The regular monthly meeting was called to order on Monday, January 10, 2022 at 7:55 p.m. by Mayor Larry Dodds.
Trustees present were:
Charles Morefield - Aye
David Rathke - Aye
Benjamin Thackeray - Absent
Carol Stephenson - Aye
Janice Edwards - Aye, arrived late at 8:16 p.m.
Vincent Beck - Absent
Also present were Superintendent Josh Hereford; Village Treasurer Connie Gossmeyer; Police Chief Ritchie Cooper.
Trustee Charles Morefield made a motion to dispense with the reading of the minutes and approved as presented. Trustee David Rathke seconded the motion. Vote: Charles Morefield-Aye, David Rathke-Aye, Benjamin Thackeray-Absent, Carol Stephenson-Aye, Janice Edwards-Aye, Vincent Beck-Absent. Motion carried.
Village Treasurer Connie Gossmeyer gave the Treasurer’s Report for the month of December 2021.
Beginning Balance $447,225.41
Ending Balance $448,958.61
Increase for the month of December 2021 $ 1,733.20
Trustee David Rathke made a motion to approve the Treasurer’s Report for the month of December 2021. Trustee Carol Stephenson seconded the motion. Vote: Charles Morefield-Aye, David Rathke-Aye, Benjamin Thackeray-Absent, Carol Stephenson-Aye, Janice Edwards-Aye, Vincent Beck-Absent. Motion carried.
Trustee Charles Morefield made a motion to pay the bills as presented. Trustee David Rathke seconded the motion. Vote: Charles Morefield-Aye, David Rathke-Aye, Benjamin Thackeray-Absent, Carol Stephenson-Aye, Janice Edwards-Aye, Vincent Beck-Absent. Motion carried.
Public Comments- Items on the agenda.
There were no public comments.
First special report was given by Police Chief Ritchie Cooper. Included in the board packets are reports for both November and December since Ritchie was absent due to training last month. Ritchie discussed the recommendation from the Training and Standards Board for mental health screening for all new officers and yearly screening for current officers. More information on this will be available at a later time.
Next special report was given by Superintendent of Maintenance Josh Hereford. Josh reports several days were spent picking up leaves with the final pick-up day of December 23, 2021. Many residents took advantage of the curbside leaf pick-up. Josh reports the booster pump for the chlorine line has been installed. Josh and Nick replaced several bulbs on the Christmas decorations around town. Assistant Superintendent Nick Sandage passed the written portion of his CDL license and will be taking the driving portion next month. All maintenance vehicles and plows were pressure washed. Josh and Nick salted/plowed on January 1, 2022.
Mayor Larry Dodds reports there is an Animal Control/Zoning Report in your folders for review. There was a dog bite investigation.
Mayor Larry Dodds reports there is an EMA Report in your folders for review. The COVID numbers for 61728 increased by 63 the month of December.
Mayor Larry Dodds gave the final special report. Larry repots there is a meeting scheduled with Zach Knight, Engineer from Farnsworth Group, for January 14, 2022 at 1 p.m. for anyone who is interested in attending. Larry reports the Water and Sewer rates were increased by 2% on January 1, 2022. Larry states he has been meeting with the McLean County Mayor’s Association regarding a proposal to the McLean County Board regarding allocating ARPA funds to rural municipalities in need of funds for infrastructure projects.
Finance and Audit Committee Chairman, David Rathke, had nothing to report at this time.
Police and Audit Committee Chairman, Carol Stephenson, had nothing to report at this time.
Water and Sewer Committee Chairman, Charles Morefield, had nothing to report at this time.
Streets and Lights Committee Chairman, Benjamin Thackeray, was absent.
Maintenance Equipment and Vehicle Committee Chairman, Vincent Beck, was absent.
First item of Old Business was additional discussion regarding the concept of establishing a Colfax Citizen of the Year Award. Items to consider for the requirement of nomination were suggested. Nominee must be a resident of Colfax and community minded.
Mayor Larry Dodds reports there will be a Water and Sewer Committee meeting held on Wednesday, January 26, 2022 at 7:00 p.m.
First item of New Business was the approval of Ordinance No. 2022-01, An Ordinance Amending Ordinance No. 2020-10 (Regulating Golf Carts) of Chapter 41 (Traffic) of the Village of Colfax Municipal Code.
Trustee Charles Morefield made a motion to approve Ordinance No. 2022-01, An Ordinance Amending Ordinance No. 2020-10 (Regulating Golf Carts) of Chapter 41 (Traffic) of the Village of Colfax Municipal Code. Trustee Janice Edwards seconded the motion. Vote: Charles Morefield-Aye, David Rathke-Aye, Benjamin Thackeray-Absent, Carol Stephenson-Aye, Janice Edwards-Aye, Vincent Beck-Absent. Motion carried.
Next on the agenda was the review of quotes for upgrading and updating our camera system for the Village Hall and the Old Village Hall. Police Chief Ritchie Cooper reports the Colfax Police Department is no longer doing business with the company who installed the current camera system. Ritchie reports the cameras were not installed properly and the cables used were not made for outdoors and as a result some of the cameras are not working at this time. Ritchie reports there are two quotes in the board packet. One quote is for a completely new system, the other quote is for what he would classify as a band-aid. There was quite a bit of discussion regarding the update or repair.
Trustee Charles Morefield made a motion to approve the purchase of a new camera system for the Colfax Police Department at a cost of $9,640.63. Trustee Janice Edwards seconded the motion. Vote: Charles Morefield-Aye, David Rathke-Aye, Benjamin Thackeray-Absent, Carol Stephenson-Aye, Janice Edwards-Aye, Vincent Beck-Absent. Motion carried.
Public Comments- Items not on the agenda.
There were no public comments.
Trustee Charles Morefield made a motion to go into executive session to consider appointment, employment, compensation, discipline, performance, dismissal of Village employees and pending litigation. Trustee Janice Edwards seconded the motion. Vote: Charles Morefield-Aye, David Rathke-Aye, Benjamin Thackeray-Absent, Carol Stephenson-Aye, Janice Edwards-Aye, Vincent Beck-Absent. Motion carried.
The Board of Trustees entered Executive Session at 8:52 p.m.
Trustee Charles Morefield made a motion to go back into Open Session. Trustee David Rathke seconded the motion. Vote: Charles Morefield-Aye, David Rathke-Aye, Benjamin Thackeray-Absent, Carol Stephenson-Aye, Janice Edwards-Aye, Vincent Beck-Absent. Motion carried.
The Board of Trustees returned to Open Session at 9:09 p.m.
Trustee Charles Morefield made a motion to adjust the pay of Police Chief Ritchie Cooper to $28.00 per hour effective January 1, 2022. Trustee Carol Stephenson seconded the motion. Vote: Charles Morefield-Aye, David Rathke-Aye, Benjamin Thackeray-Absent, Carol Stephenson-Aye, Janice Edwards-Aye, Vincent Beck-Absent. Motion carried.
Trustee Carol Stephenson made a motion to adjust the pay of Part-time Patrol Officer Michael Lay to $ 23.00 per hour effective January 1, 2022. Trustee Janice Edward seconded the motion. Vote: Charles Morefield-Aye, David Rathke-Aye, Benjamin Thackeray-Absent, Carol Stephenson-Aye, Janice Edwards-Aye, Vincent Beck-Absent. Motion carried.
Trustee Charles Morefield made a motion to adjourn. Trustee Janice Edwards seconded the motion. Vote: Charles Morefield-Aye, David Rathke-Aye, Benjamin Thackeray-Absent, Carol Stephenson-Aye, Janice Edwards-Aye, Vincent Beck-Absent. Motion carried.
Meeting adjourned at 9:11 p.m.
Respectfully submitted,
Portia Vandegraft
Village Clerk