VILLAGE OF HINCKLEY
REGULAR BOARD MEETING - MINUTES
May 16, 2016
CALL BOARD MEETING TO ORDER: Meeting was called to order by President Roderick at 7:00 PM.
Present: President Jim Roderick, Trustees Nancy Nelson, Mark Wrzeciona, Joe Diedrich, Jeff Nier, Dale Clark, and Mike Constant. Quorum Established.
Absent: None
Also Present: Village Clerk Elizabeth Losiniecki, Attorney Laura Julien, Office Manager Cheryl Weiler, Police Chief Everhart, Treasurer Thon, Joe Moore, Dale Youngers, Pete Wallers & Steve Dennison (EEI), and Members of the Public.
PLEDGE OF ALLEGIANCE: The pledge to the flag was recited.
Comments from Persons Present:
Resident Barb Watne asked if there is an ordinance regarding blowing grass clippings into the street. President Roderick stated that there is and Mrs. Watne requested that a reminder for be put on the website.
Resident Larry Menz inquired regarding mowing at Royal Estates. President Roderick stated that mowing would begin once it is dry enough. Mr. Menz provided further comment regarding police officer over time and the proposed sludge storage building. Dale Youngers stated that land application of bio-solids will save the Village approximately $30,000.00 per year.
Resident Rob Zimmerman offered his opinions about the hiring of a third full time police officer.
CONSENT AGENDA
# / Item Description / Action / Details1 / Previous Meeting Minutes / Vote / May 2, 2016 Board Meeting
May 9, 2016 Committee of the Whole Meeting
2 / Payment of Bills / Vote / Invoices Due
Trustee Clark requested that the minutes from the May 2, 2016 Regular Board Meeting be removed from the consent agenda. Trustee Nelson requested that the bills be removed from the consent agenda. Trustee Wrzeciona moved to approve the minutes from the May 9, 2016 Committee of the Whole meeting and Trustee Nelson seconded. Roll Call Vote: Nelson-Aye, Wrzeciona-Aye, Diedrich-Aye, Nier-Aye, Clark-Abstain, Constant-Aye. Motion carried.
Trustee Clark moved to approve the May 2, 2016 Regular Board Meeting minutes. He stated that he asked to have them removed from the consent agenda so that he could vote on them as he was not present for the Committee of the Whole meeting and wanted to abstain on that vote. Trustee Diedrich seconded the motion. Roll Call Vote: Nelson-Abstain, Wrzeciona-Aye, Diedrich-Aye, Nier-Aye, Clark-Aye, Constant-Aye. Motion carried.
Bills Discussion: Several questions were asked and answered regarding a variety of bills. After sufficient inquiry, Trustee Nelson moved to approve the payment of the bills. Trustee Wrzeciona seconded. Roll Call Vote: Nelson-Aye, Wrzeciona-Aye, Diedrich-Aye, Nier-Aye, Clark-Aye, Constant-Aye. Motion carried.
Treasurer
Treasurer Thon presented the April Fund Balance Report and discussed some adjustments. There was a brief discussion about MFT funds. Treasurer Thon stated that she amended the new full time police officer pay rate to $19.00 per hour. Treasurer Thon also reviewed two corrections to the Draft Appropriations Ordinance. Trustee Clark stated that he would like an updated copy of the document. Discussion followed regarding the appropriation for the proposed sludge storage building and budget vs. appropriations, in general. President Roderick asked for a motion to accept the current draft appropriation ordinance so that the Public Hearing could be scheduled. He reminded the Trustees that the draft can be changed at any time. Trustee Clark moved to accept the draft appropriations ordinance and Trustee Nier seconded. Roll Call vote: Nelson-Nay, Wrzeciona-Aye, Diedrich-Nay, Nier-Aye, Clark-Aye, Constant-Aye. Motion carried.
Committee Reports
Administration
Hiring part-time or full-time office assistant:
President Roderick stated that the previous office assistant had resigned and that the position needed to be filled as soon as possible. After a brief discussion, Trustees agreed to start with a part time job offering at $13.25 per hour. Trustee Clark moved to approve the hiring of a part-time office assistant up to 20 hours per week at $13.25 per hour. Trustee Nelson seconded. Roll Call vote: Nelson-Aye, Wrzeciona-Aye, Diedrich-Aye, Nier-Aye, Clark-Aye, Constant-Aye. Motion carried.
Laptop for Public Works:
President Roderick stated that Joe Moore’s laptop had crashed and would need to be replaced. After a brief discussion, Trustee Clark moved to approve the purchase of a refurbished laptop, not to exceed $450.00. Trustee Wrzeciona seconded. Roll Call vote: Nelson-Aye, Wrzeciona-Aye, Diedrich-Aye, Nier-Aye, Clark-Aye, Constant-Aye. Motion carried.
Public Safety
Hiring 3rd Full Time Police Officer:
Discussion regarding the necessity of hiring a third full time police officer. Chief Everhart reviewed the rationale, including her inability to force a part-time officer to cover open shifts. She explained that part-time officers have other full-time jobs and are not always available to fill in. She detailed the complexities of trying to schedule so many part-time officers. Additional discussion. Trustee Clark moved to approve the hiring of a third full-time police officer and Trustee Nelson seconded. Roll Call vote: Nelson-Aye, Wrzeciona-Aye, Diedrich-Aye, Nier-Nay, Clark-Aye, Constant-Aye. Motion carried.
Public Works
FY2017 MFT Road Project
Pete Wallers (EEI) provided a handout to Trustees detailing the proposed road work projects and the estimated costs. He stated that in order to move forward, the Trustees would need to pass a resolution to approve the use of $118,000.00 in MFT funds. Discussion followed regarding the projects. Trustee Nier moved to approve the FY2017 MFT Road Project not to exceed $118,000.00. Trustee Clark seconded. Roll Call Vote: Nelson-Aye, Wrzeciona-Aye, Diedrich-Aye, Nier-Aye, Clark-Aye, Constant-Aye. Motion carried.
Sludge Storage Building:
Steve Dennison (EEI) provided a revised estimate for the sludge storage building, showing options to reduce the cost. He reviewed the options and stated that the IEPA permit process would take between 60-120 days. Discussion followed regarding funding. President Roderick and Dale Youngers stated that this is an investment that would save the Village money. Trustee Clark stated that this would show good stewardship instead of wasting money to pay someone to haul our sludge to a landfill. Discussion followed regarding loan options and bid process. Trustee Clark moved to go forward with the plans for the sludge storage building, not to exceed $115,000.00, with a minimum of three quotes. Trustee Constant seconded. Roll Call vote: Nelson-Nay, Wrzeciona-Nay, Diedrich-Nay, Nier-Nay, Clark-Aye, Constant-Aye. Motion denied.
Street Sweeping:
Joe Moore reviewed the street sweeping quote and scope of work. Trustee Wrzeciona moved to approve the street sweeping contract with Hoover, not to exceed $2224.00. Trustee Clark seconded. Roll Call vote: Nelson-Aye, Wrzeciona-Aye, Diedrich-Aye, Nier-Aye, Clark-Aye, Constant-Aye. Motion carried.
PRESIDENT’S REPORT
FY2017 Meeting Schedule:
President Roderick presented the FY2017 meeting schedule. Trustee Clark moved to approve the FY2017 meeting schedule. Trustee Constant seconded. Roll Call vote: Nelson-Aye, Wrzeciona-Aye, Diedrich-Aye, Nier-Aye, Clark-Aye, Constant-Aye. Motion carried.
Executive Session Minutes:
Attorney Julien presented the findings of the Executive Session meeting minutes review for release. Brief discussion followed regarding how far back and how often the Executive Session minutes are reviewed. Trustee Nelson moved to approve the Attorney recommendations for release of Executive Session minutes and Trustee Clark seconded. Roll Call vote: Nelson-Aye, Wrzeciona-Aye, Diedrich-Aye, Nier-Aye, Clark-Aye, Constant-Aye. Motion carried.
Temporary pay increase for Village Treasurer and Village Clerk:
President Roderick stated that the Village Office was in need of coverage due to the resignation of the office assistant. He stated that Treasurer Thon is the only other village employee that knows the MSI accounting system. Attorney Julien reviewed the legality of the Treasurer and Clerk receiving extra pay for office work and stated that it is fully within the law as long as they are not performing typical treasurer and clerk duties and it is a temporary situation. Discussion followed regarding interpretation of the law and the Hinckley Municipal Code definition of the roles and responsibilities of the Village Clerk and Village Treasurer, including and related to the office staff. Discussion followed regarding pay rate. Treasurer Thon stated that she had previously been paid $15.00 per hour. Trustee Nelson offered to do the part time office assistant job for $13.25 per hour. Trustee Clark moved to approve the temporary pay increase for the Village Treasurer and Village Clerk, not to exceed twenty hours per week at a rate of $15.00 per hour. Trustee Constant seconded. Roll Call vote: Nelson-Nay, Wrzeciona-Nay, Diedrich-Aye, Nier-Nay, Clark-Aye, Constant-Aye. Tie Vote. President Roderick-Aye. Motion carried.
Open Discussion
Trustee Constant stated that he is just trying to help resolve a difficult situation and that the Village cannot afford to not act on these issues.
Trustee Nelson requested a general ledger activity report and stated that the report provided was a summary, not detailed.
President Roderick stated that it was his goal to go forward with open and honest communication and that he wanted to engage the Village without all of the complaining. He said that we need to work together positively, not negatively.
President Roderick also stated that a meeting needed to be scheduled with Lake County Grading and he needed volunteer Trustees to attend. Trustee Diedrich and Trustee Constant said they would attend. President Roderick stated that EEI and Attorney Julien would also be present. Trustee Clark requested that the meeting time and location be sent to all Trustees.
Trustee Constant informed the Board and those present that Planning Commission Chairman, Rob Judd, had passed away. President Roderick stated that the Village had sent flowers and that the obituary had requested donations to Shriner’s Children’s Hospital.
Dale Youngers stated that two residents had helped “bail out” the WWTP during the recent heavy rains and he wanted to publicly acknowledge and thank Ralph Paxton and John Michaels. He requested that the Village send them thank you notes.
ADJOURMENT
Motion: Trustee Wrzeciona moved to adjourn the meeting at 9:42 PM. Trustee Nelson seconded the motion. Voice Vote: All members voted yes. Motion carried.
The next Regular Meeting of the Village Board is scheduled for June 6, 2016.
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James K. Roderick, Village President Elizabeth Losiniecki, Village Clerk