May 12, 2009                                                                                      Regular Meeting

Mayor Franks called the May meeting to order with Sturtewagen, Gustafson, Curran, DeRycke, Fulton, and VanKerrebroeck present. Also present were incoming Trustee Brent Heitzler, Joe Buresh, Francis Sierens, John Roegiers, Norm Johnson, and Lynn Neuleib.

Swearing in of Mayor and Trustees
The oath of office was signed by Kennard Franks, Incoming Mayor, Incoming Trustees Roger Fulton and Dennis DeRycke, and new Trustee Brent Heitzler.

Minutes
Gustafson, seconded by Curran, made a motion to approve the minutes of the previous meeting. Motion carried.

Monthly Bills
Trustee Fulton questioned the bills from DeDecker Hardware and Diericx Electric for the Concession Stand. Each of those bills had been adjusted to make donations to the Concession Stand, but the donation wasn’t what the board hoped for. Board members agreed that in the future bids should be taken out for a project like that and everything should be signed prior to the project’s start. Curran, seconded by Gustafson, made a motion to pay the monthly bills. Motion carried.

Police Report
Tim Wise gave the police report showing 6 citations and 11 warnings for the month.

Economic Development
Tracy Diehl gave the Economic Development Report. She gave board members the Booklet for Annawan Fun Days to be held on June 5-6-7. She announced a meeting of the Canal Renaissance to be held at the Best Western Hotel on May 19th and hoped that some board members would be able to attend. With the canal being so close to the village limits, Cathy Foes, Henry County Tourism Bureau Director, thinks there could be good tourism possibilities. Mayor Franks and Diehl both praised Foes for the job she is doing.  Diehl reported on her trip to Springfield. She went with other representatives from Henry County towns and representatives from the Henry County Economic Development Committee on June 28th to meet with representatives and senators from this district to ask for stimulus monies. Each town took specific project applications. In addition to Henry County there were thousands and thousands of people asking for money. She doesn’t think any money will be coming to Annawan, but told board members not to give up hope.

Fire Department Request
Norm Johnson and Lynn Neuleib of the Annawan-Alba Fire Department spoke to board members about the possible need for a spiller pay ordinance (Hazmat Ordinance). They provided the board with copies of several ordinances adopted by other towns. No action was taken.The Fire Department will use the buildings that need to be demolished for Progress Parkway as practice. Chief Wise said the SWAT team wants to practice at the same time. Something will be in the paper before any burning is done.

Easement Agreements
Curran, seconded by DeRycke, made a motion to approve three easement agreements with People’s National Bank. Reason for the agreements: More land is needed for the water mains going to Progress Parkway. Motion carried.

School Baseball Diamond Concerns
Joe Buresh, Superintendent of Annawan Schools, addressed board members with concerns about the new ball diamond and concession stand. Concerns included: parking, foul balls, rotten bleachers, etc. Board members agreed that something has to be done about the parking situation since there is a possibility of three ball games and soccer games/practice going on at the same time. They assured Mr. Buresh that something would be done. They also agreed that safety nets should be put in place to prevent people, cars, and the new concession stand from being harmed. The board will also see that lights tilted the wrong direction due to the windstorm in July would be fixed. Mr. Buresh told board members that a lease is being drawn up for the school to lease the ball diamond from March-June.

North Meadow Village
Board members received a recommendation from the Zoning Board of Appeals saying that they had reviewed the North Meadows Village Subdivision Preliminary Plat that had been filed with the Village requesting approval and that they gave approval to the plat, saying it would be in the best interests of the village and recommending that the proposed North Meadows Village Preliminary Plat. DeRycke, seconded by Curran, made a motion to approve the preliminary and final plat. Motion carried.

2009 Blacktopping
Board members recommended that South Avenue be blacktopped from where the blacktopping stopped last year to the end of the street going west. Also, Patey Street, from State Street to Main Street be blacktopped. The road to Howes Park is also in need, but there are not enough MFT funds for that. The board recommended that the road be chipped and oiled with money from the General Fund. Mayor Franks will be in touch with Missman, Stanley (engineers), Ratliff’s, and Henry County to get these projects taken care of. Authorization of funds used from Motor Fuel Taxes will have to come from the Illinois Department of Transportation.

Update from Shive-Hattery
It was reported that bids for Progress Parkway were opened on 04-24-09, construction should begin by 7-09 with the completion in the spring of 2010.

Abilities Plus Request
Mayor Franks read a letter from Abilities Plus asking for donations to their “Bringing Home the Dream” of a new community home for people with disabilities. Board members asked the village clerk to check in to past donations. The request was tabled to the June board meeting.

Update on Concession Stand
Board members discussed bills that had come in higher than expected and donations that had come in less than expected. There is a “lip” around the concession stand that needs to be filled. Mayor Franks suggested putting dirt around it and seeding it in August. Parking concerns need to be resolved by next spring. Mr. Buresh offered to meet with board members to finalize all the concession stand concerns. Both the school and the village have a lot of pride in Howes Park, the concession stand and the ball diamonds. Mayor Franks said that one of the major goals for the board is to get more young families into town. In order to do so you have to have something for them to do. The park gets lots of use. VanKerrebroeck pointed out that a lot of money has been spent so far and it would be a shame not to spend a little more to make it top notch. Village employees could provide labor for some of the things that are needed.

2009-2010 Budget
VanKerrebroeck presented board members with hand outs showing budget figures for the coming year. He asked board members to fill in some blanks for their committees and have the information to the village clerk by Tuesday, May 19th.

Thanks, Dick!
Mayor Franks and the board thanked Dick VanKerrebroeck for the hard work and good job done during his term as Village Trustee. Dick took on many responsibilities during his term including the budget, appropriations ordinance and tax levy ordinance, etc. His opinions were well thought out and were a benefit to the Village Board.

Missman, Stanley and Associates
John Roegiers talked to board members about the status of the EPA Grant received by the village. Roegiers has helped Tracy Diehl with the paperwork and both are waiting for answers. The grant will be used to extend the water and sewer lines under Route 78. Roegiers also gave board members a printout of estimates from Mississippi Valley Pump, Inc. ($13,575, plus freight) and Electric Pump ($9580.20, including freight) for a new excess flow pump at the village sewer treatment plant. The bid is only for the pump, not for paying a local electrician to get the power needed to the pump location. Curran, seconded by Sturtewagen, made a motion to accept the bid from Electric Pump. Motion carried.

Executive Session
Sturtewagen, seconded by DeRycke, made a motion to go in to Executive Session to discuss salaries for the 2009-2010 fiscal year. Motion carried. Salaries were discussed. DeRycke, seconded by Curran, made a motion to adjourn the Executive Session and go back into Regular Session. Motion carried.

Salaries for 2009-2010
After executive session the following salaries were approved:

Mark Crosby-$41,021; Tim Wise-$35,022; Larry Fronk-$27,368; Bill Barnes- $11.50/hour ($12.50 w/ CDL license); Part time police- $12.75/hour; Marilyn Verdick-$13.50/hour;

Tracy Diehl-$11.00/hour, 40 hours per month; Julie DeSplinter-$14.25/hour.

Adjourn
There being no further business, Gustafson, seconded by Curran, made a motion to adjourn. Motion carried.

Julie DeSplinter

Village Clerk