Macon Reporter

Village of Harristown Board of Trustees met Sept. 11.

Here are the minutes provided by the board:

The Board of Trustees of the Village of Harristown held a Special Meeting on September 11, 2023 at 185 N Kembark Street, Decatur, Illinois 62522. Present were Trustees April Bogan, Les Jenkins, Jay Trusner and Kevin Vessels. Also present were Mayor Evelyn Deverell and Josh Dubbelde, Village Attorney.

The meeting was called to order at 5 PM by Mayor Deverell, followed by the Pledge of Allegiance.

The Board of Trustees voted at the August 28, 2023 Regular Board Meeting to approve Kurt Terry as a Trustee, replacing Teresa Acree. Mayor Deverell swore in Mr. Terry and he took his place as a Trustee of the Village.

The Annexation and Zoning of the 10 acres on Harristown Boulevard was discussed at the August 28, 2023 Regular Board Meeting. Mayor Deverell asked if any Trustees had questions. Tom Fitzpatrick, of Storage America, was present and gave an overview of their project and his meeting with the landowner. Mayor Deverell asked for clarification of the water needs for this project. Mr. Fitzpatrick stated that at this time, they only need fire hydrants for fire protection. However, he added, Storage America will do what is necessary to meet Village and IEPA requirements. Trustee Jenkins moved to approve the Annexation of this property, with B3 Zoning with a Special Use permitting of a property more than 5 (five) acres. Trustee Terry seconded the motion. A voice vote was conducted. Trustees Bogan, Jenkins, Terry and Vessels voted Aye. Trustee Trusner voted Nay. The motion passed by a vote of 5 to 0. Paperwork will be emailed to Mr. Fitzpatrick after the Annexation and Zoning are recorded with Macon County. Mr. Fitzpatrick thanked the Board for their time and consideration of this project. At some point in the next few weeks, Storage America would like to meet with the Village's Public Works personnel to discuss the project further.

The clarification of Chapter 22 of Village Ordinances concerning Cannabis was discussed. Board members have been supplied copies of the Ordinance and a Memorandum from Samuels, Miller, Schroeder, Jackson and Sly, the Village Attorney firm. Josh Dubbelde was asked by Mayor Deverell to summarize the findings in this memorandum. He also supplied additional information from State of Illinois Statutes. Attorney Dubbelde gave a brief summary of these findings. Some questions involve the definition of a DCA, permitting process, where cannabis can be consumed and what changes need to be made to the Village Ordinance.

The Trustees were asked by Attorney Dubbelde and Mayor Deverell to carefully look over these documents and be prepared with any questions for the next Board meeting. In addition, if there are questions before that meeting, Trustees were asked to send them to Attorney Dubbelde or to the Mayor to be forwarded to the Attorney.

With no further business to be discussed, Trustee Jenkins moved to adjourn. Trustee Bogan seconded the motion. After a vote of 5 to 0, the meeting was adjourned at 5:28 PM.

https://villageofharristown.com/documents/231/Sept_11_minutes.pdf