The Hancock-Henderson Quill, Inc.

Ohler-Bigger Square Off in Dispute At Oquawka Board Meeting

By Sally Day for the Quill

Lewis Ohler, resident, took his place at the microphone during the Monday night, April 7, 2014, meeting of the Oquawka Village Board. He stated his objections to a dumpster near his fence.

The dumpster belongs to the Hub Restaurant, owned by Sue and Ron Bigger. Ohler claims the land belongs to the City Park and the dumpster should be moved. He says that due to the stench from the dumpster he cannot enjoy his own back yard.

Sue Bigger, owner of the Hub, stated her case, saying that she had been told that the village does not own the property in question, but rather Oquawka Township owns it. "The Hub has been there 35-40 and the dumpster has always been there, not just since I have owned it." She further stated, "If he thinks it stinks now, he ain't seen nothing."

Attorney Andy Doyle noted that if the property in question does belong to the city, the dumpster would have to be moved due to the liability.

Each board member had an overview picture of the property. Attorney Doyle stated he would go to the Assessor's Office and find out who owned the property and would send a letter out in the next few days with the board's findings.

Mayor Sandra Moody spoke to the board about nine laptops from the state which were available. Carolyn Anderson has offered to program these for a total of $175. The board passed a motion to pay Anderson to do so.

Mayor Moody also said she had been in contact with Dopher Thompson, who told her that the docks would not be put back into the Mississippi River until May, due to possible flooding. The board further decided to get some prices on dredging the river in front of First Street.

Truck parking at the track was also discussed. Some people have been using the electricity at this location. Every time trucks are unplugged, they are plugged back in, within a few hours. Electricity costs were nearly $100 more than they had been at this location. The electricity has been turned off at this location. The mayor said she is going to press charges against violators.

She also mentioned that children have been seen recently, placing nails behind tires.

The "animal" situation was another topic addressed by the mayor. Mayor Moody mentioned geese, chickens, goats and pot bellied pigs could possibly be problems. Board member Nancy Bundy said, "I would rather see the cat problems taken care of." Added John Fedler, board member, "I don't want to be wakened early on my day off." He said this referring to roosters which some people within the city limits own. These problems have been appearing on social media lately. The decision was made that if people complain to Police Chief Keith DeJaynes, then the problem would be addressed.

The animal situation came under the heading of the Green River Ordinance, an ordinance commonly given to one prohibiting door-to-door salesmen, etc. They could not sell their wares without explicit permission from local governments.

Which brought the group to exactly that, selling door to door. These vendors need to pick up permission registrations from Village Hall. These and all ordinances will be discussed at a separate meeting addressing this issue.

During Police Chief DeJaynes Report the following was stated: Police calls had resulted in Criminal: 1. DUI, 2. Battery, 3. Criminal Trespass. Agency Assists - 2 County Assists and 4 Ambulance Assists. Domestic: 1 Domestic call. Tavern Calls: 2 calls. Ordinance: Burning Garbage within City Limits. Golf Cart Inspections: 3. Traffic: 8 Speeding Tickets, 5 Stop Sign Tickets, 4 Warnings, 1 Traffic Accident. Other Calls: 24. Warrants: 2. Fuel 192.5 gallons. Mileage: 1,378. Fines: $424.62.

Chief DeJaynes also noted that he had received inquiries if someone could obtain a golf cart sticker if they did not live in town. After re-reading the Ordinance, Attorney Andy Doyle said there was nothing in the ordinance stating that someone had to be an Oquawka resident. As long as they meet the other criteria and pay the $30 annual fee anyone can purchase a sticker.

Fire Chief Troy Jern noted that a ticket had been issued on a trash burning complaint. He further stated that he wanted to thank everyone involved in getting water and offering showers to those who were without water in the past couple of months. He thanked the Lincoln Logs, Bill Tobias, Perry Parsons, and Henry Grawet for manning and providing a place to store the "shower truck".

In other business, the board:

• heard from Cheryl Corzatt, who is the Water Clerk and Treasurer for the village, asking the board what they would like done with water bills, where people were without water (some nearly two months). The board decided to credit the water accounts of those individuals who were without water due to the village's responsibility. Notes will be sent out soon, telling those individuals that credit will be applied to their account. It was also learned that Corzatt is resigning her position. Board members thanked her for her diligence and noted it was a pleasure working with her.
• tabled a motion to allow the Fire Department to utilize the 1972 Fire Truck until they determine how much the insurance will cost.
• accepted the IKE Comprehensive Plan as written. The board passed this decision unanimously. They heard from board member Nancy Bundy about the IKE Comprehensive Plan, who thanked Mick Olson for all his hard work to date on the plan. She believes it will be very influential in future concerns.
• heard from businesswoman Donna Dunn, who asked who is responsible for the damage done to the Stanton-Ingersoll Insurance Agency building. The agency believes this damage occurred when the new sidewalk was put in by Laverdiere. She was told this will be discussed in Executive Session, as it would be litigation.
• passed a motion to amend the contract for MSA for continued on-site observation. Roll call vote was as follows: John Fedler, no; Jason Howard, yes; Troy Jern, yes; Robert Eldridge, yes; Nancy Bundy, yes.
• passed a motion to assess the following fines in the Junk Ordinance: $250 for first offense and $500 for second offense. Once a person is given a ticket on this, they will have 21 days to clean up the location. Roll call vote was as follows: John Fedler, yes; Jason Howard, yes; Troy Jern, abstain; Robert Eldridge, yes; and Nancy Bundy, yes.
• burst into a round of applause when Street and Water Superintendent Jeff Peterson said he was finished with all the frozen lines in the community. This has been a long time issue. It was also decided to manage some sort of dust control on the parking lot at the track.
• passed a motion to purchase a 2006 Chevy Impala to be outfitted and used as a police car. The total cost of the car with light installation will be $6400. The roll call vote was as follows: John Fedler, yes; Jason Howard, yes; Troy Jern, yes; Robert Eldridge, no; and Nancy Bundy, yes.
• voted to pass a motion to charge residents living outside of the city limits a fee of $50 per year for Fire Protection. If that fee is not paid and a fire/accident occurs at that address, the property owner will be responsible to pay for the fire trucks responding to a fire. Board member Troy Jern abstained from this vote, as he is the Fire Chief.
• agreed to pay $5000 for this years Fireworks Display.
• passed a motion to approve the closing of Schuyler Street from Second Street to the alley on May 3 and 4 from 8 a.m. to 12 a.m.
• heard three permits were issued from the Zoning Officer.
• approved the minutes of the March meeting, March bills, and the February Treasurer's Report.
• had the following members present - John Fedler, Jason Howard, Troy Jern, Robert Eldridge, Nancy Bundy, and Mayor Sandra Moody. Scott Ray was absent.