Cerro Gordo, Illinois

JANUARY 15, 2007

The monthly meeting of the President and the Board of Trustees met at 7:00 P.M. in the Municipal Building on Jan. 15, 2007. Among those present were: President Jim Morgan, Trustees Brad Williams, Lyle Shoraga, Rod Forbes, Jerry Morris, Don Ritchie, and Mike Songer. Also present were Atty. Colette McCarty, D.P.W. Rob Bratton, P.C. Pat Carter, Treasurer Cris Perry, and Clerk Linda Ash.

There were no sign ups for the Public Forum. The meeting was called to order and minutes were read and approved.

TIF

Atty. Dan Schuering was present tonight and gave details on the TIF agreement. His office is done with the data collecting. The homes on Bell Street have been removed from the district as there was no good reason to keep them in it. This deals with the impact study. Currently there are 118 individual parcels of property in the TIF district. The office is working on blight investigations. Mr. Schuering will e-mail a proposed time line within the next 90 days. The only state notification that needs to be done is providing them with a copy of the plan. Also copies will need to be provided to all taxing bodies and they will have 30 days to get back to the Village about the plan. The final decision about the TIF is up to the Village Board.

AUDIT

Kevin Huffman, auditor for the Village, presented the completed audit for the 2005-06 fiscal years. This is the second year for the new format. All funds over $100,000 need to be collateralized by the bank. If any one has any questions about the audit, they can contact Kevin at any time. The report looks very good for the year.

CLAIMS REPORT

Clerk Ash requested that the bills that come in the next couple days be paid. Among those anticipated is the Ameren IP bill. Motion by Trustee Shoraga, second Ritchie to pay any bills that may come in yet this week, and to approve the claims report, all yeas.

TREASURER’S REPORT

There are at least three residents that have leaks and their bills are quite large. They have been notified of the leaks previously, been sent required paperwork for adjustments, and the Village has not received any further information from them. They can be shut off with no grace period as they have already received that notice. Motion by Trustee Morris to approve Treasurer’s report, second by Songer. Roll call: Trustees Williams, Shoraga, Forbes, Morris, Ritchie, and Songer, all yeas.

DIRECTOR OF PUBLIC WORKS

The Village has received well over 3 inches of rain since Friday. Meter pits are a little full. Electrical Service is building a panel for the Franklin St. lift station.

There was a main break at Wait and Washington. Rob was able to get it fixed without shutting off anyone’s water.

The chlorine detectors are not working and will need to be replaced. They are over 10 years old. Rob is also awaiting an estimate from Burdick for new piping to the pump.

CHIEF OF POLICE REPORT

Pat has the annual citation report finished. This annual report is easy to follow.

The dugout damage is estimated at $3893. The person responsible has 6 months to make restitution. The Village will provide the necessary funds to the Youth League for repairs as the court will send the restitution money to the Village. Fence part of the repair can wait until spring to fix but the first boys baseball game starts in mid March. The dugouts will need to be fixed before then. The Village has one bid for lumber and one bid from a contractor.

Kelly Huff was present at the meeting and thanked the police department for a fast resolution to the vandalism.

ESDA siren-The community is within 45 days of tornado season.

Fire Chief Randy West handed out a job scope to the Trustees. The cost of hooking up the ESDA siren to a generator at the fire station is under $10,000 and needs to be completed by March 1. The Public grounds Committee, which consists of Trustees Shoraga and Songer, will work with Chief Carter and Chief West. Motion to approve the committee for the work was made by Trustee Ritchie, Forbes, all yeas. It was also recommended that the fire district give a lease to the Village where the siren will stand. A 3X6 foot concrete pad will be needed. That way the siren can be added to the Village insurance policy.

Everything will be coordinated between the fire department and the ESDA director. There will be a policy for the fire department to follow.

Pat has set an open house for the Police department and the Municipal Building for Feb. 24 from 12-4:00P.M.

OLD BUSINESS

No progress to report.

NEW BUSINESS

Charles Young with Young Disposal Service of Cisco was present at the meeting and asked about servicing customers in Cerro Gordo. It is the opinion of the Atty. that Onyx, now Veolia, does not have an exclusive contract with the Village. Young Services will provide once a week service and special service for the elderly. No recycling, no totes. The Village has granted him permission to distribute flyers to try and get a customer base.

The sesquicentennial sign has been put up in the commons area.

The Piatt County Senior Citizen Transportation Program has requested a donation. The Village has donated $500 in the past. Motion by Trustee Morris, second Songer, to make that donation. Roll call: Trustees Williams, yea, Shoraga, abstain, Forbes, yea, Morris, yea, Ritchie, yea, and Songer, yeas.

TRUSTEE REPORT

Trustee Shoraga states that a resident asked him if there was anything the Village could do in the form of financial backing for someone to buy the grocery store. Legally the Village cannot.

Trustee Morris asked about the status of the burned house on Hunt Street. That is at the mercy of the insurance companies, probate and the court system, etc. Lonnie Grider is starting to create a junk yard and needs to be contacted. Trustee Morris would also like to see some drainage work done on Lincoln Street on the south side of the tracks and the area on Franklin Street.

Trustee Ritchie received a plat that states South Washington Street is 50 foot wide. Streets are only 22 foot wide, not including the right of ways.

There was no further business to be conducted and the meeting was adjourned at 9:08 P.M. on a motion by Trustee Shoraga, second Williams, all yeas.
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Village Clerk 1/15/07