The Hancock-Henderson Quill, Inc.
The Oquawka Village Board held its regularly scheduled meeting on Tuesday, August 6th. Present were Village Trustees Don Rice, Brock Miller, Tammy Bundy, Troy Jern, Scott Ray; Village President Lori Lipes; Village Clerk Callie Thacker-Matsko; Village Water Clerk Carey Thacker; and Village Attorney Andy Youngquist. Trustee Shawn Hurt was absent.
Resident Gary Morrison addressed the board to ask why nothing was being done about dogs running at large in Oquawka. He explained he was bitten by a dog resulting in puncture wounds and a trip to the emergency room and nothing has been done about it. Lipes told Gary he needed to contact Henderson County. Gary said he contacted the Sheriff’s Office, and they told him they don’t handle that and told him he needed to talk to the Village. Gary stated he was willing to call state officials and ask why the Village was not enforcing its laws. Bundy told Gary he needs to contact the county dog catcher because he is the one who could do something about it. Jern asked why the Oquawka Police couldn’t do anything about the situation since the Village has a leash ordinance. Police Chief Tim Edwards stated he has written those tickets and they have been dismissed because they say we have a county dog catcher. Jern asked why they have ordinances then? Edwards explained he wrote a state ticket, not am ordinance violation. When asked by Jern why he wouldn’t write an ordinance violation ticket, Rice answered he assumed a state ticket would carry more weight in court than an ordinance violation. Edwards agreed saying that’s exactly right. Edwards went on to say this was a dog attack with punctured skin and a trip to the hospital and he won’t do an ordinance violation in that situation. He explained that by county rules, that’s a dog catcher scenario. Edwards explained the dog catcher had contacted him to ask if he would work the case because he (the dog catcher) was unavailable at that time. Edwards worked the case and turned the paperwork in to the State’s Attorney. Jern, again, told Gary that he needed to contact the dog catcher. Gary asked why he should have to contact him, stating the dog catcher should be contacting me. Rice explained the Village has no control over the dog catcher because he works for Hendeson County. Lipes suggested he attend a Hendeson county board meeting.
Carey Thacker stated she wanted to put out a public thank you to everyone who helped sand bag, including people who brought snacks, water and other aide to the volunteers.
Youngquist stated he had drafted an ordinance for the purchase of a used truck for the Streets and Water Dept. Rice made a motion to accept the ordinance. Second by Bundy. All members voted Yes. Motion carried.
Mick Olsen informed the board the engineering for the proposed campground along the river should be complete no later than the October meeting. He also stated the Schuyler Street intersection repair would begin within a few weeks and the intersection would be closed for approximately 2 weeks.
Police Chief Tim Edwards reported 111 traffic stops, 63 of which were part a state grant operation.
Ray informed the board Edwards had taken the older police car to a dealer in Monmouth for a minor repair and it has now spiraled into a $3000 bill. He explained the dealer took apart the dash to fix a blend door gear. He explained there are two blend doors and they only repaired one then when the car was returned it was having the same issue. When they took the car back a second time, the dealer repaired the second blend door and charged them again resulting in the large bill. Ray said he thought Callie had paid the first bill but not the second and Edwards didn’t feel they should be charged for the second repair since it should have been taken care of the first time. Bundy said she thought they had spent enough money on the old car. She went on to say that from now the board should be informed before there is such a large expense. Edwards explained they had given him an estimate of around $500 but then when he brought it back the bill was more than what they said and there were more things broke. So, he took it back to get those things fixed and they charged more for those repairs. He said it was a domino effect from the dealer, not the car. Jern stated they’re just paying on the car for nothing because they have a brand-new car and now they have a $3000 bill. Jern and Edwards exchanged a few unpleasant words with Edwards saying it went in for a $60 part and you’re not getting what we’re saying. Jern responded saying and now there’s nothing we can do about it. Lipes said they need to decide if they are going to pay the bill or not. Bundy said she would go to the dealer the following day to talk to them about it.
Brenda Tee, representing the Parks and Tourism Committee, informed the board the Schuyler Street Stroll will be next month. She then went on to say they were going to have kid’s games this year and asked for volunteers to help with those. After some discussion on logistics, Jern made a motion to pay for porta potties for the Stroll. Second by Bundy. All members voted yes. Motion carried.
Brenda informed the board the Culpepper and Merriweather Circus is coming to Oquawka August 19th. There will do two shows on that day. The first will be at 5pm and the second at 7:30 pm. Advance tickets can be purchased at Fisher’s Food Center in Oquawka, Midwest Bank in Oquawka, Security Savings Bank in Stronghurst, and Henderson County Library in Biggsville. Prices are $13 for adult, $8. Kids 2-12, and seniors 65+ or they can be purchased at the gate for $16 and $9. The circus will also have a tent razing, which is free to the public at 9:30 on the day of the circus. Attendees of the tent razing will get a chance to get up close to some of the animals and performers.
Carey informed the board you can now reserve any Village park online.
The Oquawka Municipal Pool assistant manager addressed the board to say the pool averaged 15 people per day during the month of July. She went on to say there were no major maintenance issues this year. She stated pool will close for the season on August 15th.
Ray informed the board he has been contacted by three different people this week concerning an abandoned and overgrown property on 4th Street. The property has been discussed in the past and Ray said he felt it’s time they do something about it. Youngquist stated they could do something about it but in the end the Village is going to end up with the tab. It was noted the property could be considered dangerous. Rice said “there’s a river down there and the reason we have a pool is because we don’t want kids down playing in the river. So, my point is it’s a mess up there, it’s been a mess. This process was supposed to start 5 years ago and here we are kicking a dead horse one more time. One of these days that dead horse is going to explode in everybody’s face.” Youngquist explained the legal difficulties due to the property being in an estate with no one in charge. Several options were discussed including condemning the property. A property on 5th Street was also discussed. After a long discussion, it was decided the Village would board up some windows on the 5th Street property and start legal proceedings on the 4th Street property.
Meeting adjourned.
Jeff Tee
River Rat News
“Just the facts, Ma’am”