeman said Eppel has been called and we are on their list. Barry said he does not understand why Chenoa has the worst roads around. After some discussion it was stated that there is only one guy in that department by Commissioner Lopeman. Barry asked if the guys do not work together and said he sees the guys driving around town doing nothing. Mayor Shane went over a list of items that have not been done in the street department along with maintaining the streets and alleys.

Attorney's Comments

Absent

Treasurer’s Comments

Treasurer Rowold went over the surplus and deficits of each account so far this year. He said the Water and Sewer is running low on cash and they may need to start looking at their options of borrowing from the General Fund again or pulling from the line of credit.

Commissioner’s Comments

Commissioner Myers None

Commissioner Pickett said they are just getting ready for the water improvement meeting on Sunday.

Commissioner Hernandez said after the $10,000 repair at the pool the water is holding. It was leaking 20,000 gallons per day and now about 2,000 which is a normal amount for pools. They are going to need to look at a new liner if they want to keep the pool alive which is going to cost a lot. Parks has been spraying. There are two pavilions at the dog park now.

Commissioner Lopeman said he got a call back from the guy working on the lift and hopefully by next week we will have it back and can take care of some of the trees. They are starting the last drainage project that is flooding residents' basements. They did get the brush picked up from this last storm that was not as bad as the first one. He said he plans to grind stumps this fall or winter so if anyone knows of any to let him know so he can add it to the list.

Mayor Shane said he is going to the Mayor’s Breakfast tomorrow with Senator Bennett and there are supposed to be some grant writers there.

https://www.chenoail.org/sites/g/files/vyhlif6431/f/minutes/7_23_24_1.pdf