City of Hillsboro City Council met Oct. 25.
Here are the minutes provided by the council:
The meeting was called to order at 7:00 pm.
Roll call was taken and those present were Mayor Downs and Commissioners Wright, Butler, Gregory and Ward.
The "Pledge of Allegiance" was recited.
Minutes of the previous meeting were approved after a minor change.
Commissioners' reports:
Commissioner Butler read his reports and they will be included in the minutes. Butler said the NRC meeting was well attended. Butler said the group came up with some really good ideas that he has to think about. Butler thanked the NRC for tackling the sale of property around the lake. Butler said he has talked about the EPA and others about the watershed area and there may be several grants the City can pursue. Butler said it takes a little over two years to get everything up and rolling. Butler said Central Park is coming together and Jim May has been pursuing some other grants for the pool.
Commissioner Gregory read his log report from the police department and it will be included in the minutes.
Commissioner Wright read her report and it will be included in the minutes
Commissioner Ward said he had nothing to report other than the budget was tight and just because it's in the budget doesn't mean we have to spend it. Ward asked everyone to watch what they are spending.
Mayor Downs showed gratitude to Roger Jennings for their flag celebration and said it was well attended by first responders and thanked everyone. Downs said the Imagine Hillsboro 5k run/walk was well attended and reminded everyone that the leaves are falling please keep everything as clean as possible.
Community Planner Sarah McConnell read her report and it will be included in the minutes.
The City Engineer was not present.
There were no public comments.
Motion was made by Commissioner Wright and seconded by Commissioner Butler to approve closing Main Street from Wood Street to the Courthouse Square for the
Storybook Christmas Festival to be held on December 3, 2022 from 6 am 9 pm. Motion carried 5-0.
Motion was made by Commissioner Wright and seconded by Commissioner Butler to adopt Ordinance No. 1743 amending chapter 38, article II of the Hillsboro Code of Ordinances. After discussion language will be added to the ordinance stipulating that it is for a non-residential business only and brought back to the Council for approval. There was no action taken.
Motion was made by Commissioner Wright and seconded by Commissioner Ward to adopt Resolution No. 2022-13 a foreign insurance resolution authorizing the Illinois Municipal League to collect the 2% foreign fire insurance license fee for the Hillsboro Fire Department. Motion carried 5-0.
Motion was made by Commissioner Wright and seconded by Commissioner Butler to approve a proposal from Lyerla Electric to supply underground electrical cable for power in the 100 block of East Seward Street for a cost of $3,362.49. Motion carried 5- 0.
Motion was made by Commissioner Wright and seconded by Commissioner Butler to approve purchasing water meters from Midwest Meter for a cost of $51,300.00. Motion carried 5-0
Motion was made by Commissioner Wright and seconded by Commissioner Butler to approve purchasing a pump and rebuilding a pump from Brooks & Associates for a total cost of $6,606.10. Motion carried 5-0.
Motion was made by Commissioner Wright and seconded by Commissioner Butler to approve the annual Rotary Halloween Parade to be held on Friday, October 28, 2022 at 5 pm. Motion carried 5-0.
Motion was made by Commissioner Butler and seconded by Commissioner Wright to approve opening bids for the sale of real property located at 904 South Main Street. Butler opened the two bids. Motion carried 5-0. The first was from the Montgomery County Historical Society for $1.00 and the second was from Lori Hopwood for $30,000. Hopwood pulled her bid before any action could be taken leaving only the Historical Society.
Motion was made by Commissioner Butler and seconded by Commissioner wright to approve accepting the only bid from the Montgomery County Historical Society for $1.00. Motion carried 5-0.
Commissioner Butler started discussion on lake patrol on Glenn Shoals Lake. Butler said the discussion on lake patrol comes up at every NRC meeting talking about the presence on the lake, especially on holiday weekends referring to the lack of presences. Butler said he spoke with Chief Leetham and was shocked to find out about all the overtime the police department has. Deputy Chief Hopper said that a lot of the overtime is covering days off such as vacation and personal time. Hopper said that doesn't include overtime to work caseloads or being held over. Hopper hiring another person doesn't guarantee someone will be on the lake the way they want them to be. Butler said the mandated overtime is even worse. Hopper said now that the department is back to so called full staff you will see somewhat of a cut in the overtime but not all of it. Butler said with as much overtime the police department has it may be time to look into hiring another officer. Butler said hiring another officer may help some issues on the lake and also the officer will be able to cover some overtime. Everyone thought it was a good idea and needed to be looked into for the next budget cycle.
Commissioner Butler started discussion on using the ARPA funds the City has. Butler said he would like to use the funds to do the repairs to the Old Lake spillway. Mayor Downs said the fund were going to be used for the Helston Place project and there had been some discussion on using the funds for the Huber Drive project. Commissioner Wright said she had budgeted the Huber Drive project in her budget. Butler said the City has to find a way to fix the spillway. Butler said he wants to make sure there is money available once the draw down system is done so he can move forward with the repairs. Clerk Davidson said he didn't know if the spillway would qualify but would do some research and make sure. Butler said there is so much to do just to keep up the lake. Butler said the City has to fix the spillway per IDNR and only has about 2 more years to get it done. The Council thought it would be a good project for the funds as long as it meets the criteria to use the funds for repairs.
Commissioner Wright started discussion on the Woodard & Curran contract and said she had reached out to every commissioner and said if they had any questions or thoughts on the contract and has not heard from anyone. Commissioner Butler asked if any of the stuff such as lakes or requirements would be built into the contract and Tim Ferguson said no, any regulatory requirement would probably be a full on plan that would not be just general day to day maintenance. Wright said she met with the City Attorney today and looked through the contracts and if no one has anything to add let her know otherwise Wright said the City will take a vote on it as soon as it gets finalized.
Kevin Brink addressed the Council about a proposed municipal flag. Brink said with the Hillsboro Bicentennial coming up and the Smithsonian exhibit coming to town, the City has a golden opportunity to unveil this complete project. Brink said he has designed a flag and would like the City's guidance in the getting the idea out to the citizens of Hillsboro. Brink said he believes the City can have a flag design backed by the citizens. Brink said he just wants to create something beautiful for the town. Commissioner Butler said he had spoken to Brink on the phone and explained to him he would not support the current drawing but is not against going back to the beginning and starting over on the design. Commissioner Gregory said he could not support the current design also. Mayor Downs asked about getting the public to help design the flag, which may include school art classes. Butler said he has the future City leaders meeting and would like to kick it down to them and have them start working on it. Brink said he would love to be involved in the discussion.
Motion to Adjourn was made at 8:08 pm by Commissioner Butler and seconded by Commissioner Ward. Motion carried 5-0.
https://hillsboroillinois.net/wp-content/uploads/102522-minutes.pdf
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