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, December 19, 2024, at the Jerome Civic Center, 2901 Leonard Street, Jerome, Illinois. The meeting was called to order at 6:32 pm by President Lopez, followed by Roll call and the Pledge of Allegiance. ROLL CALL: The following were present: Mike Lopez, Village President Katrina Christofilakos, Trustee of Public Property Kathy DeHart, Trustee Public Health Leigh Irons, Trustee of Public Safety Ralph Irons, Trustee of Water Department Dale Lael, Trustee of Building & Zoning Phil Raftis, Trustee of Public Works Also Present: Jason Brokaw, Attorney, Giffin, Winning, Cohen & Bodewes, PC Lisa Cave, Village Clerk Emily Snow, Village Treasurer Steve Roth, Executive Assistant _____________________________________________________________________________________ APPROVAL OF THE MINUTES: President Lopez asked whether the Board had reviewed the December 5, 2024, Meeting Minutes and if they found need for any changes, corrections, or amendments. President Lopez asked the December 5, 2024, minutes would stand approved as presented. Motion to approve the December 5, 2024, Meeting Minutes as presented by: Trustee Leigh Irons and 2nd by Trustee Raftis Upon roll call vote, all voted AYE; except Trustee Christofilakos voted present MOTION PASSES. APPROVAL TO PAY BILLS: President Lopez asked whether the board had reviewed Warrant List 25-15 dated December 19, 2024, totaling $68,546.61, although there was a credit in the 1% which brought the total down to $68,531.13. Treasurer Snow stated the breakdown of the amount that $21,476.15 will be paid from the General Revenue Fund, $16,154.44 will be paid from the 1% Fund and $26,914.62 will be paid from the Water Account. President Lopez asked for a motion to approve Warrant List 25-15 as presented. Motion to Approve the Warrant List 25-15 totaling $68,546.61 as presented By: Trustee Ralph Irons and 2nd by Trustee Leigh Irons Upon roll call vote, all voted AYE; MOTION PASSES. PUBLIC COMMENTS: President Lopez opened the Visitors Acknowledgement portion of the meeting at 6:38 pm. Stephanie with Benton & Associates provided the Board with a project update on Iles Ave. Broughton is doing the cleanup for winter shutdowns. They are cleaning up all the construction debris and materials on Iles and will use the street sweeper before they open to traffic. The pipe will also be removed and should be completed by January 3, 2025, weather permitting. Broughton will also be putting down cold patch to residents' entrances to their driveways. Stephanie also stated that Broughton will not need to move or make any sanitary sewer adjustments for the new storm drainage. REPORTS: Trustee DeHart stated she is working on 3-5 complaints. Trustee Raftis stated the Public Works are winterizing the trucks and making sure they are ready to go. Trustee Christofilakos stated the sink in the library has been replaced and the toilets will be done by Friday. Trustee Lael stated there are no new businesses and he has received fence permits. Trustee Leigh Irons stated the decals for the trucks are on and look great. The Police Department is dealing with the complaints on the courts, Tajay will be starting in January. Photos will be taken of the trucks for the website. Trustee Ralph Irons stated Public Works are ready for winter and has changed the oil in the various equipment. Treasurer Snow had nothing to report. Clerk Cave stated all but 4 liquor licenses have been turned in for 2025. Attorney Brokaw had nothing to report. President Lopez commended Kathy, Leigh, Katrina and Emily on the tree lighting, we had 40 people show up and 15 people did caroling. The light display looked great, and we will continue to try and get the residents involved. President Lopez stated that Treasurer Snow will be contacting each Trustee to arrange times for the budget. The Village was able to donate 2 boxes of canned goods for the area food pantries. Thank you to everyone that donated to Toys for Tots and Trustee DeHart will deliver them. Thank you to Jerome Methodist Church for treats to the officer personnel. OLD BUSINESS: President Lopez opened discussion and approval on the Purchase of Owl 3 with Accessories. Trustee Christofilakos asked to table the discussion until the next meeting. President Lopez stated that Trustee DeHart and Trustee Christofilakos have yet to meet with Attorney Brokaw to discuss the animal ordinance, the discussion was tabled until the next meeting. President Lopez opened discussion and approval of the Agreement for Sangamon County Building and Zoning County wide Agreement to Inspect Residential Properties. Attorney Brokaw stated he recommends tabling the discussion until he has read through the agreement from Sangamon County. President Lopez opened discussion and approval on Ordinance 25-18 Amending Section 401.3 of the Jerome Village Code Regarding Contractor Registration. Attorney Brokaw stated he recommends tabling the discussion until he has read through the agreement from Sangamon County and knows moving forward how the Village will want to proceed. NEW BUSINESS: President Lopez opened discussion of Resolution 08-25 Establishing a Time and Place for a Public Hearing to Consider the Redevelopment Plan and Project for the Jerome TIF Redevelopment Project Area. The meeting will be on March 10, 2025. President Lopez stated this TIF district could raise $15,000-$18,000 a month. Motion to Resolution 08-25 Establishing a Time and Place for a Public Hearing to Consider the Redevelopment Plan and Project for the Jerome TIF Redevelopment Project Area by Trustee Raftis and 2nd by Trustee Ralph Irons Upon roll call vote, all voted AYE; MOTION PASSES. President Lopez opened discussion and approval of W. Iles Avenue Improvements – Phase I: Pay Application #2 . Total is $58,066.53 to PH Broughton for work done from November 2, 2024, through December 4, 2024. Motion to Approve W. Iles Avenue Improvements – Phase I: Pay Application #2, by Trustee Raftis and 2nd by Trustee Leigh Irons Upon roll call vote, all voted AYE; MOTION PASSES. Steve Roth read an email to the Board. In reviewing the warrants since the beginning of this fiscal year, I noticed for a couple warrants that were previously approved by the Board that the coding was incorrect. Therefore, we are going to make the following changes to these warrants: Warrant 25-06 - MB Heating and Cooling - $11,961.00 - new a/c unit: originally charged to Property GL Code 9510 should be charged to ARPA GL Code 1580, Warrant 25-06 - Starfleet Locks - $810.00 - new locks and keys originally charged to Property GL Code 9510 should be charged to the following: Property GL Code 9510 for $272.33 and ARPA should be charged $537.67 to GL Code 1580. With this change, I will have Ruth correct the warrants and have them re-signed and correct the warrant cover sheet. Also, i will have Emily make the adjustments in reimbursing the General Fund from the ARPA fund for these amounts and to let Sara know at KEB that these adjustments should be made. Any questions we can discuss tonight, or call me individually. Steve stated that they will begin Docusign these next few weeks and try different options to see which the best way is to get them to the Trustees. President Lopez stated that the Time Management will be starting in January within the first few weeks and that the office will be closed Tuesday and Wednesday next week for the holiday along with the next week. ADJOURNMENT: With no further business, President Lopez asked for a motion to close the meeting at 7:08 pm. Motion was made by Trustee Christofilakos and 2nd by Trustee Raftis PREPARED BY: Lisa Cave, Clerk DATE APPROVED: January 2, 2025 ____________________________________ Village Clerk _____________________________________ Date