Macon Reporter

Village of Argenta Board of Trustees met Aug. 6.

Here is the minutes provided by the Board:

Call to Order: Mayor Luedke called the meeting to order at 6:00 p.m.

Roll Call: Mayor Luedke and Trustees Logan, Barker, Crowder, Kaufman, Hanna and Pagel were present. Also in attendance were Deputy Wendell, Street Superintendent Ken Smith, and Clerk Sherry Koszesza. Residents in attendance were Val Logan, Jen McMilin, Liz Garrett and Jim Boose.

Pledge of Allegiance

Consent Agenda:

1. Approval of Board Meeting Minutes of July 16, 2018 #18-07-16 R14

2. Approval of Disbursements #18-08-06 D15

3. Approval of Bank Reconciliations #18-08-06 BR08

 Trustee Hanna moved and Trustee Kaufman seconded to approve the Consent Agenda as presented.

Upon a call of the roll, the vote was:

Logan = Yes

Barker = Yes

Crowder= Yes

Kaufman = Yes

Hanna = Yes

Pagel = Yes, abstain from minutes

Motion carried.

Public Comment: There was none. Jen McMillan was here to introduce herself to the Board and residents. She is running for 101st District House of Representatives seat.

Recognition of Visitors: There were none.

Department Reports:

1. Law Enforcement Report. There was nothing to report. Deputy Wendell will try to get the radar trailer back again as school starts.

2. Village Staff Reports. Drainage issues have been taken care of in 3 spots. The well will be fixed this fall. There are 2 hydrants that are leaking badly. Street Superintendent Ken Smith can do a line stop for $3200 and not have to shut off over 100 houses. Total cost is $6800. There is a packet of zoning board changes. There have been several changes that Ken pointed out. They can take action on this at the next meeting. Trustee Pagel asked what the line stop would do. Ken explained how it works. He recommends that we do that. Trustee Crowder asked what a line stop is. Ken explained that. It would just be for that hydrant. Trustee Hanna asked if we know what houses would be affected and if we could send letters to those residents. Trustee Barker said that we would spend that much on future water main breaks. Trustee Crowder asked if we would discuss this at the next meeting. Mayor Luedke said that it has to be fixed. The village is paying for the water that is leaking out. Trustee Kaufman asked if there was an estimate on the well repair. Yes, about $9500. Trustee Pagel asked about the generator. We are still waiting on Chastain and bids.

3. Mayor’s Report. Mayor Luedke updated the board on sent citations and letters. Mayor Luedke explained the safe routes to school grant regarding replacing sidewalks in town. The grant is now a 100% grant with a max of $200,000.00. That will get 1 mile of sidewalk. We have 10-12 miles of sidewalks. We could also have new sidewalks put in where we currently don’t have any. Ken said that it includes the ADA specs as well. Matt Foster will be at the next meeting to explain the grant. Mayor Luedke said that the Village would have to pay the engineering cost up front. Trustee Hanna asked if the $200,000.00 was to repair or replace. Ken said it is to replace. Mayor Luedke said that there is also an ITEP grant in the alternate years that we can apply for. Mayor Luedke said that she asked Matt Foster about doing the plan as a whole village and not doing a plan every year. Trustee Hanna asked if there was a guarantee of getting the grant. There is no guarantee. Trustee Pagel asked about getting the bids. Can we get a bid from another engineering firm? Trustee Kaufman asked what the application dates where. November is the deadline for applications. Trustee Crowder asked if the amount of the grant correlated to the number of kids that walked to school. Mayor Luedke said that there are qualifications for walkers, riders, and others. Ken said that we might be able to get some donations for the up-front costs. Trustee Barker said that spending $40,000-$50,000 up-front would be better than spending $20,000 every year for however many years. Ken said that most of our sidewalks are in bad shape. Trustee Pagel said that there would be extra cost for tree removal. He asked how long the “plan” would be good for. Trustee Crowder said that we struggle to come up with $10,000 and this is a lot more. Jen McMilin said that we should ask how many applications were made and how many grants were awarded.

4. Attorney’s Report. There was none.

Old Business:

 Discuss/Vote on Solar Lease Agreement with Geronimo Solar Energy, LLC. Attorney Ross Munsterman said that there are a lot of protections for the Village and Ed Flynn’s office wasn’t concerned about the lease. Ross said it is a good lease. Trustee Crowder asked about the removal of the equipment if Geronimo decided to decommission the solar farm. Ross said that the next paragraph addressed that. An account has to be set aside after 10 years to cover the costs. If they fail to do that, that would be breach of contract. Trustee Hanna asked what would happen if Geronimo went bankrupt. Ross said that they would probably try to sell everything. Trustee Crowder asked if the 10 year was a standard for this type of agreement. This is the first contract that Ross and his firm have done. Trustee Logan asked where the final location would be. He said that people have been asking if they would see it. Mayor Luedke and Trustee Kaufman said that they didn’t think that most people would be able to see it. Ross said that there will be a planning phase and we would be consulted on where the panels would be. Trustee Hanna asked if the 3 year construction phase would count as part of the 10 years. He asked how much they would put into the escrow account. Trustee Hanna asked if this contract would be enforced if another company bought out Geronimo. It would be. Trustee Barker said that the Village has already lost out on a cell tower because some trustees kept asking “what if”. She doesn’t want to see the Village lose out on this opportunity.

o Trustee Barker moved and Trustee Crowder seconded to approve the Solar Lease Agreement with Geronimo Solar Energy, LLC.

Upon a call of the roll, the vote was:

Logan = Yes

Barker = Yes

Crowder= Yes

Kaufman = Yes

Hanna = Yes

Pagel = Yes

Motion carried.

 Discuss/Vote on installing street light on East Claremont Street. Trustee Pagel did talk to a couple of people on Claremont that don’t want the street light. He went down the road after dark and there were no porch lights on. Mayor Luedke drove around and said that there are several other areas in the Village that don’t have street lights and are just as dark. Trustee Crowder said that it is expensive. Trustee Logan said that there are poles in the alley but trees would have to be trimmed or cut down. Trustee Barker said if we do it on one street we have to do it on the other streets. Ken said that Ameren is currently converting the lights to LED which would be brighter. No motion was made. This issue is dead.

 Discuss/Vote on “No Parking” or “Loading Zone Only” signs on Main Street and East Street at the school. Trustee Barker thought that the school could make the students park in the school parking lot. Mayor Luedke said the school can’t make students park in the lot. Trustee Barker said they would park further down in front of people’s houses. Trustee Kaufman said he is concerned about visibility. Deputy Wendell said that it is a state law regarding parking near an intersection or fire hydrant. Trustee Kaufman said that East Street is very busy after school. Trustee Kaufman suggested making it no parking during school hours. Trustee Pagel asked about planting trees in the boulevards. Mayor Luedke said there is no easy solution. No motion was made. This issue is dead.

New Business:

 Discuss/Vote on changing to only 1 Board Meeting per month. Mayor Luedke said that there are a lot of times that the meetings are only 6-7 minutes. Trustee Barker asked if that would affect employee pay. No. Board pay would be the same per month amount. It might generate more interest in residents running for the board. They could also change the day. Trustee Logan asked about things that might not be able to wait. Trustee Kaufman said they could call a special meeting.

o Trustee Kaufman moved and Trustee Pagel seconded to changing to only 1 Board Meeting per month on the 3rd Monday of every month (beginning in September). Upon a call of the roll, the vote was:

Logan = Yes

Barker = Yes

Crowder= Yes

Kaufman = Yes

Hanna = Yes

Pagel = Yes

Closed Session:

Open Session:

Adjournment

 Trustee Kaufman moved, and Trustee Hanna seconded, to adjourn at 7:01 p.m.

Upon a call of the roll, the vote was:

Logan = Yes

Barker = Yes

Crowder= Yes

Kaufman= Yes

Hanna = Yes

Pagel = Yes

Motion carried.

Meeting adjourned.

http://argentail.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/08/08-06-18-Minutes.pdf