Macon Reporter

illage of Bethany Board of Trustees met Sept. 14.

Here are the minutes provided by the board:

The regular board meeting was called to order at 7:00 pm by Trustee McLain, acting President. The following Trustees were present; Dave Doty, Jeannie Ruppert, Zakary England, Greg McLain, Raven Allen, and Brian Gill. President Jonathan Book was absent.

A motion was made by Trustee Doty to approve the minutes from the August 10, 2023, 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 August 28, 2023, 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 September 11, 2023, seconded by Trustee Allen. Roll call taken, all ayes, motion carried.

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

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

Public – Mr. Adams came in regards to the handicap parking spot at his residence at 214 E. Main St. He presented pictures of different handicap parking spaces around the square in Sullivan. He also offered up to $1000 to help with any expenses incurred with installing this parking spot. Trustee Doty explained what the engineer's findings were. Trustee Doty also shared that he found we could do a “residential permit parking” spot & explained what this means. Should this be the way the Board decides to go, an ordinance would be needed.

Greg Gustafson Water Improvement Project Update - Mr. Gustafson said we are making slow progress on the projects. He passed out the final approved amendment #3. Essentially this provides the funds to purchase the new water meters. Last month the Board approved the Notice of Awards and those were sent out. Bonds and Insurance papers were received from the Electric company. Once the Notice to Proceed documents are ready, Mr. Gustafson would like to have the Board give permission for President Book to sign off on these documents. He would like for Village Manager Shannon Risley and himself to decide the order of the project work. It would be easier for the Board to give authorization to Shannon Risley to make these decisions. Trustee Allen made a motion to give permission to Shannon Risley to coordinate the scheduling of the projects, seconded by Trustee Ruppert. Roll call taken, all ayes, motion carried. A motion was made by Trustee Allen to give authorization to President Book to sign the Notice to Proceed once all documents have been received, seconded by Trustee Ruppert. Roll call taken, all ayes, motion carried. Mr. Gustafson would like to schedule the one year anniversary water tower inspection. He would also like the Board to know he will be at the IML Conference next week in Chicago.

Residential Handicap Parking at 214 E. Main St. - Trustee Doty will look further into this. Guidelines would need to be established for the Ordinance. The Board discussed more options in regards to the parking issue.

TIF Agreement with the American Legion Post 507 - This was discussed and approved last month. A motion was made by Trustee McLain to approve Ord. #23-827 to provide a TIF grant to purchase materials for siding, seconded by Trustee Ruppert. Roll call taken, all ayes, motion carried.

Appointing Treasurer per Village Ordinances - Current ordinance reads that the Village Treasurer is to be appointed every year. Board would like to change the ordinance concerning this. It will be tabled until next month so changes can be made.

Purchase of Bike Rack for Bus Stop - Trustee Allen drove past the bus stop the other day. She noticed several bikes lying all over the ground. And wanted to see about putting a bike rack there. There is one there now.

Donation for SOV JFL - Trustee Gill spoke on behalf of the JFL. The JFL had to purchase 80 new helmets at $225 each. There is still equipment that still needs to be bought. All of the funds for the JFL are through donations only. A motion was made by Trustee Ruppert to contribute $250 to the SOV JFL to come for the Electric Dept, seconded by Trustee England. Roll call taken: McLain-yes; Allen-yes; Gill-abstain (conflict of interest); Doty-yes; Ruppert-yes; England-yes; motion carried.

New Copier Contract - Treasurer Jessica Henderson had two companies approach her about changing to them with a new copier contract. Currently we are using Watts as our copier company. Trustee McLain suggested approaching Watts to see if they will match the offers on the table. Treasurer Henderson presented paperwork from the other two companies. She would also prefer to wait until July, when the Watts copier contract is up, to make any decisions.

Selection of New Village Attorney - Trustee Allen followed up with Ed Flynn in regards to the paralegal situation. He does not use them or have a need for one. He is willing to come to the first few meetings to get used to how we do things and then play it month by month as for attending our monthly meetings. The Board discussed both of the attorneys that were interviewed. A motion was made by Trustee Allen to select Ed Flynn as the new Village Attorney, seconded by Trustee England. Roll call taken, all ayes, motion carried.

Treasurer Henderson mentioned that former Trustee Mike Jennings’ father-in-law passed away. She will be sending a planter from the Village.

The school was asking about Village Trick-or-Treat hours. It was decided previously to have them after the BASO safe trick-or-treating uptown, from 6 to 9 pm.

Reports – Manager Shannon Risley

Correspondence – None

Committee Meeting Dates - None

Trustee Allen made a motion to go into Executive Session to discuss possible litigation, seconded by Trustee Doty. Roll call taken, all ayes, motion carried.

Trustee Allen made a motion to enter back into Open Session, seconded by Trustee Doty. Voice vote taken, all ayes, motion carried.

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

https://www.villageofbethany.com/documents/116/MINUTES_9-14-2023.pdf