October 9, 2007

Mayor Franks called the October meeting to order with Sturtewagen, Gustafson, Curran, Killelea, Fulton, and VanKerrebroeck present. Killelea, seconded by Sturtewagen, made a motion to approve the minutes of the previous meeting. Motion carried.

Curran, seconded by Gustafson, made a motion to pay the monthly bills. Motion carried.

Tim Wise gave the police report showing 10 citations and 10 warnings for the month. He reported that an audit had been done on the in-car computer and all was found to be in order.

Tracy Diehl gave the Economic Development report. The “My Hometown Helper “grant was applied for and winners will be announced on November 15^th with the awardees to receive up to $15,000.00. The Ethyl Grant application is due on October 18^th. That grant is for $25,000.00 from the Ethyl Company with a matching grant of $2500.00 from the phone company. The teleconferences with Shive Hattery and IDOT are ongoing. Mayor Franks and Diehl agree that the conferences have been very helpful. Judd Hulting gave Diehl a tour of the Ethanol Plant. She is impressed with the progress. Annawan welcomed home two soldiers who had been in Iraq. Considering it was a late evening event there was a good turnout. On October 20^th there will be a new event in the village-“Junk in the Trunk”- with all proceeds going to the new concession stand. Residents are asked to sell items from their trunks. The event will be located in Howes Park from 11:00 until 2:00. Baked goods will also be for sale. The new owners of Burbon’s Place (formerly The Phoenix Bar and Grill) hope to be open for business by the end of October. VanKerrebroeck asked Diehl if the shared Enterprise Zone (with Kewanee) had ever been approved.  State approval has never been given. No action has been taken so it is still a possibility.

No representatives from Shive Hattery were at the meeting because there has not been a lot of progress since last month. The main change is that the village is no longer involved with land acquisition for the intersection of Route 6 and Patriot Way. The Illinois Dept of Transportation was not pleased with the progress of negotiations so they are taking it over. The Attorney General told IDOT that they have Eminent Domain and the quick take process at their disposal. The village will not be involved in negotiations for land acquisition for Progress Parkway either. IDOT will take care of that. The village will be responsible for paying the amount decided on. The money will come from the Federal Grant. Because of the slow progress of negotiations the intersection for Route 6/Patriot way has been delayed from December of 2007 to spring of 2008.

Killelea, seconded by Fulton, made a motion to adopt Ordinance No. 299 (An ordinance renewing an existing franchise and granting for a period of 20 years to Ameren IP, a corporation, its successors and assigns, the franchise, right, permission and authority to construct, reconstruct, excavate for, place, remove, extend, maintain, and operate a gas utility system in the village of Annawan, County of Henry and State of Illinois). Motion carried unanimously with a voice vote.

Curran gave a report on the progress of the new concession stand. Over $2000.00 has been received so far in donations.

Killelea reported on the progress of tree removal bids received by the village. So far only one bid has been received-SNS Tree Service, Kewanee. Sturtewagen is going to get in touch with Terry Stout. VanKerrebroeck will get in touch with Blue Jay Lawn Service. No action was taken.

Lori Wilson, of The Annawan Banking Center, was present at the meeting to ask board members if there was a possibility that water bills could be dropped off at the Banking Center. She asked to be on the agenda for the November meeting after board members have done some research along with the village clerk, village treasurer, and village water superintendent. No action was taken.

The Village received a Safety Award from the Illinois Municipal League Risk Management Association.

Jim Oberweiss, congressional candidate, will be at Patriot Renewable Fuels Office on Wed, Oct 10^th at 10:00 a.m.

A thank you was received from the Annawan Banking Center for flowers sent from the village for the bank’s opening.

Board members then discussed new equipment for the Village. Killelea said that since getting a backhoe and a pickup had been discussed for such a long time he decided to really look into it and bring an estimate to the board. He had one estimate to share with board members, but told board members this was just a start. After much discussion it was decided to get more bids before making any decision. Board members suggested that a financing package be put out for bids on the backhoe.  It is hoped that action can be taken on the both truck bids and backhoe financing at the next board meeting. The estimated cost of the backhoe is $50,000 to $60,000. Estimated cost of the pickup truck is $23,000 to $25,000.

Also present at the meeting were Dennis DeRycke and Don Sierens.

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

Julie DeSplinter

Village Clerk