Macon Reporter

Village of Bethany Board of Trustees met April 11.

Here is the minutes provided by the board:

The regular board meeting was called to order at 7:00 pm by Mayor Pro-Tem Greg McLain. The following Trustees were present; Dave Doty, Jeannie Ruppert, Jon Book, Raven Russell, and Brian Gill.

Mayor Pro-Tem McLain read and accepted the resignation letter of Bill Ashley, Village President.

A motion was made by Trustee Book to approve the minutes from the March 14, 2019 regular meeting seconded by Trustee Ruppert. Roll call taken, all ayes, motion carried.

A motion was made by Trustee Doty to approve the special meeting minutes from March 20, 2019 seconded by Trustee Gill. Roll call taken, all ayes, motion carried.

A motion was made by Trustee Gill to approve the “Statement of Income and Expenses”, seconded by Trustee Book. Roll call taken, all ayes, motion carried.

A motion was made by Trustee Doty to approve the “Banks and Checks Journal”, seconded by Trustee Ruppert. Roll call taken, all ayes, motion carried.

Public - Ron Martin from The Publisher asked the board about signage. Stated they received a violation, he did not find it in the ordinance. It was explained that it was in the motion/minutes so it is just as legal. The Publisher did not actually receive a violation/warning, it was a request. Dan Thompson - received a ticket for his dog being out. Witnesses signed complaints about this. Mr. Thompson would like to contest the ticket. He must submit a letter to the Board for discussion.

Accept/Reject Bid for Demo of House at 410 N. Washington St. - This house is now back to the Village since the owner has not complied with the agreement. The Board received a bid from Dial Demolition for $9800. A motion was made by Trustee Book to accept the bid from Dial Demolition for $9800 for the demo of the house at 410 N. Washington St., seconded by Trustee Russell. Roll call taken, all ayes, motion carried.

Electronic Recycling - Village Manager, Shannon Risley, talked with Stonington and their service in only available to those who live in Christian County. BLH in Springfield charges 25 cents per pound for TV’s not broken and $2 if it is broken, computers are free. They need at least two or three days’ notice. This will tabled until next month.

Vision/Dental Insurance for Village Employees - BCBS quote using their companies would be $5465.16 per year. Diamond Bros. would be $5255.16 per year. This is for vision and dental for all employees. The benefits from each are very comparable and the provider networks are the same. The Finance Committee will take a close look at this.

Matt Foster with Safe Routes to School - Mr. Foster handed out a copy of the supplemental agreement to the Board. The Grants should be announced by the end of the month. IDOT engineer emailed Mr. Foster wanting an Environmental Survey Request. They are redoing some of their rules and this needs to be in to make sure there are no hazmat concerns since the dirt hauled off is from the Highway right of way. This could be a three step process and IDOT is only asking the Village to do step one. This could be a six month process and this step much be completed. A motion was made by Trustee Doty to accept the supplemental agreement from Chastain & Assoc. amending the original from 9/13/18 increasing by $3900 to $21,000, seconded by Trustee Ruppert. Roll call taken, all ayes, motion carried.

Special Liquor License for the Celebration Committee - The Celebration Committee presented their application for a special liquor license for the Bethany Celebration weekend. The dates and times are June 21st from 5pm to June 22nd at 12:45am and June 22nd from 2pm till June 23rd at 12:45am. A motion was made by Trustee Book to accept the application for a Special Liquor License to be given to the Bethany Celebration Committee, seconded by Trustee Gill. Roll call taken: Ruppert-yes; Book-abstain (conflict of interest); McLain-yes; Russell-yes; Gill- yes; Doty-yes; motion carried.

Donation to the Bethany Celebration Committee - Last year a donation of $1600 was given from the Utility fund. A motion was made by Trustee Russell to donate $1600 from the Utility fund, for fireworks and an ad in the activity book, seconded by Trustee Ruppert. Roll call taken: Book-abstain (conflict of interest); McLain-yes; Russell-yes; Gill-yes; Doty-yes; Ruppert-yes, motion carried.

TIF Advertisement Signs - These are to let potential people know that there is a TIF district in the Village. The TIF committee will look into this.

Village Clean Up Days - The Village wide Rummage sales will be May 10th and 11th. The last cleanup day lasted from 7am until noon. A motion was made by Trustee Russell to set the Village Cleanup day on May 18th from 7am until Noon, seconded by Trustee Ruppert. Roll call taken, all ayes, motion carried.

Amending Gaming Ordinance - The possible change is in section E-10, adding “No signage” that was omitted by our last Village Attorney. Trustee Book also mentioned changes including - setting the limit of available licenses to two (2) establishments and changing it to require board approval for the licenses. A motion was made by Trustee Book to add the above listed changes to the Gaming Ordinance, seconded by Trustee Russell. Roll call taken, all ayes, motion carried.

Fencing Around the Recycling Dumpsters - This is still in progress. A motion was made by Trustee Book to put a three-sided fence around the recycling dumpsters on Lincoln St, seconded by Trustee Ruppert. Roll call taken, all ayes, motion carried.

Addition of Class E Liquor License - Trustee Russell has talked with the Legion and they have the ability to dispense beer, wine, and liquor. This is in keeping with what they are doing now as a club for their members and guests (24 times a year). Trustee Russell feels this would be fair to keep them where they are. She also suggested that the Board maybe remove the beer/wine license or the club license. Several Trustees and audience members voiced their concerns or support on this matter. This will continue next month and looking into amending the Class D license. A motion was made by Trustee Gill to approve a seconded Class E Liquor License, seconded by Trustee Russell. Roll call taken: Doty-yes; Ruppert-no; Book-no; McLain-no; Russell-yes; Gill-yes; motion is tied and does not carry. Other options discussed were about waiting until things are settled with replacing the Village President or moving forward with the Beer/Wine License that is available.

Employee Compensation - This will tabled until next month so the Finance Committee can meet to discuss.

Reports - were given from; Shannon Risley, Utilities Committee, and Chief Nichols. Correspondence - None

Body Cams for Police - Chief Nichols presented his findings on body cameras. Axon is the most well-known and has more storage. Axon has a $2912 first year cost. Then years two - five the cost is $1539 per year. G-Tac is the system used by Sullivan and Findlay. Basically it is the same as Axon. The upfront cost for G-Tac is $4070.72 and then $760 per year after. This company is out of Decatur. A motion was made by Trustee Doty is authorize Chief Nichols to purchase the G-Tac system not to exceed $5000 for the initial cost, seconded by Trustee Russell. Roll call taken, all ayes, motion carried.

Meeting Before the Next Meeting -

Finance

4/16/19 @ 6:00 pm 

*employee compensation 

*vision/dental insurance

Streets & Alleys

4/30/19 @ 6:00 pm 

*sidewalks to be replaced

Trustee Russell made a motion to enter into closed session to discuss personnel, seconded by Trustee Ruppert. Roll call taken, all ayes, motion carried.

Trustee Book made a motion to go back into open session, seconded by Trustee Ruppert. Voice vote, all ayes, motion carried.

Trustee Russell made a motion to elect Jonathan Book as acting Village President for the remainder of the two year term, seconded by Trustee Doty. Roll call taken: Doty-yes; Ruppert- yes; Book-abstain (conflict of interest); McLain-yes; Russell-yes; Gill-no; motion carried.

A motion was made by Trustee Book to authorize Village Manager Shannon Risley to hire a part-time office helper at $12.00/hour, seconded by Trustee Russell. Roll call taken: Ruppert- yes; Book-yes; McLain-abstain (conflict of interest); Russell-yes; Gill-yes; Doty-yes; motion carried.

With no other business to discuss a motion to adjourn was made by Trustee Book and seconded by Trustee Ruppert. Voice vote taken, all ayes, motion carried. Meeting was adjourned.

https://www.villageofbethany.com/documents/116/4-11-19_min.pdf