Finance & Personnel Meet Prior to Regular Meeting of Village of Milledgeville

A special meeting was held at 6:30 p.m. Monday, May 3, 2010 at the Village Hall for the Finance and Personnel Committee to start the work on the budget. Present were Gary Geirnaeirt, Bill Stage, Gene Behrens, Stan Eads, Galen Wirth, Jim Haag and Greg Miller.

Village President Wirth reminded the Board of Trustees that the Village is hoping for a grant of$456,000.00 for the Old Mill Street Water Line project and he asked the Board to consider giving a donation of $1500.00 to TCEDA (Tri County Economic Development Alliance). They are going to visit the merchants to see what they can do for the businesses. They will also be spearheading the building codes that the local towns will need in the near future.

With this said the Board of Trustees reviewed last years budget and started going through each line item to see what can be changed in this years budget to get the Village back on track.

After an hour, the Board decided that they will hold another meeting before the next Board meeting on May 17 at 6:30 p.m. at the Village Hall to continue the budget.

At 7:27 p.m. the meeting adjourned.

Regular meeting

A regular meeting of the Board ofTrustees was held at 7:30 p.m. at the Village Hall in Milledgeville. The meeting was called to order at 7:30 p.m. by Village President, Galen Wirth. The Pledge ofAllegiance was recited and Roll was called with the following Trustees present: Bill Stage, Gary Geirnaeirt, Gene Behrens and Stan Eads. Others Present were Terry Schmidt, John Helms, Jim Haag, Lyle Musselman, Lee Gibbs and Greg Miller.

In Business From the Floor, Lyle Musselman spoke on behalf ofthe American Legion. He told the Board about the Boys and Girls State Program that they support. They send 3 boys and 1 girl to Eastern IL University for the teens to learn about Governmental functions. He wanted to know if the Village could donate some money for the Scholarships they give out. Any amount would help. Lee Gibbs was also present and mentioned that each person needs $375.00 to attend and $1500.00 is a lot of money for the Legion to absorb.

Geirnaeirt responded that he felt, unfortunately, we should stay true to form and not donate money to them. We have turned down other organizations because we don’t have the funds and we can’t justify

giving to one and not another. The other trustees agreed with him. Lyle thanked the Board for their time.

In Old Business, Wirth informed the Board that he went to Milledgeville State Bank for a 4 day loan to get all our finances in order for the end ofthe fiscal year. We borrowed $130,000.00 on Friday, April 30, 2010 and May 3, 2010 we paid the loan back. The interest was $20.04.

Wirth spoke about the time frame for a tax referendum if the Village decides we need one. All the information needs to be to the Carroll County Courthouse by September 1, 2010.

Under New Business, Wirth told the Board it was time to renew the Liquor Licenses. The Other Bar, J.J.’s Comeback Inn, and Casey’s General Store are the three in town. The Board unanimously approved to renew those licenses.

Wirth reported that the Board had worked on the Budget for the next fiscal year earlier that night and decided to continue the meeting on May 17, 2010 at 6:30 p.m.

The next order of business was the old water tanks that the Village still has. The Trustees wondered about listing them on Craig’s List to see if there was any interest. They could be scrapped if there was no need for them also. They decided to see about listing them for sale.

Wirth showed the Board a letter to the Village of Chadwick and Chad Judd that he had written. It was to thank them for all the help they gave us in cleaning up the town after the storm we had. The Trustees all were very grateful that Chadwick and Chad came to our aid without us even asking. The Trustees wondered if there was anything being discussed about forming some sort of mutual aid between towns when something like this happens again. Greg Miller said ESDA is working on that. All the Trustees signed that thank you and again expressed how grateful we are to Chadwick and their employee.

The Village of Milledgeville Welcome sign was next on the agenda. It has been brought to our attention that the sign is in need of repair. Miller said the shingles need to be replaced, the paint needs to be scraped and reapplied, the signs on the grate need to be replaced as they are faded, and the flowers need to be replaced in the hanging baskets. Christy Ottens went to Country Floral Too on Main Street in Milledgeville and they graciously said they would redo the flower baskets with some silk flowers. At this point Terry Schmidt was present and he said he has some shingles the Village could have to redo the roofs on the signs. We still need to get some paint and talk to someone about the signs. Our thanks are given to the people and businesses that are thoughtful enough to donate their time and supplies to improve our town.

Lee Gibbs was next on the agenda. He presented a drawing of the Milledgeville Veterans Memorial that they are proposing to build in town. It will be on Route 40 by the school. It is being made by Moore Monument and is going to be for all veterans in or from Milledgeville. The bricks can be purchased for $200.00 and will be engraved with the Veterans name. It would be a great tribute to any family member or friend that has served for our country. All donations for this monument can be made at Milledgeville State Bank. The forms for the purchase of the bricks can be picked-up at the Milledgeville Credit Union or Milledgeville State Bank. If you have no one from Milledgeville that served, you could always donate to help cover the cost of a brick in someone else’s name. The Legion is hoping to have the groundbreaking on Flag Day. More details will be announced later. Lee also informed the Board that this year’s Memorial Day program will be at 9:30 a.m. in Chadwick at the Junior High School. It will combine the Milledgeville and Chadwick Legions.

Board member resignations

Wirth next informed the Board that he has received the resignation letters of two Board Members. Doug Biller is resigning due to family obligations. Gary Judd is resigning due to job obligations. Wirth said that there are two other residents who have turned in letters stating that they would like to be on the Board.

At this time John Helms and Terry Schmidt were introduced. Stage made the MOTION to nominate both gentlemen for the two open seats, seconded by Geirnaeirt. A Roll Call vote was taken and all members voted “Yes”. Motion carried.

John Helms was sworn in. He will also serve on the Public Works and Buildings Committee and the Ordinance and Public Safety Committee.

Terry Schmidt was sworn in as Trustee and will also serve on the Finance and Personnel Committee and the Ordinance and Public Safety Committee.

Stan Eads was then asked to be the Chairperson for the Ordinance and Public Safety Committee. He said he would accept that seat. The new Board members joined the others and the meeting continued.

Under Employee Reports, Chief Jim Haag repeated that this month is Seat Belt Enforcement month. He will be watching to see that everyone is buckled up. The two patrol cars were in for maintenance. The older squad car has 98,000 miles on it. Jim has been looking for a grant to purchase a new one, but as of yet, has found no grant available.

Greg Miller caught the Board up on the work they have been doing. The sewer plant has been having problems with the new clarifier. Parts are not fitting together like they should. The company who installed it sent a representative out to check and Greg is now taking it apart to send to Shanks. He will then call Hayen Electric to have them come do the next stage of the installation. There are new tubes to be installed in different areas of town. There will be stump removal soon by Ryan’s Tree Service. Greg will then fix some ofthe sidewalks in town that are in need of repair. Greg told the Board that from May 13,2010 through May 23, 2010 there will be hydrant flushing. The notice will also appear in the Prairie Advocate.

Stan Eads asked the Board about the corn husks that are blowing in off the fields. Old Mill Street is covered with them. Greg told him that they are doing what they can to keep them out of the gutters so that water can flow easily. Any help the residents can give in cleaning them up will be appreciated.

Unapproved Minutes taken by Village Clerk Christine A. Ottens.

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