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Oquawka Discusses 4th of July

by Jeff Tee-River Rat News

Present for the regular Oquawka Village Board meeting June 4th were Trustees Nancy Bundy, Shawn Lain, Tammy Bundy, Brian Collier, Scott Ray, and Mayor Robert Eldridge.

Absent were: Trustee Brenda Tee, Village Clerk Jacqui Smith, and Village Attorney Andy Youngquist.

OPEN DISCUSSION

Former Fire Chief Hal Jern addressed the board to let them know the 4th of July parade would be held on June 29th 10 a.m. If there is rain at that time, the parade will be moved to 2 p.m. Line up will be one hour prior to start time.

Hal went on to thank the board for the use of the fire station for his grandson's graduation party mentioning that the department has never charged anyone for the use of the building and there have been many fundraisers, graduation parties, showers, etc. held there over the years.

Oquawka Fire Protection District President Donna Dunn asked the board if they had received a letter dated 17 May from the Fire Protection District addressed to the Village Attorney requesting the updated purchase agreement contract.

Eldridge told Donna since Youngquist wasn't able attend the meeting, he couldn't verify if he Andy had received the letter.

Donna asked Eldridge to make a note that the only purchase agreement the district has is from January. She stated the district responded in February and then held off in March and April because of the referendum, concerning the dissolution of the fire department, was on the ballot. She said the district has been trying to move forward.

Dunn then asked for an accurate statement on the cost of the fire department from July 1st, 2018 till present because that is the district's fiscal year and they are trying to get a budget together. She mentioned the district hasn't received any schedules that the village attorney offered in January including any allocations, or a schedule of assets.

Eldridge said the village would provide the district that information, and they would give a copy to the Youngquist and send a copy to the district's attorney so everyone that is involved has the information requested.

Dunn mentioned some changes to the purchase agreement brought forth by the district. Eldridge said they were going to have a special meeting to discuss the changes. He said they would set that meeting tonight and she would be invited to sit in. He said they would hammer out the details at that meeting so that the contract could be finalized and they could get this done. Dunn asked if she could get the date of that meeting so she could get insurance and other necessities set up. Lain asked for Village Attorney outgoing emails to be sent to board members so they could be privy to those emails.

John Newton addressed the board to ask what they were going to do about the water that is now sitting on the inside of the levee.

Eldridge said that would be discussed later in the meeting and they were in the process of waiting on Henderson County Emergency Management Director Cindy Brown and IEMA to help acquire pumps for the village to use. Streets Superintendent Jeff Petersen said if they start pumping now, water would just come right back in. Trustee Collier asked if the levee eroded where the water came over and was told it did erode some in two spots.

AUTHOR'S NOTE

Neither the special meeting, the flood water, nor pumping was discussed further during this meeting. At the time of this writing, no special meeting has been set.

Trustee Brian Collier said his mother would like to trim trees that are near her house at 6th and Warren. The trees are on the village owned boulevard but hang over her roof. She would pay for the tree work herself but didn't want to do it without consent from the board. The board agreed unanimously to allow her to trim the trees at her expense.

MAYOR & STAFF REPORT

Chris Peterson told the board resident Skip Kelly is involved in the Great River Rumble canoe trip. The trip begins in northeastern Iowa and will come through Oquawka around the first of August. Skip wants to make some copies of maps that will show local attractions like Norma Jean's grave, the museum, parks, and restaurants so that anyone camping here would have a reference.

He asked for pricing to use the Village's copy machine to do this. Chris noted the usual price is $.25 per copy but he needs up to two hundred copies and wondered if the board would give him a better price. Eldridge asked if the village should refer him to The Qubicle, a local business that could possibly help him.

Trustee Lain asked if the board would consider waiving the fee since he's bringing people to town and pointing out some of our businesses. Trustee Collier said he didn't have a problem with that. Mayor Eldridge mentioned the village has gotten away from donations and waiving the fee would essentially be a donation. Lain told Chris he would personally cover the cost.

Chris said Kelly has a budget for the copies and was just inquiring about the pricing. Trustee Tammy Bundy suggested $.10 per copy. Eldridge asked Chris to get one of the maps from Kelly and the board would look into it.

Eldridge stated the village had intended to pay off a loan on the "brush truck" fire truck last November using the Ruth Bergman trust, which is to be used for fire department business only, but the bank made a mistake and applied the money to the village's skid steer loan instead.

He said he had been in contact with the bank to try to rectify the situation but, as of now, it seemed they would have to transfer funds from the general fund back to the trust fund to be in compliance.

Donna Dunn asked if this was a village error or a bank error. Eldridge answered it was a bank error. He went on to say that after the money was put back into the trust, they would then use the trust to pay off the truck as was the original intent. An audience member asked if the bank would reimburse the money used to pay the skid steer loan and Eldridge said he would like to see the bank straighten it out and fix it. Donna mentioned they should've received paper work saying which loan was paid off. Eldridge said Village Clerk Jacqui Smith never received any paperwork after the loan was paid off and the village held the title to the truck throughout the life of the loan.

The discussion then turned to a recent fire truck repair. Fire Chief Troy Jern had taken the 1972 pumper truck to a repair shop in Burlington and was told it needed a new engine at a cost of almost $10,000. A second opinion was sought by the village at Nichol's Diesel in Galesburg. Nichols' waived the tow charge from Burlington to Galesburg and after diagnosing the truck they said the engine could be repaired for around $3300. The Fire District was concerned that the truck would have more problems in the future. Eldridge said he drove the truck and felt it was in good condition. Eldridge said the village wanted to make the best decision for everyone.

Eldridge said there was $7686.62 paid from MFT (motor fuel tax) by mistake for road salt that needed to be reimbursed from the general fund. The salt did not have the required pre-approval and that was the reason for needed reimbursement. There was some discussion and confusion on the subject and the matter was tabled until next month.

STREET AND WATER

Gary Marston addressed the board to say that last week a man in a wheel chair had become stuck in a pothole on the edge of Hwy 164 at Phillips 66. He asked if this was a state problem or a Village problem. The board agreed it was state right-of-way and suggested he call the department of transportation or even state representatives because the highway department won't do anything about it. Gary asked if that should be up to him to do that and went on to say this is our town and wondered if the village could take care of the problem. He said the potholes have been there for over a month. Nancy Bundy said if she was the manager of the gas station, she would be making calls. Gary replied that he talked to the manager and they have made calls to no avail. Tammy asked if the manager had asked Sean, the owner of the gas station, to fix the potholes. Gary replied Sean doesn't own the highway. Eldridge said they would look into it.

ZONING REPORT

Nancy Bundy asked Zoning Officer John Newton to get some information about Front Street between Clay and Mercer to see if it should be a through street. She said the maps only show it going half way. As my house is located on this dead-end street, I asked why she was asking for this information as it has been closed for decades. She answered it came up while doing the new 911 addressing. Lain asked if the plan was to open it and she answered no and the information was for future reference. An audience member asked if it had ever been open. Tammy Bundy said she remembered it being open when she was a child. I disagreed saying there is a tree growing in the middle of it that appears to be over 100 years old.

Brian Collier said he and Lain had been discussing a pole barn that was recently built on 3rd Street at Fulton. Lain said the permit states it will have 750 feet of living space, which is required by village ordinance. Lain went on to say that judging by the placement of the large overhead doors, the building most likely would not be in compliance of the permit or the ordinance. Lain asked about the village's options if it is determined to not be in compliance with the permit. It was noted that the permit stated "36'x50' pole building with livable space" at a cost of $20,000. Lain said it seemed pretty obvious that he falsely stated the building cost to save money on the permit fee. Eldridge said he didn't think the building cost should be any of the village's business. The consensus was that since the permit fee was based on building cost, it is the village's business. There was some discussion about the spirit of the ordinance and how often it is enforced but Lain's original question about what to do if the building doesn't comply with the permit couldn't be answered. Eldridge asked Zoning Officer John Newton to look into it.

PARKS & RECREATION

Pool manager Destinee Cornic stated the pool would open Thursday, June 6th.

OLD BUSINESS

Tim Hainds had asked the board to vacate an alley near his new residence. The board discussed this at a previous work session and has decided not to vacate the alley.

Nancy Bundy asked to table the discussion of street numbers until the attorney could be present.

NEW BUSINESS

Next on the agenda was discussion concerning licensing and taxes for breathalyzer machines in taverns. Trustee Shawn Lain recently placed a machine in TS18, a bar and grill located along the river in Oquawka. The machines are for amusement purposes only. According to the state of Illinois the machines require a sticker similar to the ones found on pool tables but these machines are different and the Village needs to apply for a permit from the state and then approve Lain to operate the machines. Eldridge stated Jacqui had all the information for the cost, stickers, taxes, etc. but since she was absent, he asked if they should discuss it or wait. Tammy Bundy asked if board members were allowed to have anything to do with dram shops. Tammy said it was a conflict of interest for Lain to have the machines in a bar. Lain stated he did not hold a liquor license. I asked if Slim McGann, who operates Mama's Place Bar and Grill in Oquawka, was not allowed to run for Village board. Tammy answered if the license was in his name, she did not think he could. An audience member, citing Tammy's example, pointed out that Lain did not hold a dram shop license. Tammy said as a board member, she would not be allowed to tend bar. Eldridge stated Jacqui had been on the phone with Springfield for two days hashing out all of these details but unfortunately due to scheduling conflicts, she couldn't attend the meeting. Lain said Jacqui told him it wouldn't be a problem but they could wait to talk with Youngquist. Scott Ray said the pool tables were licensed and stickered by the state and the village had nothing to do with those and wondered why these machines had anything to do with the village. Eldridge again said Jacqui had all these answers and apologized that he couldn't answer himself. Lain stated these are the first machines of this type in Illinois and the state was trying to figure out how to classify them. He went on to say they authorized him to go ahead and place the machines. The issue will be tabled until Jacqui and Andy Youngquist can be in attendance.

The board voted unanimously to add Police Chief Clifford Adam to the employee life insurance policy.

The board voted unanimously to pay Chris Sipes $15/hour as a part time police officer.

The purchase of a paint machine to be used to restripe main street was tabled until the next meeting.

Meeting adjourned

Jeff Tee-River Rat News