Macon Reporter

Village of Mt. Zion Village Board of Trustees met May 18.

Here is the minutes provided by the board:

Mayor Williams called the Meeting of the Mt. Zion Village Board of Trustees to order at 5:30 p.m. via Zoom due to COVID-19. The following Board Members were present for roll call: Mike Mose, Chris Siudyla, Ellen Ritchie, Donna Scales, Wendy Kernan, and Kevin Fritzsche. Also present were Village Administrator, Julie Miller, Director of Public Works, Chad Reynolds, Chief of Police, Adam Skundberg, Director of Parks and Recreation, Tiffany Wilson, Event Coordinator, Tiffany Ball, Village Treasurer, Corey McKenzie, and Village Clerk, Dawn Reynolds.

Pledge of Allegiance

Public Forum: No one was present.

Consent Agenda: A motion was made by Trustee Scales to approve the Consent Agenda as presented, seconded by Trustee Ritchie. A breakdown of Fund Warrants for the period ending April 20, 2020 and May 18, 2020 is as follows: General Fund - $159,070.88, Motor Fuel Tax - $10,284.77, TIF - $2,598.50, Refunds - $574.40, Water Revenue Fund - $221,220.25, and Sewer Revenue Fund - $47,934.61. A roll call vote was taken: Mose-yea, Siudyla-yea, Ritchie-yea, Scales-yea, Kernan-yea, and Fritzsche-yea. Motion carried 6-yea, 0-nay, 0-absent.

Discussion and Approval of Mt. Zion Ordinance Defining Meeting and Adopting Procedures for Electronic Attendance of Meetings: Administrator Miller presented for consideration an ordinance defining a “meeting" and allowing for trustees to attend meetings electronically under certain circumstances compliant with the Open Meetings Act.

A motion was made by Trustee Mose to approve the Ordinance Defining Meeting and Adopting Procedures for Electronic Attendance of Meetings as presented, seconded by Trustee Kernan. A roll call vote was taken: Mose-yea, Siudyla-yea, Ritchie-yea, Scales-yea, Kernan-yea, and Fritzsche-yea. Motion carried 6-yea, O-nay, 0-absent.

Discussion and Approval of Mayoral Appointment - Randy Thacker - Planning Commission and Zoning Board of Appeals: Mayor Williams presented for consideration the appointment of Randy Thacker to the Planning Commission and Zoning Board of Appeals. Mr. Thacker will be replacing Dave Burge whose term ends December 31, 2023.

A motion was made by Trustee Fritzsche to approve and confirm Randy Thacker to the Planning Commission and Zoning Board of Appeals as presented, seconded by Trustee Kernan. A roll call vote was taken: Mose-yea, Siudyla-yea, Ritchie-yea, Scales-yea, Kernan-yea, and Fritzsche-yea. Motion carried 6-yea, O-nay, O-absent.

Discussion and Approval of Mayoral Re-appointment - Seth Baker - Mt. Zion Police Pension Board: Mayor Williams presented for consideration the re-appointment of Seth Baker to the Police Pension Board for a (two) 2-year term ending May 31, 2022. Mr. Baker currently serves on the Board and has agreed to continue to serve.

A motion was made by Trustee Siudyla to approve and confirm Seth Baker to the Police Pension Board as presented, seconded by Trustee Scales. A roll call vote was taken: Mose-yea, Siudyla-yea, Ritchie yea, Scales-yea, Kernan-yea, and Fritzsche-yea. Motion carried 6-yea, O-nay, 0-absent.

Discussion and Approval of the 2020 Annual Water Rate Increase: A consideration the annual water rate increase. Staff has looked at the current water rates and evaluated anticipated expenses including annual increases from the City of Decatur. Both the City of Decatur's ordinance and the Village's ordinance have an annual automatic rate increase of 2.5%. The Village's ordinance states that the increase goes into effect June 1st of each year. The Village has abated the increase for the past 5 years. The Village has seen an increase in meter and infrastructure costs as well as increased costs related to the addition of water treatments required by the IEPA to ensure the water is to IEPA standards. It was the consensus of the Board to not abate the annual 2.5% water rate increase this year.

Discussion and Approval of a Resolution Authorizing the Issuance of Notice of Award for the Mt. Zion MFT 2020 Project by the Village of Mt. Zion, Macon County, Illinois: Administrator Miller presented for consideration a resolution issuing the notice of award for the 2020 MFT Oil & Chip Project. After proper advertisement for bids, the Village opened bids today at 1:30pm. Two bids were received and under the engineers estimate. Dunn Company won the bid at $208,375. Due to the significant savings, the Village will be allowed to add more streets into the project.

A motion was made by Trustee Ritchie to approve the Resolution Authorizing the Issuance of Award for the MFT 2020 Project as presented, seconded by Trustee Fritzsche. A roll call vote was taken: Mose yea, Siudyla-yea, Ritchie-yea, Scales-yea, Kernan-yea, and Fritzsche-yea. Motion carried 6-yea, O-nay, O-absent.

Discussion Only - 2018-2019 MFT Compliance Review: Treasurer McKenzie shared the Village's Motor Fuel Tax Compliance Review Certificate for the period of January 1, 2018 through December 31, 2019. No major findings were found during IDOT's review.

Discussion and Approval of a Resolution Authorizing the Execution of a Development Agreement Between the Village of Mt. Zion and Thomas and Caren Williams Administrator Miller presented for consideration a resolution authorizing the execution of a development agreement between the Village of Mt. Zion and Thomas and Caren Williams. The Williams recently purchased approximately 50 acres located south and west of Public Works Drive. The property is zoned VA-1 Agricultural. The Williams have requested to build an accessory building first and a residence after their current residence sells.

Discussion was held regarding the 36-month time frame to construct the residence after completion of the accessory building and the current activity on the property.

A motion was made by Trustee Fritzsche to approve the Resolution Authorizing the Execution of a Development Agreement Between the Village of Mt. Zion and Thomas and Caren Williams as amended to construct a residence on the premises within 24 months of completion of construction of the accessory building, seconded by Trustee Kernan. A roll call vote was taken: Mose-yea, Siudyla-yea, Ritchie-yea, Scales-yea, Kernan-yea, and Fritzsche-yea. Motion carried 6-yea, O-nay, O-absent.

Discussion and Approval of Agreement for Professional Services - Broadway Street Project: Administrator Miller presented for consideration an agreement for the Broadway Reconstruction Project with Chastain and Associates, LLC for construction engineering services. The agreement provides the scope of services and estimated cost of $181,800. The Broadway project bid letting was April 23, 2020 and the lowest bid was $1,603,740. The lowest bid was over the engineers estimate of $1,295,000. TIP Amendment #6 will be presented to DUATS on Tuesday, May 19th. The amendment, if approved by DUATS, will provide an additional $299,670 in funding for the project. The Village's share will be $450,070 plus construction engineering.

A motion was made by Trustee Fritzsche to approve the Agreement for Professional Services with Chastain & Associates, LLC with an estimated cost of $181,800 as presented, seconded by Trustee Kernan. A roll call vote was taken: Mose-yea, Siudyla-yea, Ritchie-yea, Scales-yea, Kernan-yea, and Fritzsche-yea. Motion carried 6-yea, O-nay, 0-absent.

Discussion Only - Sanitary Sewer Capacity and Overhead Sanitary Sewer Requirement: Administrator Miller discussed the aging sewers and new construction that has created a capacity issue in the Park subdivision area. Miller shared information regarding overhead sanitary sewers for new construction. Miller will bring an ordinance to the Board requiring overhead sanitary sewers to be installed in new construction to protect the homeowner and the Village. The Board gave consensus to design engineer the area for new sewer lines.

Administrator & Staff Items: Director Wilson informed the Board of an online class with the Girl Scouts of America. More online classes may be scheduled for the summer months.

Coordinator Ball reported minimal refunds have been issued for the Convention Center bookings. Most renters have rescheduled their events for the next few months.

Treasurer Mckenzie reported revenues received for the Cannabis Regulation Fund.

Director Reynolds reported that Public Works has been receiving drainage complaints from the large amounts of rain.

Chief Skundberg informed the Board of a State Police Conference Call that he will attend regarding the enforcement of a Class A misdemeanor for stay at home orders. Skundberg has concerns of police officers handling as Class A misdemeanors.

Administrator Miller informed the Board that the Village has secured hand sanitizer, masks, wipes and other PPE 2020 necessities. Miller also shared that the State of Illinois has $25 million for Public Works projects. She investigated the grant process and the Village of Mt. Zion would not score high enough because it is not economically disadvantaged. Miller is also looking at the Connect Illinois grant program for Broadband services for rural areas.

Mayor & Trustees Items:

Trustee Mose thanked the Police Department for their assistance at the high school graduation over the weekend.

Trustee Siudyla thanked the Public Works Department for their assistance with the Ashland sidewalk issue. Many residents are happy.

Trustee Kernan inquired about the outstanding real estate taxes the Village had been waiting for. Those taxes were received in January. Kernan also inquired if the Police Department was back to normal traffic stops. The Police Department is still practicing safe and only necessary stops.

Adjournment: A motion was made by Trustee Ritchie to adjourn the May 18, 2020 Village Board meeting, seconded by Trustee Mose. A voice vote was unanimous; motion carried. The meeting was adjourned at 6:40 p.m.

https://mtzion.com/documents/70/May_18__2020_VB_Minutes.pdf