Macon Reporter

Village of Warrensburg Village Board met March 28.

Here are the minutes provided by the board:

CALL TO ORDER: Acting Village President Hackl called the meeting to order at the Warrensburg Village Hall on Monday, March 28, 2025 at 5:30 p.m., reminding everyone the meeting was being recorded.

THE PLEDGE OF ALLEGIANCE was recited.

ROLL CALL: Present: Acting Village President Hackl, Trustees Eskew, Netherton and Fisher. Also present were Chief Wheeler, Attorney Jankowicz, DPW Allen and VAC Booth. Trustee Freeman arrived after Roll Call. Absent: Trustee Hood

SEWER: AVP Hackl called the special meeting in order to discuss the purchase of a burn trailer for the Village. The Village has received many complaints regarding smoke while burning and the Village burn pile is in need of being cleaned up. AVP Hackl also said that he just learned that the COVID funds that the Village received a few years ago must be allocated by the end of April.

Therefore, he suggests the purchase of an AirBurner “Burnboss T24,” for $87,580. That price includes a starter kit and online training plus the shipping (out of Florida). It arrives fully assembled. It is supposed to take 6 seconds to burn a pile of wood, (burns 5-10 cubic yards per hour) without producing thick smoke.

Trustee Netherton made a motion that the Village purchase the AirBurner, Burnboss T24 wood burner, seconded by Trustee Eskew.

Discussion:

Trustee Netherton questioned if residents would still be allowed to burn on their property if this was purchased. Yes, the burn trailer will be stationed by the sewer plant and there will be only 2-3 Village employees who will be trained and authorized to use it. AVP Hackl said it comes with a one-year warranty.

Trustee Eskew asked how it will be shipped and who will set it up. It will be shipped here by truck, fully assembled, and Kenny and Terry will be trained through an online course regarding how to properly use it.

Trustee Fisher had a few concerns; how will the large stumps fit into the burn box, where will the smoke go, will the Village charge for burning and how will the Village keep non-residents from dumping their piles of limbs in the area of the trailer? He said it was a lot of money to spend.

AVP Hackl stated that the box has a very large capacity and is smoke-less. It can be used whenever necessary, and won’t be reliant on weather. The Village can look into charging for it in the future.

And also, Brandon Kepler, of Warrensburg Tree Service, will donate $40,000 to the Village towards the cost of this trailer. Another consideration is that the cost will go up approximately $10,000 on April 1, 2025 due to the impending tariffs.

Trustees Netherton and Eskew questioned how often the trailer would be used. It will be fired up as soon as it is full and will continue to run as Village employees have the time to collect and burn.

Trustees Fisher and Netherton also questioned the security of the trailer, who will have access to it and what the business hours for the trailer would be for use. The possibility of installing a gate was discussed as well as security cameras. It was agreed that it should continue to be a privilege of being a Village resident to have waste already picked up and disposed of; as well as providing a free area where residents can properly dispose of yard waste.

Trustee Eskew mentioned that hopefully it would encourage some residents to clean up their yards, as well as to keep them clean.

AVP Hackl stated that it needs to be determined how to best secure the trailer.

Roll Call Vote: Yes: Trustees Hackl, Eskew, Freeman, Netherton and Fisher.

No: None. Motion carried.

OTHER AND/OR OLD BUSINESS:

A motion to adjourn was made by Trustee Netherton, seconded by Trustee Freeman.

The meeting adjourned at 6:04 PM.

The next regular meeting will be on Monday, April 7, 2025 @ 5:30 PM.

https://warrensburgil.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/04/Village-Minutes-3-28-25-special-meeting.docx