Macon Reporter

Village of Forsyth Board of Trustees met April 16.

Here are the minutes provided by the board:

CALL TO ORDER

Mayor Jim Peck called the meeting to order at 6:30 P.M.

PLEDGE OF ALLEGIANCE

ROLL CALL

Upon a call of the roll, the following members were physically present: Mayor Jim Peck, Trustee Dave Wendt, Trustee Lauren Young, Trustee Marilyn Johnson, Trustee Jeremy Shaw

Absent: Trustee Bob Gruenewald, Trustee Jeff London

Staff Present: Village Administrator Jill Applebee, Public Works Director Darin Fowler, Planning and Zoning Director Ryan Raleigh, Village Clerk Cheryl Marty, Village Treasurer Rhonda Stewart, Village Engineer Jeremy Buening, Village Library Director Melanie Weigel

On Phone: Village Attorney Lisa Petrilli

Others Present: John Kottke, Bill Krueger, Mike Turner, Matt and Hiliary Crawford, Reed Sullivan, Laurie Pakula, Andrew Hendrian

CONSENT AGENDA

1. APPROVAL OF MINUTES OF THE REGULAR MEETING OF APRIL 2, 2024

2. APPROVAL OF WARRANTS

3. APPROVAL OF TREASURER’S REPORT FOR THE MONTH OF MARCH 31, 2024 MOTION

Trustee Wendt made a Motion to approve the Consent Agenda as presented and Trustee Shaw seconded the Motion.

Upon a call of the roll, the vote was as follows:

Yeas: 5 – Wendt, Shaw, Young, Johnson, London

Nays: 0 – None

Absent: 1 – Gruenewald

Motion declared carried.

PUBLIC COMMENT: At this time, the public has the opportunity to express views or make comments to the Mayor and Board of Trustees on agenda items or any other Village issue. Comments must be limited to not more than three (3) minutes.

Village resident Laurie Pakula spoke about the change in the annual door to door clean-up. She read her letter to the Board and asked them to reconsider changing back to door-to-door pick-up in spite of the high-cost increase. She listed reasons why many residents are not able to lift heavy objects, etc. and does not understand the financial choice made by the Board. Mayor Peck explained the reasons the Board made this change and that this topic will be revisited again in the future after the event.

ADMINISTRATION REPORTS

1. Law Enforcement Report

Sheriff Deputy Casner said nothing out of the ordinary has happened. An accident occurred today in the traffic construction today but no injuries were reported. They appreciated having the up-to-date information on who is permitted to solicit in the Village.

2. Village Staff Reports

Mayor Peck has contacted Macon County Board Chair Kevin Greenfield and said the County is working on Phillips Pipeline clean-up options.

OLD BUSINESS

1. DISCUSSION AND POTENTIAL ACTION REGARDING TIF AGREEMENT WITH CRAWFORDS (VILLAGE ADMINISTRATOR JILL APPLEBEE)

Village Administrator Applebee reported the meeting results with Crawfords and said the revised proposal is in the packet. She noted that the proposal is still the same with only the location possibly changing due to a new developer working with Crawfords on a separate project. The new developer has several new innovative ideas and wants Crawfords to be involved in them. Mayor Peck is in favor of this proposal and also the involvement of the second developer and Trustee Wendt agreed. Village Attorney Petrilli felt hotel/motel tax funds could not be used for this purpose and would not qualify. Trustee Shaw reviewed the TIF numbers with the Board for clarification purposes and a lengthy discussion ensued.

MOTION

Trustee Wendt made a Motion to approve the TIF commitment with the Crawfords project with the land to be purchased on a forgivable note and Trustee Young seconded the Motion.

Upon a call of the roll, the vote was as follows:

Yeas: 5 – Wendt, Shaw, Young, Johnson, London

Nays: 0 – None

Absent: 1 – Gruenewald

Motion declared carried.

2. DISCUSSION AND POTENTIAL ACTION REGARDING REVISED INVESTMENT POLICY (VILLAGE ATTORNEY LISA PETRILLI)

Village Attorney Petrilli explained the changes that were made to the investment policy following input from the Board at the last meeting. Changes are redlined in the document. Board discussion ensued.

MOTION

Trustee Wendt made a Motion to adopt the revised investment policy as presented with the edit to C3 to change that to read at the current limits provided by FDIC and NCUA and removing the highlighted yellow sentence after paragraph M listing the local facilities and Trustee Young seconded the Motion.

Upon a call of the roll, the vote was as follows:

Yeas: 5 – Wendt, Shaw, Young, Johnson, London

Nays: 0 – None

Absent: 1 – Gruenewald

Motion declared carried.

3. DISCUSSION AND POTENTIAL ACTION REGARDING PURCHASE OF PUMP (PUBLIC WORKS DIRECTOR DARIN FOWLER)

Public Works Director Fowler explained the need to purchase a new pump for the water plant. He asked for a spare pump to have on hand while the other is being repaired. He recommends purchasing a new high-speed pump from Bodine Electric for $28,811.76 with a 20-week lead time.

MOTION

Trustee Young made a Motion to approve the pump purchase as presented and Trustee Johnson seconded the Motion.

Upon a call of the roll, the vote was as follows:

Yeas: 5 – Wendt, Shaw, Young, Johnson, London

Nays: 0 – None

Absent: 1 – Gruenewald

Motion declared carried.

NEW BUSINESS

1. DISCUSSION AND POTENTIAL ACTION REGARDING TIF AGREEMENT WITH ANDREW HENDRIAN (VILLAGE ADMINISTRATOR JILL APPLEBEE)

Village Administrator Applebee thanked Andrew Hendrian for his great job rehabbing the apartments across from Caseys. She then explained details of his new revitalization project at 105 South Route 51 for which he is asking for a matching grant of $25,000 from the Village. The project is 100% TIF eligible. She and Mayor Peck highly recommend working with Hendrian on this project. Hendrian then explained the detailed improvements he plans to make to the property. A brief Board discussion ensued.

MOTION

Trustee Young made a Motion to approve the $25,000 TIF grant to Andrew Hendrian for 105 South Route 51 as presented and Trustee Wendt seconded the Motion.

Upon a call of the roll, the vote was as follows:

Yeas: 5 – Wendt, Shaw, Young, Johnson, London

Nays: 0 – None

Absent: 1 – Gruenewald

Motion declared carried.

2. DISCUSSION AND POTENTIAL ACTION REGARDING TIF AGREEMENT WITH REED SULLIVAN (VILLAGE ADMINISTRATOR JILL APPLEBEE)

Village Administrator Applebee explained that the property at 105 Magnolia (next to Waite Cleaners) was purchased by Reed Sullivan. The project will involve a new building for a business relocation by using TIF funds. Administrator Applebee explained the two (2) TIF options available. An estimated $60,000 sales tax dollars will result for the Village from this project. Staff recommends Option #2 which is a flat payment option. Mayor Peck

agreed and a discussion was held among Board members.

MOTION

Trustee Wendt made a Motion to approve the TIF proposal for 10-year flat fee payments with the requirement as discussed for the business or similar business to be there for 10 years at 105 Magnolia as a commercial retail store and Trustee Johnson seconded the Motion.

Upon a call of the roll, the vote was as follows:

Yeas: 5 – Wendt, Shaw, Young, Johnson, London

Nays: 0 – None

Absent: 1 – Gruenewald

Motion declared carried.

3. DISCUSSION AND POTENTIAL ACTION REGARDING GRAYHAWK PAVEMENT MAINTENANCE CHANGE ORDER #2 (VILLAGE ENGINEER JEREMY BUENING)

Village Engineer Buening explained what changes were made to the Grayhawk pavement maintenance project. The changes result in a reduction of overall work. Net changes to the contract by this change order is a deduction of $29,423.60. A brief discussion ensued.

MOTION

Trustee Young made a Motion to approve the Grayhawk pavement maintenance change order as presented and Trustee Shaw seconded the Motion.

Upon a call of the roll, the vote was as follows:

Yeas: 5 – Wendt, Shaw, Young, Johnson, London

Nays: 0 – None

Absent: 1 – Gruenewald

Motion declared carried.

4. DISCUSSION AND POTENTIAL ACTION REGARDING FISHING PIER OPTIONS (PLANNING & ZONING DIRECTOR RYAN RALEIGH)

Planning & Zoning Director Raleigh explained the three (3) available options available for fishing piers in the sports and nature park. The options are a land-based fishing pier, a floating fishing pier or a fixed fishing pier. He described the pros and cons of each option and the Board held a discussion then agreed that a floating pier is not the best option to consider. Mayor Peck asked for more specific costs for Options 1 and 3 and once that information is received further consideration will be given by the Board.

No Motion needed.

5. DISCUSSION AND POTENTIAL ACTION REGARDING LIBRARY SIDING REPLACEMENT (PLANNING & ZONING DIRECTOR RYAN RALEIGH)

Planning & Zoning Director Raleigh explained there is $120,000 in the budget to replace the exterior façade of the library. The current siding is wood and is deteriorating and replacing it with updated, more sustainable materials is in the Village’s best interest. He recommends working with Architectural Expressions to design the new exterior repairs/replacement and to create bid/construction documentation. During the Board discussion all agreed to also have them consider the roof and gutter conditions as part of the project. AEX design costs are $5,500 and $9,500 for construction documents and administration services for a total of $15,000.

MOTION

Trustee Johnson made a Motion to approve the professional services agreement with Architectural Expressions as presented and Trustee Young seconded the Motion.

Upon a call of the roll, the vote was as follows:

Yeas: 5 – Wendt, Shaw, Young, Johnson, London

Nays: 0 – None

Absent: 1 – Gruenewald

Motion declared carried.

ADJOURNMENT

Trustee Wendt made the Motion to adjourn and Trustee Young seconded the Motion. All Board members agreed by voice vote, and the meeting was adjourned at 8:00 P.M.

https://forsyth-il.gov/vertical/sites/%7B18717005-44FD-438D-B0BC-B86101984F4F%7D/uploads/External_Meeting_Packet(77).pdf