Macon Reporter

Village of Bethany Board of Trustees met Dec. 10.

Here are the minutes provided by the board:

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

A motion was made by Trustee Ruppert to approve the minutes from the November 14, 2024 regular meeting, seconded by Trustee McLain. Roll call taken, all ayes, motion carried.

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

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

Public – None

Greg Gustafson Water Improvement Project Updates - SNC continues to work on replacing hydrants without line stops. They are almost finished with this work, then they will move on to EPA requirements. A&R has started on the control panel replacement at the water plant. The detention tank has been placed and installed at the water plant. The new tank will be tested and approved before the old tank is detached and removed. The new chlorine building planning is underway. The plans will be submitted to the EPA soon. There will be some items removed and additional items added to the current project plans. A motion was made by Trustee McLain to approve Pay Request #3 from Commercial Electric for $85,022.72, seconded by Trustee Doty. Roll call taken, all ayes, motion carried. A motion was made by Trustee Allen to approve Pay Request #3 from A&R Services for $300,913.83, seconded by Trustee Gill. All ayes, motion carried.

Police Bonus Agreement - Patrick Sullivan again presented the same agreement from last month. A motion was made by Trustee McLain to adopt the Police Hiring and Bonus Agreement as presented at this present date, seconded by Trustee Gill. Roll call taken, England - yes, McLain - yes, Allen - yes, Gill - yes, Doty - yes, Ruppert - no, motion carried.

Property Transaction with Heritage Grain Co. - Dale Plummer was in attendance to discuss the desire of Heritage Grain to acquire the piece of property next to the elevator. They are proposing to use the property to double the size of their current grain bin. The 1-million-dollar project will add tax revenue to the Village and cut down significantly the amount of semi traffic during harvest season. Patrick Sullivan informed the board that they cannot “gift” the property, but if they decide it is no longer needed, they can open the property up for bids. The Village will work with a title company to see if there are any restrictions. This will be discussed again next month. A motion was made by Trustee McLain to authorize a title search by First Illinois Title Group for the property, seconded by Trustee Ruppert. Roll call taken, all ayes, motion carried.

Hire of New Police Officer - This will be tabled until further notice.

Zoning Ordinances/Planning Commission - Treasurer Henderson will get in contact with Moultrie County Zoning Administrator Kristi Hart to see if she can attend next month’s meeting so this can be discussed in more depth.

Purchase of New Taser for Police Dept - Chief Nichols received a grant for new tasers, but the grant will not cover the entire cost. He presented the taser packages that are available. A motion was made by Trustee McLain to approve the new taser package for the Police Dept not to exceed $12,500 with the anticipation of partial grant reimbursement, seconded by Trustee Ruppert. Roll call taken, all ayes, motion carried.

Employee Christmas Bonuses - A motion was made by Trustee Allen to give all employees a Christmas Bonus totaling $100, after all withholdings, out of Utility fund, seconded by Trustee England. Roll call taken, Doty - yes, Ruppert - abstain (conflict of interest), England - yes, McLain - abstain (conflict of interest), Allen - yes, Gill - yes, motion carried.

Possible Intergovernmental Agreement with Marrowbone Township - Trustee McLain would like some feedback from the board on if there is anything they would like to offer or are willing to work with the Township. The Township has inquired into whether or not they are entitled to the TIF funds and have been informed that they can apply for project funds the same as all taxing bodies.

TIF Agreement with Lance Whitney - Trustee McLain presented the TIF request from Lance Whitney. He is asking for an agreement for funds to repair the front of his shop to make more of a storefront. The total amount of funds he is requesting is $31,977.32. He does currently have a partial agreement funding still available. Trustee McLain will talk to the TIF attorneys to see if he can still have access to those funds. A motion was made by Trustee Allen to approve the TIF Agreement request with Lance Whitney in a 5-year forgivable grant up to the total of $31,977.32, seconded by Trustee Ruppert. Roll call taken, all ayes, motion carried.

CEFS Campaign Donation - Treasurer Henderson presented a letter she received from CEFS seeking donations for some of their programs. CEFS works with the Village a lot to assist residents with unpaid and delinquent utility bills so she wanted to give the board an opportunity to see what they are in need of. Trustee McLain suggested putting the flyer in the next Village newsletter to the community. No action will be taken at this time.

Reports – Village Manager Shannon Risley, Police Committee, TIF Committee and Chief Nichols.

A motion was made by Trustee Allen to approve an emergency expenditure to replace the water plant furnace not to exceed $13,000, seconded by Trustee Ruppert. Roll call taken, all ayes, motion carried.

Correspondence – Thank you card from the Doty family.

Committee Meeting Dates – None

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

https://www.villageofbethany.com/documents/116/MINUTES_12-10-2024.pdf