March 15, 2021 Minutes
March 27, 2021
A meeting of the Stratton Village Board of Trustees was held on Monday March 15, 2021 at 7:00 pm CT at the Village Clerk’s Office. Notice of the meeting was posted and availability of the agenda was communicated in the advance notice. A poster of the “Open Meetings Act” was clearly visible on the wall, and Chairman J. McDonald directed the attention of those present to the poster. All proceedings hereafter shown occurred while the meeting was in session. Present: Chairman J. McDonald, Trustee T. Jones, Trustee J. Griffiths, Trustee M. McDonald, Trustee S. Hanes, Superintendent K. League, Clerk T. Hedrick, Mason Herman with Miller & Associates, Zack Anderson with Steele Construction, members of the public James Reagan and John Richardson.
The meeting was called to order at 7:04 pm.
OPEN FORUM: Superintendent League discussed rural trash service with the board. Some rural routes are not cost effective nor does scheduling allow for the time to drive the distance. He also had concerns of non-maintained roads and the affects it would have on the trash truck. Superintendent League requested the ability to use his discretion on accepting new customers. The board suggested that each new rural trash customer application be brought before the board to be approved or denied.
Superintendent League informed the board that he has planned the annual spring cleanup for April 9th and 10th and the tree limb pick up for April 15th.
Motion by T. Jones and second by J. Griffiths to approve the previous minutes, treasurers’ report and claims. Roll call: Ayes: M. McDonald, S. Hanes, J. Griffiths, T. Jones, J. McDonald. Nays: None. Motion Carried.
UNFINISHED BUSINESS:
Clerk Hedrick inquired about the signs for the outside of the building. Different ideas were discussed and Superintendent League will check prices and styles with some different companies. Clerk Hedrick also inquired about the shelving for the donation plaques to be placed on. There had been discussion by Superintendent League and Trustee M. McDonald of building them ourselves. There was discussion of creating a mural. Clerk Hedrick will check into availability of qualified persons for this project.
Items from the Veteran’s Memorial Hall and the old Village Clerk’s Office were discussed. Clerk Hedrick will have a resolution ready at the next regular board meeting to declare some of the items surplus property.
Several tractors and their use were discussed. It was decided to wait to make a decision on the outcome of the tractors until after the decision was made on whether or not to purchase new equipment that would replace their use.
Motion by J. Griffiths and second by S. Hanes to purchase a dump trailer from Chuck’s Trailer Sales in the amount of $8180.00. Roll call: Ayes: M. McDonald, S. Hanes, J. Griffiths, T. Jones, J. McDonald. Nays: None. Motion Carried.
J. Griffiths introduced a new evaluation form for employees to complete. There was discussion on the usefulness of the form. It was stated that the form would help identify shortfalls or exceptional behavior in employee performance or shortfalls in resources to complete tasks. It would assist with the board becoming more involved in the expectations of employees and the ability to meet those expectations as well as give knowledge for any merit based raises. Motion by J. McDonald and second by J. Griffiths to implement the new employee form and revisit the effectiveness of the form later in the year. Roll call: Ayes: S. Hanes, J. Griffiths, T. Jones, J. McDonald. Nays: M. McDonald. Motion Carried.
NEW BUSINESS:
Motion by M. McDonald and second by T. Jones to approve CDBG 18-PW-012 Drawdown #18. Roll call: Ayes: M. McDonald, S. Hanes, J. Griffiths, T. Jones, J. McDonald. Nays: None. Motion Carried.
J. McDonald declared the regular board of Trustees meeting closed.
The second public hearing was opened at 8:00 pm for the Village of Stratton’s CDBG Grant No. 18-PW-012 to provide opportunity to hear the progress of the construction of the new public library, a public works activity. Primary Contractor Steele’s Roofing and Construction constructed the 4,000 S.F. structure, and 80% is utilized for library space. The remaining space is Village Office area. Project was completed within the 24 month grant period. Actual beneficiaries include 365 person, of whom 200 (54.79%) are LMI persons. During the grant period, the Village affirmatively furthered fair housing by creating a Fair Housing page on the Village website in May 2019. To date, there have been 471 hits on the Fair Housing content. The Village will now proceed with closing out the grant. The second public hearing closed at 8:05 pm.
J. McDonald declared the regular board meeting open.
Motion made by M. McDonald and second by J. Griffiths to approve the lease of a Caterpillar skid steer. Roll call: Ayes: M. McDonald, S. Hanes, J. Griffiths, T. Jones, J. McDonald. Nays: None. Motion Carried.
Motion made by M. McDonald and second by S. Hanes to approve public funds resolution to open a Building Maintenance Reserve Savings Account. Roll call: Ayes: M. McDonald, S. Hanes, J. Griffiths, T. Jones, J. McDonald. Nays: None. Motion Carried. Resolution was signed by all parties involved.
Motion made by T. Jones and second by M. McDonald to waive the three readings on Ordinance to Establish Salaries. Roll call: Ayes: M. McDonald, S. Hanes, J. Griffiths, T. Jones, J. McDonald. Nays: None. Motion Carried.
Motion made by M. McDonald and second by T. Jones to adopt Ordinance 202 to Establish Salaries. Roll call: Ayes: M. McDonald, S. Hanes, J. Griffiths, T. Jones, J. McDonald. Nays: None. Motion Carried.
Motion made by S. Hanes and second by M. McDonald to waive the three readings on Ordinance to Establish Towing and Storage. Roll call: Ayes: M. McDonald, S. Hanes, J. Griffiths, T. Jones, J. McDonald. Nays: None. Motion Carried.
Motion made by M. McDonald and second by S. Hanes to adopt Ordinance 203 to Establish Towing and Storage. Roll call: Ayes: M. McDonald, S. Hanes, J. Griffiths, T. Jones, J. McDonald. Nays: None. Motion Carried.
Discussion was held regarding renting the new dump trailer out for public use. Rates and conditions of use were debated. It was agreed to omit dump trailer rates from the resolution and revisit public use of the trailer in six months. Motion made by M. McDonald and second by J. McDonald to pass Rates Resolution 494 with corrections, establishing towing and storage fees as follows: Towing of vehicle $100.00. Dailey Storage Fee $10.00. Roll call: Ayes: M. McDonald, S. Hanes, J. Griffiths, T. Jones, J. McDonald. Nays: None. Motion Carried.
T. Jones discussed the need to have a complete and current inventory list of all Village property. Not only will this be beneficial for audit reporting, insurance needs, and will assist during a natural disaster or emergency but will also assist in situations such as selling property or declaring surplus property. Clerk Hedrick and Superintended League will compile a current inventory list of their respective areas of operation to have on file.
Streets, Alleys, & Landfill Committee Report: Superintendent League informed the board that he is preparing for armor coating and crack filing. He also stated that Scarber Street will be receiving its second coat this spring.
Electricity Committee Report: Nothing new to report.
Water & Sewer Committee Report: Superintendent League informed the board that BSB Construction was planned to start the wastewater project this coming week. J. McDonald inquired about the status of repairing and replacing water meters. Superintendent League stated that he would need to purchase more water meters and that there were always more water meters that needed replaced. J. McDonald instructed Superintendent League to order the needed meters and repair or replace the meters needing fixed.
Finance Committee Report: Nothing new to report.
Health & Welfare Committee Report: J. McDonald stated that he had been in contact with the owner of 308 Bonner and he planned to have work done on the building in the coming few weeks. A complaint regarding an aggressive dog was addressed. The dog allegedly attacked another dog in the complainant’s yard. The complaint didn’t identify the dog in question, only the owner of the dog. As the owner has more than one dog Superintendent League was instructed to speak with the complainant to see if they could identify the animal. J. McDonald stated that there is a property on Nebraska Avenue that may be in violation of nuisance ordinance that he would like Superintendent League to check on.
Park & Recreation Committee Report: Clerk Hedrick informed the board that we have a few applications for employment on the two jobs listed. The board would like to wait until the advertisement has ran in the newspaper for a few more weeks prior to interviewing or making decisions on employment.
Motion made by M. McDonald and second by J. Griffiths to adjourn the meeting at 9:15pm. Roll call: Ayes: M. McDonald, S. Hanes, J. Griffiths, T. Jones, J. McDonald. Nays: None. Motion Carried.
The next regular meeting of the Village Board of Trustees will be held on Monday April 19, 2021 at 7:00 pm at the Village Office.
