The Hancock-Henderson Quill, Inc.
The Oquawka Village Board held its regularly scheduled meeting on Tuesday, April 2, 2024. Present were Trustees Don Rice, Brock Miller, Tammy Bundy, Troy Jern, Scott Ray, Shawn Hurt; Village President Lori Lipes; Village Clerk Callie Thacker; and Village Water Clerk Carey Thacker. Village attorney Andy Youngquist was absent.
Resident Jim Miller addressed the board about people feeding cats at Riverside Park. He stated he was not unsympathetic to the wild cats that live in the area, but he felt the park was not the place to be feeding them. Lipes noted she has had complaints from people who live near the park about trash left over from feeding the cats such as empty bowls and pet food containers. No solutions were discussed about the issue.
Carey Thacker informed the board that a pipe in the bathroom at Village Hall had burst on Sunday and water ran all night until it was discovered Monday morning. Village Hall had to be closed for about a week for repairs and clean up.
Lipes noted the person who had been living on his houseboat in the boat harbor since mid-December would be leaving tomorrow, April 3rd at noon.
Lipes noted the gaming machines at Phillips 66 would be going live on April 3rd at 9am.
It was noted the only way a Village can limit someone from having gaming machines is by denying a liquor license. Lipes said she made the decision as Village liquor commissioner to give the required combination license to the gas station so that they could pursuse the state gaming license.
It was noted that at one time Oquawka had twelve active liquor licenses, otherwise known as ‘The Good Ole Days’.
Brenda Tee, representing The Parks and Tourism committee, addressed the board to say the committee will be moving all their belongings such as holiday decorations out of the old Village Hall building to the annex building located behind the stage.
Brenda noted they are outgrowing the current space, and the food pantry could use the extra room.
Brenda stated the lighting in the annex building is not working. She asked the board if they would consider fixing the lighting.
It was decided that the maintenance workers would get the materials to fix the lights.
It was noted that, according to Illinois law, the campground needed to be engineered before the Village could apply for a permit to begin construction. The board will vote to proceed with engineering at the May meeting.
Brenda asked if the audits were caught up so that they could apply for the Boating Area Access Development (BAAD) Grant to update the Municipal Harbor. Brenda noted that project has already been engineered and is only waiting on funding. Lipes answered they are working on the 2022 audit right now.
The audits must be up to date before they can apply for the BAAD Grant. Brenda stated the Parks and Tourism committee would help with the boat harbor project anyway they could.
After a short discussion about wages, Jern made a motion to give all Village employees a $2/hour raise. Second by Ray. All members voted yes. Motion carried.
The purchase of a new vehicle for the maintenance crew was discussed. Lipes asked for a motion to approve up to a certain dollar amount so that if they found a vehicle, they could purchase it before it sold to someone else. Ray mentioned they needed to budget for it before they did that. After a long discussion, it was decided they would continue shopping for something in the $30,000 range and would budget for it at the next budget meeting later in April.
The meeting adjourned.The May meeting is the 7th
Jeff Tee
River Rat News
“Just the Facts, Ma’am”