The Hancock-Henderson Quill, Inc.
by Jeff Tee, River Rat News
The Oquawka Village Board held it's regularly scheduled meeting on March 5th. Trustee Tammy Bundy was absent.
Mayor Robert Eldridge opened the meeting to a standing room only audience by announcing that Trustee Nancy Bundy would be presenting an award on behalf of the Village to Rosalie Melvin. Bundy addressed Rosalie by saying that she "had gone above and beyond for years" and this award was just a small token of the village's appreciation.
Upon receiving the award the audience erupted in applause for Rosalie.
APPROVE MINUTES, BILLS,
TREASURER REPORT
Trustee Shawn Lain asked about two checks paid to Centre State Truck Sales. There are two different check numbers listed as paying the same amount of $111.95. Village Clerk Jacquie Smith said it may be because the payment was split into two months and she would review it.
OPEN DISCUSSION
Don Rice stated he had submitted a FOIA request (Freedom of Information Act) and hadn't received the information he requested. Smith stated she had been out sick last week and Eldridge stated they would get the information to him by the end of this week.
STREET AND WATER
Trustee Brenda Tee asked when would be a good time to go over the maintenance schedule for the new backhoe with village employees Jeff and Henry and also go over the recently adopted employee handbook. Eldridge suggested the next work session meeting would be a good time.
POLICE REPORT
Police Chief Clifford Adam stated the Village of Oquawka Police Department is now involved in the Law Enforcement Special Operations program (LESO). The program makes it possible to get certain items for free from government agencies. Adam stated he would be getting a list of possible free items in the next few days.
PARKS AND RECREATION
Lain stated he had talked with DNR and had received confirmation that they were ok to go ahead on the dredging of the harbor. He said he had made some calls about getting a long arm excavator and had talked to Straightline Trucking about getting some prices to move the excavator. He was hopeful that they could begin work by next month depending on flood conditions.
OLD BUSINESS
Eldridge said they need to discuss and approve the outstanding insurance bill. He stated the premium had decreased by $925 and the total premium for the year now stood at $30,918 Tee asked if the bill could get paid tomorrow and Eldridge answered that it could. Motion to pay bill was carried with all trustees voting yes.
NEW BUSINESS
Jackie Cain, a representative of Porter Insurance, addressed the board about the village employee health insurance. She presented a new plan that has similar coverage but is considerably cheaper.
She stated they are now paying $2445/month and the new plan would cost $2177/month. She noted they have Blue Cross now and the new plan is from a different company called United Healthcare. It was decided that they would review some other quotes that Tee had obtained from other companies and discuss at the next work session. They will vote on it at the regular meeting in April.
Ashly Price, representing Daybreak gas station, asked about obtaining a gaming license for gambling. Eldridge stated the board had already voted this down in the past . After some discussion no further action was taken.
There was some discussion about dates for city wide trash pickup. Depending on Jackson Disposal's schedule, they will set cleanup day for May 18th. May 11th was a second choice if Jackson is booked on the 18th.
There was some discussion about closing the streets for the FFA tractor pull. The pull will be on the June 29th.
Trustee Nancy Bundy said she had picked out four Christmas decorations to replace some old ones that are becoming worn out. The cost of the decorations is $1640.
Eldridge suggested they double the budget and buy eight decorations instead.
Lain said his opinion was they just bought a backhoe that they need to pay off and they still owe for main street and for that reason he felt they should stick to the four that Nancy originally proposed.
Tee said she agreed and thought they should get four this year and maybe four next year. Motion to purchase four decorations for $1640 carried with all voting yes
The budget for Fireworks will stay the same as last year at $5,000. Fireworks will be displayed July 3rd.
The board set a date for Public Safety Committee meeting. The meeting will be held on Tuesday, March 12th at 6:30 p.m. The public is invited.
The board discussed hiring a grant writer and what the cost of that would be.
Lain asked if they would work on a percentage because he didn't like the idea of paying out the money and then not being awarded a grant.
Audience member Mick Olson asked if anybody had contacted the Western Illinois Regional Council.
Eldridge stated the village is a member of that council.
Olson said part of what the council does is help villages get grants. Trustees Nancy and Brenda will meet to discuss the grants and then bring their ideas to the next work session.
Boy Scout Conner Moede was present to ask the board their permission to redo the basketball courts for his Eagle Scout project. He stated he would like to switch the basketball court and the skate park in order to bring the basketball court to a more regulation style court. The estimated cost would be $2,828.90.
The board was very receptive to this idea. It will have to be put on the agenda to be voted on at the next regular meeting.
Meeting Adjourned
"We really do appreciate Rosalie Melvin for her years of service and dedication to the Village of Oquawka." -Jeff Tee
"Ask not what your country can do for you, ask what you can do for your country."
-John F. KennedyO