The regular monthly meeting was called to order on Monday evening, May 6, 2024 at 7:02 p.m. by Mayor Larry Dodds.
Trustees present were:
• Rick Norton - Aye
• David Rathke - Absent
• Janice Edwards - Aye
• Carol Stephenson - Aye
• Charles Morefield - Aye
• Vincent Beck - Aye
Also present were Superintendent Joshua Hereford; Assistant Superintendent Nick Sandage; Police Chief Ritchie Cooper and Village Treasurer Connie Gossmeyer.
Trustee Janice Edwards made a motion to approve the closure of Fiscal Year 2023-2024. Trustee Carol Stephenson seconded the motion. Vote: Rick Norton-Aye, David Rathke-Absent, Janice Edwards-Aye, Carol Stephenson-Aye, Charles Morefield-Aye, Vincent Beck-Aye. Motion carried.
Trustee Charles Morefield made a motion to open Fiscal Year 2024-2025. Trustee Rick Norton seconded the motion. Vote: Rick Norton-Aye, David Rathke-Absent, Janice Edwards-Aye, Carol Stephenson-Aye, Charles Morefield-Aye, Vincent Beck-Aye. Motion carried.
Trustee Charles Morefield made a motion to dispense with the reading of the minutes and approve as presented. Trustee Janice Edwards seconded the motion. Vote: Rick Norton-Aye, David Rathke-Absent, Janice Edwards-Aye, Carol Stephenson-Aye, Charles Morefield-Aye, Vincent Beck-Aye. Motion carried.
Village Treasurer Connie Gossmeyer gave the Treasurer’s Report for the month of April 2024.
• Beginning Balance $ 124,399.81
• Ending Balance $ 141,504.00
• Increase for the month of April 2024 $ 17,104.19
Trustee Rick Norton made a motion to approve the Treasurer’s Report for the month of April 2024. Trustee Charles Morefield seconded the motion. Vote: Rick Norton-Aye, David Rathke-Absent, Janice Edwards-Aye, Carol Stephenson-Aye, Charles Morefield-Aye, Vincent Beck-Aye. Motion carried.
Trustee Rick Norton made a motion to pay the bills as presented. Trustee Janice Edwards seconded the motion. Vote: Rick Norton-Aye, David Rathke-Absent, Janice Edwards-Aye, Carol Stephenson-Aye, Charles Morefield-Aye, Vincent Beck-Aye. Motion carried.
Trustee Vincent Beck made a motion to approve the closure of the Motor Fuel Tax expenditures for Fiscal Year 2023-2024. Trustee Carol Stephenson seconded the motion. Vote: Rick Norton-Aye, David Rathke-Absent, Janice Edwards-Aye, Carol Stephenson-Aye, Charles Morefield-Aye, Vincent Beck-Aye. Motion carried.
Trustee Janice Edwards made a motion to open the Motor Fuel Tax Funds Account for Fiscal Year 2024-2025. Trustee Carol Stephenson seconded the motion. Vote: Rick Norton-Aye, David Rathke-Absent, Janice Edwards-Aye, Carol Stephenson-Aye, Charles Morefield-Aye, Vincent Beck-Aye. Motion carried.
Trustee Rick Norton made a motion to approve the position appointments listed for Fiscal Year 2024-2025. Trustee Carol Stephenson seconded the motion. Vote: Rick Norton-Aye, David Rathke-Absent, Janice Edwards-Aye, Carol Stephenson-Aye, Charles Morefield-Aye, Vincent Beck-Aye. Motion carried.
Trustee Vincent Beck made a motion to approve the Standing Committee Appointments as listed for Fiscal Year 2024-2025. Trustee Charles Morefield seconded the motion. Vote: Rick Norton-Aye, David Rathke-Absent, Janice Edwards-Aye, Carol Stephenson-Aye, Charles Morefield-Aye, Vincent Beck-Aye. Motion carried.
Public comments-Items on the agenda.
There were no public comments.
Special Reports
Police Department-Police Chief Ritchie Cooper states his report is in your folders for review. Several reports were made this month: Assist in removal of non-mobile person disorderly conduct, sexual assault, threats to school, domestic battery of child, theft, criminal damage to property and fraud. Police Chief Ritchie Cooper reports he and SRO Ben Thorndyke have been helping with the assistance of watching over an elderly resident while he awaits placement in a skilled nursing facility. Police Chief states he continues to work with Genesis on the replacement of the cameras in the Village of Colfax.
Maintenance Department- Superintendent of Maintenance Josh Hereford reports the maintenance department has begun the seasonal mowing and trimming of all the village properties. The plows were put into storage for the season. The lift station flooded on April 29, 2024, the diesel pump ran from about 4:00 a.m. until 7:00 a.m. on 4/30/2024. Josh and Nick met with representative from Hoerr Construction about the sewer problems found in the cleaning and televising report to discuss the best routes to complete the repairs. Josh and Nick graded the lane at the sewer plant and the landscape dump and added rock and millings to the drive up to the landscape burn pile.
Animal Control/Zoning- Report in your folders for review.
EMA- Report in your folders for review.
Mayor’s Report- Mayor Dodds reports a summary of the monthly revenue is listed in the report for you to review. Mayor Dodds reports the Illinois Commerce Commission (ICC) has initiated a series of workshops to discuss the future of natural gas service in Illinois. Mayor Dodds reports in search for possible funding to assist the Village of Colfax with storm water, sewer and sanitary system projects, he received a mailer from a company out of Champaign who forwarded some potential development funding options that may be pursued. Mayor Dodds will pursue more information to help determine what we can use with our projects that we need to conduct.
Trustee Rick Norton gave a summary of the meeting he and Mayor Dodds had with Gwen Crawford of The Economic Development Group, Ltd. In order for the TIF district to be successful, it is important that the Village of Colfax to have one or more job ready projects so months are not lost in its initiation. Rick provided the Board of Trustees with a map with the proposed area that would fall into the TIF District. The approximate value of the proposed TIF District is approximately 5 million dollars. The total assessed value of the Village of Colfax in its entirety is approximately 15 million dollars. Rick discussed several potential areas for development within the Village of Colfax.
Committee Reports
Finance & Audit Committee Chairman, David Rathke, was absent.
Police & Liquor Committee Chairman, Carol Stephenson, has nothing to report at this time.
Water & Sewer Committee Chairman, Charles Morefield, has nothing to report at this time.
Streets & Light Committee Chairman, Rick Norton, reports a committee meeting was held this evening prior to the Board of Trustees meeting. The committee discussed the parking in the downtown area, the committee suggests not to move forward with the placement of time limit parking. Josh and Nick will move forward with the addition of 3 parking spaces. Also discussed was the installation of the electric vehicle charging stations. Mayor Dodds will reach out for more information from the McLean County and will report back at next month’s meeting.
Maintenance Equipment & Vehicle Committee Chairman, Vincent Beck, has nothing to report at this time.
Old Business:
The first item of old business was the continued discussion regarding parking and the placement of electric vehicle charging stations. As recommended by the Streets and Lights Committee no action will be taken. Additional parking will be made near Popejoy Storage.
Next item on the agenda was further discussion of the Beitz Excavating proposal for the field on the east side of South Grove Street. The committee has decided not to take any action regarding the invoice received from Beitz Excavating regarding the drainage tile installation.
Next item on the agenda was the review of the quote for sealing the crawlspace, including filling in the vents and leveling with the sidewalks and cutting holes in the foundation to provide access to the crawlspace inside the building, plus the completion of the project by Sealtite. Mayor Dodds spoke with contractor Jonah Beck regarding the construction and was given a verbal quote of $2,800. Item tabled. Mayor Dodds will reach out to Sealtite for clarification on some concerns.
Mayor Larry Dodds reports there is a potential issue with having a quorum for the June meeting and the meeting needs to be rescheduled.
Trustee Janice Edwards made a motion to reschedule the June 2024 Board of Trustees meeting for Wednesday, June 12, 2024 at 7:00 p.m. Trustee Rick Norton seconded the motion. Vote: Rick Norton-Aye, David Rathke-Absent, Janice Edwards-Aye, Carol Stephenson-Aye, Charles Morefield-Aye, Vincent Beck-Aye. Motion carried.
New Business:
The first item of New Business was the review and approval of the submission of the Resolution for Maintenance Under the Illinois Highway Code for Fiscal Year 2024-2025.
Trustee Janice Edwards made a motion to approve the submission of the Resolution for Maintenance Under the Illinois Highway Code for Fiscal Year 2024-2025. Trustee Charles Morefield seconded the motion. Vote: Rick Norton-Aye, David Rathke-Absent, Janice Edwards-Aye, Carol Stephenson-Aye, Charles Morefield-Aye, Vincent Beck-Aye. Motion carried.
Public comments-Items not on the agenda.
There were no public comments.
Trustee Janice Edwards made a motion to go into Executive Session to consider appointment, employment, compensation, discipline, performance, dismissal of village employees or pending litigation pursuant to Section 2(C) (5) of the Illinois Open Meeting Act. Trustee Rick Norton seconded the motion. Vote: Rick Norton-Aye, David Rathke-Absent, Janice Edwards-Aye, Carol Stephenson-Aye, Charles Morefield-Aye, Vincent Beck-Aye. Motion carried.
The Village entered Executive Session at 8:24 p.m.
Trustee Charles Morefield made a motion to return to Open Session at 8:28 p.m. Trustee Rick Norton seconded the motion. Vote: Rick Norton-Aye, David Rathke-Absent, Janice Edwards-Aye, Carol Stephenson-Aye, Charles Morefield-Aye, Vincent Beck-Aye. Motion carried.
Trustee Charles Morefield made a motion to approve the salaries for employees for the 2024-2025 Fiscal Year as a result of the Executive Session. Trustee Rick Norton seconded the motion. Vote: Rick Norton-Aye, David Rathke-Absent, Janice Edwards-Aye, Carol Stephenson-Aye, Charles Morefield-Aye, Vincent Beck-Aye. Motion carried.
Trustee Janice Edwards made a motion to adjourn the meeting. Trustee Carol Stephenson seconded the motion. Vote: Rick Norton-Aye, David Rathke-Absent, Janice Edwards-Aye, Carol Stephenson-Aye, Charles Morefield-Aye, Vincent Beck-Aye. Motion carried.
Meeting was adjourned at 8:30 p.m.
Respectfully submitted,
Portia Vandegraft
Village Clerk