The Village of Weston Council
September 8, 2015
The regular council meeting was called to order by Mayor Jason Worthen at 7:00pm, followed by the pledge of allegiance.
A roll call of the council members was taken: Mrs. Danelle Langley, Mrs. Tammy McClellan, Mr. Jeremy Schroeder, Mr. Shad Kendall, Mr. Greg Stevens, and Mrs. Dawn Blandy were all present.
The minutes from the 8/17/15 public hearing and the 8/17/15 regular council meeting were reviewed and approved as read.
------
Visitor(s):
Deputy Murphy attended the meeting and gave the Mayor a copy of the monthly report.
Gerald Mohler came to check on the status of the chicken ordinance, as he is being “very patient with his neighbor” who has an excessive amount of chickens and other animals in his backyard. It was explained to him that there are several steps we still need to take before we’re ready to pass the amendment. He also expressed concerns over the condition of the individual’s property, and was informed that Mr. T Schroeder had already sent a notice. Some of the items have been cleaned up, and he will follow up on the rest.
------
The payment register (chk #’s 46850-46851 and 46866-46896, totaling $24,489.04) was presented to council. The Fiscal Officer noted that the remaining 2 checks to Mr. Loftis were voided (#46748 and 46775), and those funds were used to pay a portion of the outstanding Aardvark bill ($781). Mr. Kendall moved to pay the bills, seconded by Mrs. McClellan, all were in favor; passed.
Mrs. Langley made a motion to approve the financial reports for August. Mrs. McClellan seconded the motion, all were in favor; passed.
The Ordinance to approve the 2015 S-10 supplement to the Weston Basic Code received the 2nd reading.
Ordinance 2015-7, to set the Fiscal Officer’s salary at $25,000, received the 3rd reading. Mrs. McClellan moved for passage, seconded by Mrs. Blandy, 5 were in favor with 1 opposed (Stevens); ordinance passed.
Resolution 2015-4, to create new Fund #2041 for the Baseball/Softball Program (and to establish the appropriations in this fund), was read, declaring an emergency. Mrs. McClellan moved to suspend the rules, seconded by Mr. J Schroeder, a roll call vote was taken, resulting in 6 ayes and 0 nays. Mr. Stevens moved for passage, Mrs. McClellan seconded, all were in favor; passed.
A rough draft of the Fall Community Newsletter was reviewed, and dates were set for the following: Brush Pick-up will run from October 5-9th; Leaf Pick-up will be through the entire month of November; Trick-or-Treat will fall on Halloween night, from 6:00-7:30pm (and the parade the same as last year); and the Christmas Tree Lighting will be December 5th at 6pm.
Recycling was then discussed, as we will need volunteers to run the trailer every 4th Saturday of the month. Mr. J Schroeder was willing to do this every month, and Mrs. McClellan and Mr. Kendall also volunteered to help out. It was suggested that we move the December date, as this falls on the day after Christmas.
------
Council/Committee Business:
Mrs. Langley announced that the Planning Commission will meet next Thursday at 6pm for further discussion on the zoning/chicken amendment. Then the Sidewalk Committee will meet that night at 6:30.
Mrs. McClellan talked about a certain property on Sycamore Street with excessively high weeds. It looks to be too much for our equipment, so it was suggested that we hire a landscaping company. However, the way our ordinance reads, we may not be able to charge/assess for the full cost. We will double check on this. Otherwise, the issue will be referred to the solicitor so that the property owner can be cited.
This led to a discussion about our current mowing rates. The cost of a mowing is currently set at $65 for each property, but council feels that this has actually become more of a convenience than a penalty for some (eg- CSX). They agreed that we should create separate rates for residential and commercially owned properties, and include specifics about the size/acreage. Council felt it would be reasonable to charge $130 for an average size residential yard, and $250 for a commercial lot. The Fiscal Officer and solicitor can come up with some possible wording to propose.
Mr. J Schroeder has scheduled a Rec Board meeting for 9/28/15 at 7:00pm. They’ve been struggling with attendance, and may need to “restructure” the board if the members do not come.
Mr. Kendall set up the next Business Promotion Committee meeting for October 12th at 6:00pm.
Mr. Stevens asked that we put the solicitation application on the website.
Mrs. Blandy reported on the 9/3/15 Cemetery Board meeting, where they discussed the possible purchase of 2.13 acres of property from Matt Zulch. This is located at the back of Mr. Zulch’s property, and would need to be split off from his lot before the sale. It would square off our existing area, and allow the Cemetery room to expand when needed. After some negotiation, he was willing to accept $10,000, plus 4 Cemetery lots for his family. The Cemetery Fund currently doesn’t have a lot of excess available, so it was suggested that we loan them the money from the General Fund and have them pay it back over a period of time. The Mayor will ask the board to attend the next meeting so that we can discuss the details/terms.
Maintenance Report (T Schroeder):
· He fixed some water issues in the concession stand, called Schick Electric about the issues with the lights. They are supposed to be coming this Thursday.
· They got out the Durapatch machine today, and tried it out on a few areas (including Willow Street). It turned out pretty well.
· He talked to the NWWSD in relation to a big hole on Mill Street, which turned out to be an old storm sewer basin. They’ll be able to just back fill it.
· He addressed questions about community service, stating that it all has to be “manual labor” and they cannot use our equipment. They must also sign a waiver of liability beforehand. It was suggested that the interested individual(s) could pick up trash, complete the park checklists, help with recycling, etc.
· He sent out letters to a few of the downtown business owners to have them clean up the areas behind their buildings. Most of them have done this already.
------
At 8:22pm, Mr. Kendall made a motion to go into executive session to discuss a personnel matter involving Fire/EMS salaries. Mrs. McClellan seconded the motion, all were in favor; passed.
Mrs. Langley and Mayor Worthen were excused in the middle of the session when the discussion affected them personally (in relation to honorariums).
At 9:30pm, Mr. Kendall moved to go back into regular session, seconded by Mr. Stevens, all were in favor; passed.
The discussion was then summarized--- Raises were talked about, and council plans to propose a 16% raise across the board (all Fire/EMS officers), plus $5 more per run. However, they would first like to gain a better understanding of what the Fire Officers do.
The Mayor then pointed out that this was originally just supposed to be a raise for the Chiefs, and is now for everyone. This is because one Chief will only take a raise if everyone gets one. He suggested that we get everyone’s job descriptions in place, make sure everyone is doing what they’re supposed to be doing, and that we have the right people in the right places. He also stated that as a volunteer, he does not want an additional $5 per run.
------
No further business was brought before council. The meeting was adjourned at 9:36pm.
Sarah Schroeder, Jason Worthen,
Fiscal Officer Mayor