City Council

Minutes of the Regular Board Meeting of the Village of Jerome Board CALL TO ORDER: The President and the Board of Trustees held a regular meeting on Thursday, February 15, 2024, at the Jerome Civic Center, 2901 Leonard Street, Jerome, Illinois. The meeting was called to order at 6:30 pm by President Lopez, followed by Roll call and the Pledge of Allegiance. ROLL CALL: The following were present: Mike Lopez, Village President Kathy DeHart, Trustee of Public Property & Co Trustee Public Health Katrina Christofilakos, Trustee of Public Health Leigh Irons, Trustee of Public Safety Dale Lael, Trustee of Building & Zoning Phil Raftis, Trustee of Public Works Also Present: Zach Sweet, Village Treasurer Steve Roth, Executive Assistant Jason Brokaw, Attorney, Giffin, Winning, Cohen & Bodewes, P.C., Absent: Ralph Irons, Trustee of Water Department Lisa Cave, Village Clerk _____________________________________________________________________________________ APPROVAL OF THE MINUTES: President Lopez asked whether the Board had reviewed the February 1, 2024, Minutes and if they found need for any changes, corrections, or amendments. President Lopez asked the February 1, 2024, minutes would stand approved as presented. Motion to approve the February 1, 2024, Meeting Minutes as presented by: Trustee Leigh Irons and 2nd by Trustee Lael Upon roll call vote, all voted AYE; MOTION PASSES. APPROVAL TO PAY BILLS: President Lopez asked whether the board had reviewed Warrant List 24-20 dated February 15, 2024, totaling $84,201.16. Mr. Roth stated the breakdown of the amount that $23,383.67 will be paid from the General Revenue Fund, $14,967.97 will be paid from the 1% Fund, and $45,849.52 will be paid from the Water Account. President Lopez asked for a motion to approve Warrant List 24-18 as presented. Motion to Approve the Warrant List 24-20 totaling $84,201.16 as presented by Trustee Lael and 2nd by Trustee DeHart Upon roll call vote, all voted AYE; MOTION PASSES. NEW BUSINESS DISCUSSION: Cameron Jones with Benton and Associates was present to discuss Iles Ave and how the project will move forward. President Lopez stated that Senator McClure and Mike Murphy sponsored the Village for a total of $1,000,000.00. The project will start on the Chatham Roadside due to issues with in-frasture on the MacArthur side. Cameron stated that we are ready to send out for bid and should be able to start this year. Cameron stated the project should take 2-3 months to complete. Trustee Lael asked when we will start the mill and overlay it on the rest of Iles. Trustee Lael said he understands the Village must spend this money this year. Cameron stated yes, the funds need to be spent this year and that it is up for the Board on when to start the mill and overlay. Trustee DeHart asked how much we have in the 1%. President Lopez stated we have about 1 million in those funds. Discussion took place on the amount of traffic, and various funding options that the Village anticipates. Cameron stated that the reason they went away from the side of MacArthur is that the City is restructuring that road and will change the depth for drainage of storm water. Cameron stated that if the Board chooses to add the mill and overlay to some of the rest of Iles in the next two meetings, he will be able to add it to the bids for Iles. Trustee Raftis stated Iles total reconstruction is over 12 million dollars. The Village does not have that kind of funding for that. The Village is reconstructing the road to allow it to have a 50-year lifespan versus a 10-year lifespan. The Village does not want to put band aids on the road. Motion to Approve the Iles Project and Scope of Work by Trustee Raftis and 2nd by Trustee Lael Upon roll call vote, all voted AYE; MOTION PASSES. PUBLIC COMMENTS: President Lopez opened the Visitors Acknowledgement portion of the meeting at 6:59 pm. Trustee Leigh Irons stated that Clerk Cave reported receiving one email. Attorney Brokaw stated that there was a question on whether the letter had gone out last week. Attorney Brokaw stated that there will not be a question-and-answer session as there has been in the past as this is a public meeting. Heather said she spoke with the States Attorney and filed a report and has a case number. Heather will send Trustee Leigh Irons the case number. Trustee Leigh Irons stated the Chief went over to the home and heard dogs inside the residence. Trustee Leigh Irons stated the chip for the speed buggy is still on back order and that they are going to reach out to other municipalities to see if we can borrow one for a time period. Drivers are going around the barricades. Attorney Brokaw stated that if residents have a ring camera that has that footage the Police Chief can issue a citation as it is against the law to go around a barricade. Jackie Bordewick stated that a garbage company, Waste Management has garbage falling off their truck as they are driving down the road. President Lopez stated that even the City of Springfield is having a hard time reaching a person at Waste Management. President Lopez will try and reach out to them and get back to her. This portion of the meeting closed at 7:11 pm. REPORTS: Trustee DeHart stated she received 2 complaints, one on Homewood Court and one that had a tv out front that was already picked up. Trustee Christofilakos will be taking over Public Health and Trustee DeHart will work in conjunction with her to catch her up to speed. Trustee Raftis stated he had nothing to report. Trustee DeHart stated she is working on a civic center issue. Trustee Leigh Irons stated that one of their laptops has crashed. Trustee Leigh Irons stated that Word is not downloaded on any of the trustee's computers and that causes a problem. Trustee Lael stated the semi that had been parked at Shop n Save is coming and going. Neiman Foods stated that there is no parking in that lot at any time. Trustee Lael will provide the Police Chief with the contact information from Neiman Foods to verify that no one has permission to park there. 1612 Glenn has boarded up windows. 1303 Iles has a vehicle on blocks, and they have missing siding. It has been like that for years and now with the vehicle he would like something done with it. The double axel trucks are back in the Village from Republic. They are tearing up the streets, can we do like Chatham and prevent them from coming into the Village unless they are empty? Dave stated the Village can legally post a weight limit on the streets. President Lopez will contact the City and Waste Management on the enforcement on weight limit and he will also contact Chatham and ask them about their processes. Trustee Leigh Irons reported that the two officers are at the Academy. Trustee Leigh Irons stated this Sunday is Bingo from 2 pm – 4 pm at the Civic Center. Trustee Leigh Irons stated Dave replaced some of the hydrants. President Lopez asked that all bulletin items are sent to Clerk Cave by next week so that the bulletin can go out in March, President Lopez asked to be cc’d. OLD BUSINESS: President Lopez tabled discussion and approval of Time Management App. President Lopez opened up discussion and approval of Ordinance 24-06 Approving a Contract for the Purchase of Real Estate commonly known as 3030 ½ Chatham Road from Federal National Mortgage Association. Attorney Brokaw stated that the real estate purchase is for $1.00. Trustee Leigh Irons asked who is responsible for the title work. Attorney Brokaw stated that they are responsible for providing the new owners clear title. Attorney Brokaw stated that the contract states that all utilities should be on until closing but the Village does not want that. Closing date is March 21, 2024. Motion to Approve Ordinance 24-06 Approving a Contract for the Purchase of Real Estate commonly known as 3030 ½ Chatham Road from Federal National Mortgage Association by Trustee Lael and 2nd by Trustee DeHart Upon roll call vote, all voted AYE; except Trustee Raftis voted no MOTION PASSES. President Lopez opened discussion and approval of Ordinance 24-03 Regarding Civic Center Rental Procedures and Rates. Attorney Brokaw stated that Trustee DeHart and Trustee Lael asked for some changes to the ordinance and that Attorney Brokaw incorporated those changes. Motion to Approve Ordinance 24-03 Regarding Civic Center Rental Procedures and Rates by Trustee DeHart and 2nd by Trustee Leigh Irons Upon roll call vote, all voted AYE; MOTION PASSES. ADJOURNMENT: With no further business, President Lopez asked for a motion to close the meeting at 7:40 pm. Motion was made by Trustee Raftis and 2nd by Trustee DeHart. PREPARED BY: Lisa Cave, Clerk DATE APPROVED: March 7, 2024 _____________________________________ Village Clerk _____________________________________ Date