June 19, 2023 Minutes

A regular meeting of the Stratton Village Board of Trustees was held on Monday June 19, 2023 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 S. Hanes directed the attention of those present to the poster. All proceedings hereafter shown occurred while the meeting was in session. Present: Chairman S. Hanes, Trustee K. Sutton, Trustee J. Griffiths, Utilities Superintendent M. Petersen, Clerk T. Hedrick, Assistant Utilities Superintendent C. Stout, members of the public Melissa Dailey, Justine Richardson, LeAnn Price, Doug Newcomb, Terra Riggs, Dana Cox, Wade Hanes, Toph Ensign.   

The meeting was called to order at 7:00 pm.

OPEN FORUM:

Melissa Dailey expressed her concern over the condition of Scarber Street after the recent rains and flooding. The board insured her that Scarber Street was on the list of repairs needing to take place and would address it when time and supplies were available. Clyde Stout inquired about an extra dumpster for Railway Street. Board members agreed that another dumpster could be temporarily taken to the area. They also reminded Clyde that there was a roll out still available for everyone effected by the flooding located on the property next to his. Justine Richardson inquired about the plans for Boyle Avenue from Hartford to Hamilton Street. Justine informed the board that she had taken pictures and in her opinion the proposed street would be directly down the existing drainage ditch. Justine also had concerns over where the easement ended due to the location of the other property owner’s buildings along that street. Justine reminded the board that when she sold the property the original agreement with Wade Hanes was for Wade to have access from the south edge of the property. Wade Hanes stated that the agreement was that the access would not go across Justine’s property. Superintendent Petersen reviewed the process to determine location of streets and lot lines. Justine was also concerned that adding a culvert would create more overflow to an already problematic ditch. Wade stated that he had been in contact with the Village attorney and was waiting on the Village Engineer to give an opinion. Mellissa Dailey inquired as to why a bridge couldn’t be placed on the south side of the property off of Hartford Street. Justine stated that there are many trees and stumps that need removed from the Village street. Chairman Hanes stated the Village would still like to see a survey of the property and will wait to hear from the Engineer regarding the subject of the proposed access. Doug Newcomb inquired about the program fee for the radio read water meters and whether it was annual. The board believes it was annual and will inquire about this if pursued further. Trustee Sutton stated he would like to address board members attending board meetings while intoxicated and how the behavior is unacceptable. He advised that he would again address this at a later meeting when all board members could be in attendance. Doug Newcomb inquired as to if the water was being disinfected. Superintendent Petersen stated that they were recently, however aren’t at this time. Doug asked if he could be informed prior to starting disinfecting in the future as it affects his water tank for fish at his home.

Motion by Griffiths and second by Hanes to approve the previous minutes, claims and treasurer's report. Roll call: Ayes: Griffiths, Hanes, Sutton. Nays: None. Absent: Bohochik and McDonald. Motion Carried.

UNFINISHED BUSINESS:

Radio Read Water Meters were reviewed. Chairman Hanes would like to hear from some of the references with Metron prior to moving forward with the purchase. It was noted that cell service was a concern although the meters would use a different bandwidth.

Insurance Claim at 105 Howard was discussed. The insurance found the Village at fault for the sewer backup based on the lack of maintenance records for the area. The Village will be responsible for the $5000 deductible and any cost over a total of $20,000. No documentation of incurred cost has been received at this time.

NEW BUSINESS:

Trustee Griffiths reviewed the proposed code of ethics and items were discussed. The board would like to send the proposed code to the Village attorney for review and creation of resolution.

An estimate from Johnson Service Company was reviewed. Superintendent Petersen stated Johnson is utilized by many of the surrounding municipalities. Petersen stated they inspected the sewer along Railway Street and it was clear and clean. He also stated that we own a sewer jetter and if that is used we should know that water is flowing in a line. The board would like Railway to be inspected by Johnson Service Company and directed Superintendent Petersen to contact them on availability.

Proposed Solid Waste Ordinance was read by Chairman Hanes. Motion made by Griffiths and seconded by Sutton to waive the three readings. Roll call: Ayes: Griffiths, Hanes, Sutton. Nays: None. Absent: Bohochik and McDonald. Motion Carried. Motion by Hanes and seconded by Sutton to adopt Ordinance 215 Amending Municipal Code relating to the disposal of solid waste. Roll call: Ayes: Griffiths, Hanes, Sutton. Nays: None. Absent: Bohochik and McDonald. Motion Carried. *

Motion by Griffiths and seconded by Hanes to renew Time Deposit Certificate 141867 for another 12 months. Roll call: Ayes: Griffiths, Hanes, Sutton. Nays: None. Absent: Bohochik and McDonald. Motion Carried.

Motion by Hanes and seconded by Griffiths to adopt Resolution 523 Levying a special assessment upon real estate at 605 Hamilton for delinquent utility bills. Roll call: Ayes: Griffiths, Hanes, Sutton. Nays: None. Absent: Bohochik and McDonald. Motion Carried.

Employee Report: Clerk Hedrick advised we had received an employee application for any position that may be available. It was noted no open positions exists at this time. Chairman Hanes extended a thank you from the board to Assistant Utilities Superintendent Clyde Stout for stepping up and taking care of work responsibilities during the flood while also dealing with personal loss.

Streets, Ally and Landfill Report: Superintendent Petersen advised that once cold patch has been obtained Scarber Street would be repaired. Chairman Hanes stated that millings should be here soon for the trade of rip rap from the repairs from flooding. Petersen advised some of the mowing had been completed at the ballfield so they should be fine to place the millings there.

Electricity Committee Report: It was noted that the panel at 912 Railway Street would need replaced after being damaged from being hit during cleanup of flood damage. Chairman Hanes stated that he was informed the pole was unaffected.

Water & Sewer Committee Report: Replacing or repairing the water hydrant on Railway Street was discussed. It was also mentioned that the Volunteer Fire Department stated the hydrant by their building isn’t working. Petersen will work on repairing both hydrants.

Finance Committee Report: Clerk Hedrick reported all past due accounts and the list was reviewed. Clerk Hedrick advised the McCook Human Society was requesting a donation to help with costs associated with animals surrendered from the Stratton Area. Board members present were not interested in assisting at this time.

Health & Welfare Committee Report: Clerk Hedrick reminded all present that if they had pictures of clean up from the flood or any additional damages to report to submit them to the office so they could be added to the list sent to Emergency Management. Trustee Griffiths stated she had a resident contact her and was extremely upset regarding the mosquito fogging in town. It was noted that a notice was posted on Facebook. Clerk Hedrick advised that she will put out a notice in town that anyone wishing to be added to a contact list may submit their current information to the Village Office and then we could personally contact those individuals prior to the spraying taking place. Hedrick noted that it would be the responsibility of the resident to maintain updated contact information.

Park & Recreation Committee Report: It was inquired as to if the dog waste stations were installed yet. Petersen stated that thankfully they had not been installed yet as the flood would have destroyed them. Trustee Sutton stated that the park looks good thanks to the community members who volunteered and helped to clean up all the debris.

Motion made by Hanes and second by Griffiths to adjourn the meeting. Roll call: Ayes: Griffiths, Hanes, Sutton. Nays: None. Absent: Bohochik and McDonald. Motion Carried and meeting adjourned at 8:23pm.

The next regular meeting of the Village Board of Trustees will be held on Monday July 17, 2023 at 7:00 pm at the Village Office.

* State law requires ¾ vote to suspend the rules to wave the three readings of an Ordinance. The vote did not meet the requirements and therefore Ordinance 215 will be placed on the next regular agenda for consideration.