Macon Reporter

Village of Warrensburg Village Board met May 5.

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, May 5, 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 Fisher, Eskew, Bons and Netherton.  Also present were Chief Wheeler, Attorney Jankowicz, DPW Allen and VAC Booth.

MAYOR’S COMMENTS: AVP Hackl was sworn in as Mayor by VAC Booth.  Mayor Hackl swore in Trustee Doug Fisher and Trustee Christal Eskew for their 4-year terms.

PUBLIC COMMENTS: Harold Hawkins inquired whom would be selected as the Mayor Pro-tem. Mayor Hackl stated that he wanted to have a full Board first before that person is appointed.

NEW BUSINESS: None

ENGINEER: Stephanie Brown, Chastain Engineering, stated that the new MFT program is moving forward as planned. The 2024 program was closed out and the 2025 bid has also been accepted.

REVIEW/APPROVAL OF MINUTES:  A motion was made by Trustee Netherton, seconded by Trustee Eskew to approve the minutes of the April 21, 2025 regular meeting. 

Motion carried.

VILLAGE ADMINISTRATIVE CLERK:  Trustee Netherton moved and Trustee Bons seconded to approve the balance sheet, pay the bills and make the appropriate transfers for May 5, 2025.

VAC Booth stated that for this period, the invoices for the remainder of the Covid funds are noted. After all of the invoices have been paid, there is a remaining balance (from the total Covid funds issued) of $1,950. The report has been filed online and accepted for the Fiscal Year.  Among the bills to be paid are the 2 USDA loan payments and the Illini Drainage fees (collected from residents based on their property size in April.)

Roll Call Vote:  Yes – Trustees Netherton, Fisher, Bons and Eskew.

No – none.  Motion carried.

FINANCE: Nothing

BUILDING: Trustee Netherton made a motion to accept the bid from Advanced Paving, not to exceed $9,000 for re-asphalting the Village Hall parking lot, seconded by Trustee Eskew.

Trustee Netherton stated that the building committee discussed the three bids and recommended the Advanced Paving bid.  The owners of the business are members of our community and they would like to give back by providing their service at a discounted rate. 

Roll Call Vote: Yes – Trustees Eskew, Netherton, Fisher and Bons.

No-none. Motion carried.

Trustee Netherton updated the Board on the process of obtaining the Shaw’s signature for the sign easement agreement.  Other options for sign placement were also discussed.

Attorney Jankowicz suggested that the Board offer him money to obtain his own attorney to explain the easement agreement, or he would also be happy to meet with him to review the document. 

Trustee Netherton made a motion for Attorney Jankowicz to send correspondence to Jeremy Shaw, with 30 days to respond, regarding this matter, seconded by Trustee Eskew.

Roll Call Vote: Yes- Trustees Fisher, Eskew, Bons and Netherton.

No – None.  Motion carried.

POLICE: Chief Wheeler updated the Board on the Speed trailer; it has been retrofitted and is ready to for use.

Trustee Fisher made a motion to approve Ordinance 811, authorizing and approving the intergovernmental agreement between the Village of Warrensburg and the Macon County Emergency Telephone System Board for Starcom21 System access, seconded by Trustee Netherton.

Chief Wheeler explained the Starcom contract to the Board. The ten-year contract is for 6 radios and has changed from a monthly payment to a yearly bill with a 4% increase each year.  It is approximately $1100 less than what the Village is paying now, even after the first increase.

Roll Call Vote: Yes- Trustees Netherton, Fisher, Bons and Eskew.

No – None.  Motion carried.

Chief Wheeler presented the monthly report for April 2025.

Mayor Hackl asked for an update on the SRO position. The contract has been approved and signed by the School Board and the position will be posted soon.

Chief Wheeler also mentioned that Clint Smith has accepted a position with the Sheriff’s office so will not be able to work for a year while he trains.  He plans to return to work for the Village when he is able.

SEWER:  Mayor Hackl asked Engineer, Stephanie Brown, if she could run a utility rate study.  She said that she could, but recommended that the Village utilize the free study conducted by the USDA.  DPW Allen said that he had used them before and would contact them.

Mayor Hackl said that the Clean-Up Day on May 3rd was successful.  There was a minor incident between a resident and a volunteer working the event.  He mentioned that a police report had been filed and the volunteer, Yvonne Thompson, was just trying to do the job she was asked to do. Yvonne was present at the meeting and described the situation to the Board. The Board thanked her for her time and assured her that she did nothing wrong.  Mayor Hackl stated that to thank the volunteer crew, the Village paid for their lunch at Da Burg.

Mayor Hackl presented the three estimates and spec sheets for a new mowing deck for the sewer mower (he spoke for Trustee Bons who was not a Board member when this project began.).

Trustee Netherton questioned the blade speed of the various decks and Trustee Bons searched online for the answers that the spec sheet did not provide.

The Trustees discussed the various pros and cons of each John Deere and Land Pride deck, including the warranties.

Trustee Netherton made a motion to accept the bid for the RCF Utility series Land Pride, not to exceed $4,500 (adding a front chain and checking the price for skid shoes), seconded by Trustee Eskew.

Roll Call Vote: Yes- Fisher, Bons, Eskew and Netherton.

No – None.  Motion carried.

STREETS:  Nothing

WATER: Mayor Hackl said that he has not heard anything regarding the grants for water or sewer.

PUBLIC WORKS: DPW Allen discussed the trash pump rental quote. The lift station work by Vandevanter has already been approved, but the Village is still required to provide the rentals for the work.  It will be rented for a week at the end of May when the work is set to begin.

Trustee Netherton made a motion to accept the bid for $2,525.24 plus $600 for delivery, not to exceed $3,500, seconded by Trustee Eskew.

Roll Call Vote: Yes- Trustees Bons, Eskew, Fisher and Netherton.

No – None.  Motion carried.

VILLAGE ATTORNEY:  Attorney Jankowicz updated the Board on the Rusty Simpson case.

OTHER AND/OR OLD BUSINESS:  Yvonne Thompson showed the Board a picture of a fallen tree on her neighbor’s property and asked what could be done about it. Trustee Netherton stated that he would coordinate a letter from VAC Booth.

Yvonne also asked about which sidewalks will be included in the latest MFT program, stating that hers has been cracked since she moved in. Trustee Eskew asked for her address so the Board could review it.

Chief Wheeler reminded everyone that the Special Olympics will kick off at 9:00 AM at the W-L School this Saturday, the 10th.   He said that anyone can attend and they appreciate the volunteers.

Harold Hawkins inquired about the possible fees to be charged to credit card users.  Trustee Eskew stated that she will be having a committee meeting to discuss the issue.

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

The meeting adjourned at 6:59 PM.

The next regular meeting will be on Monday, May 19, 2025 @ 5:30 PM. 

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