REGULAR MEETING OF THE MAYOR AND COUNCIL OF THE VILLAGE OF TAMPICO
March 15, 2016 – 7:15 PM
Reagan Community Center
Public Hearing was held before the Regular Meeting to provide information to the public about the Emergency Storm Warning Siren Grant projects. Jill and Dan Pepin from Community Funding and Planning Services, grant administrators, conducted the hearing.
Commissioner Hill told those present, he and Chief Strike did a short test of the siren this morning. Mayor Hill said the village had tried to alert the public the best they could so as not to alarm anyone so just a short test was done. Commissioner Hill said it is very loud.
Mayor Hill asked if anyone had any questions for the Pepin’s. She thanked them for all their hard work in assisting the village in getting the grant. Mayor Hill said the siren would be tested on the first Tuesday of the month.
Mayor Kristine L. Hill called the Regular Meeting of the Tampico Village Council to order at 7:15 PM.
Commissioners Bruce Hill, Scott Meier, Derrick Maupin and Phalen Vancil were present. Also present were Police Chief Terry Strike and Sergeant Boyd VanDellen. Village Clerk, Kathy Leathers, recorded the written and audio minutes.
Mayor Hill led those present in the Pledge of Allegiance.
Minutes of the March 1, 2016 Regular Meeting were approved as presented.
Reports of Village Officials
Mayor Hill advised the council that Zoning Administrator, Ron Kuepker, was under the weather right now and she wishes him a speedy recovery. The mayor told council members she had asked Larry Specht, a member of the Zoning Board to step in for building permits in the mean time. She also said Specht works well with Kuepker and will not need to be trained in the process.
Commissioner Hill told those present the village will start doing spring clean-up. He said letters will be sent out if residents have garbage or whatever piled up. In addition, he asked residents to let the council know if they see any old tires lying around since there are all those mosquito infestations going around. He said they need to get rid of the tires, that’s a real bad deal for them. Mayor Hill stated sometimes people do get “clutter blindness” and maybe help out those who can’t do things. Resident Rob Sigel asked if there was going to be a day when trucks would come around and pick the stuff up too or does the village have anything for picking up. Mayor Hill said the last time the village brought out a dumpster, there were a couple individuals who filled it up twice. Mayor Hill stated, and other communities have done this as well, they have even talked about a $10 dump. Residents bring a truckload in, you pay $10 and you can dump. She said it’s cheaper than going somewhere else. Mayor Hill stated she wants to get Stralow over here too for electronic recycling and that should be the last round for TV’s VCR’s and that kind of stuff. Mayor Hill said the village would put out an announcement and she will put it on the village
website too.
Commissioner Hill advised the council his department would be setting out live traps for cats. He said there are a lot of wild cats running around town. Hill stated the cats will be checked for tags and chips since they don’t want to be taking people’s pets. Commissioner Hill said the cat population is getting thick. Mayor Hill said they are causing a nuisance. Mayor Hill said she is a pet lover, too and encourages residents to protect their pets.
Resident Carol Camper was present to ask the council to reconsider the issue of chickens within village limits. Camper asked council members what kinds of things the council looking for if they are interested in passing the chicken law. She asked what she needed to do or what she needs to get from other people in order to pass it or is it something the council isn’t interested in at all. Mayor Hill told Camper years ago her cousin had a horse in town, there have been ponies in town and for whatever reason, an ordinance has been put in place so the farm aspect has been taken to the country instead of the town. She said as for herself, and she is only one person on the council, she is not for it. The mayor said some of the older residents don’t want chickens in town or next door. The mayor told Camper she respects that she does, but there is a place for them too. Mayor Hill stated if you did live on the edge of town, that’s great, you’d be in the township and you can have them there.
Mayor Hill said as for the town, what next and what next. She said she doesn’t see any benefit. The mayor said she has seen places in Dixon that have allowed it. She said she has also talked to people near the chickens and they have told her it’s not really too bad but when the wind is in the right direction they can’t stand the smell. The mayor said that is only her opinion, she doesn’t feel they are needed in town. Camper told the mayor, chickens eat bugs. Rob Sigel asked what if you got permission from your neighbors. Mayor Hill asked what if your neighbor tries to sell his house but can’t because there are chickens next door. Mayor Hill suggested to the other council members they might want to consider a variance and / or a permit that has to be strictly reviewed and then if in violation. Commissioner Maupin said he is not opposed to it but he can also see some of the downsides the mayor has mentioned. Maupin said he would like to see more community input, more than 5 people, who are interested in it. Maupin said if the council does something based upon what 3 or 4 people want, it sets a precedent. Mayor Hill said she would lean toward a variance. Commissioner Hill asked how many chickens would be considered. Camper said places like Peru allow 6 chickens and they have to be kept 15 ft off the property line and no roosters. Camper said they aren’t making any noise and they are not flying. She said some communities require the container they are in to be all enclosed so they can’t fly up and get in your neighbor’s yard. Camper said the manure would provide fertilizer for your own grass. Camper said the only way she could see a huge smell and even right outside the city limit on Canal Street, those chickens don’t stink and she has more than 6. Mayor Hill said those chickens are not so confined. They have a pretty generous yard out there. Camper cited it could even be an educational thing where kids could be brought to see where eggs come from and the different colors of eggs. Camper added that it is more nutritious to raise your own eggs versus store-bought. Camper said if the council wants her to get 50 people, this town isn’t that big, so what are the requirements the council needs from her and could it be in writing. Camper said if she is to go door-to-door and ask for this, she needs to know what the requirements are. She said she is busy and doesn’t want to waste her time only to come back and have the council say they don’t want them anyway. Camper said if the council is totally closed minded to it and say no you’re not going to consider it, then she is not going to take the time to get other people’s opinion. Camper stated the people she has talked to have no objection to it. Camper said honestly, the village does
not want 50 houses with chickens. Camper said she doesn’t think the village is going to get that.
Mayor Hill said she does not want to open the door too wide, you just never know. The Mayor said she doesn’t want to open the door so wide that everyone is jumping on the band wagon. The Mayor stated the village already has so many problems trying to keep the town clean as it is, [the village gets so many complaints], she doesn’t want the next guy, who is irresponsible, to create another one. Mayor Hill said she knows Camper will be responsible about it. Mayor Hill suggested allowing the chickens by variance or permit that is only for that person, they move, it’s gone. Hill said when she opened her business, she had to have a hearing and have all her neighbors come in and if anyone objected, then she was out. Rob Sigel suggested putting conditions on the approval such as one complaint from the neighbors about the smell, they will be checked on and with two complaints they would actually have to get rid of them. Mayor Hill said she really doesn’t want to spend hundreds of dollars on legal fees to change the ordinance and have all these permits. She said if someone is in violation then you’re serving them, then you’re forcing them and then you go back and forth with these situations. Mayor Hill said she just wants everyone to consider that. Commissioner Hill said he is kind of flip-flopped on it. He said he has had chickens and geese before when living in the country. He said the only thing that bothers him is the fact if one wants to do it then others will follow and then the village is full of chickens. Rob Sigel asked about the village allowing golf carts. He said there aren’t that many and the ordinance has been in effect for some time. Mayor Hill said golf carts don’t stink and there are more people signing up as time goes on. Sigel said it’s the same thing with the chickens, not everyone will be getting them.
Commissioner Vancil told Camper he understands her wanting to have this as a learning thing for children. Vancil said he has known Camper for quite a while and he knows how she is about stuff like that. He said he appreciates that and the organic part of it but at the same time he sees it bringing more raccoon in once they get the smell of the chickens, the coyotes coming in. Vancil said he has walked out his back door and seen a coyote in his backyard. He stated it’s just another factor, it could attract more wild animals to town, then you’re dealing with dead chickens in your yard too. Vancil told Camper he completely understands the desire to teach with them, but he said he would have to be opposed to the idea. Mayor Hill said it’s a town. She said there is country and then there is town. Camper said it’s not like a horse. Camper said she understands but a couple chickens are not like…a lot towns are doing it. Mayor Hill stated the village has an ordinance that you can only have three pets, so if the village went along that same line, it would basically be three chickens. Mayor Hill also said that’s not saying it’s a definite limit but the council would have to strictly consider too, how many is the limit.
Discussion continued. Sigel suggested getting petitions and learning a bit more about coyotes and learning more from other towns to see if that has been a problem. Mayor Hill advised the council has looked into this before. Mayor Hill said that has been what she is saying. If Camper has the signatures, Mayor Hill said, she would still like to go with a variance. The Mayor said Camper’s neighbors need to weigh in on it. Mayor Hill does not want the neighbors to say we really like them and I did not want to upset them, but now they are calling the police to complain about the chickens and asking not to tell the owner that it was them complaining. Mayor Hill said the village has so much going on right now she doesn’t want to throw something else on the fire. Mayor Hill told Camper she respects her wishes and if she can come up with enough people. Camper said if the whole council is against it, she is not going to waste her time to get however many people to sign a petition. Camper does not want to come before the council with signatures from fifty people and be told the council doesn’t want it. Camper said her time is valuable so if the council is saying no then she is not going to take the time to do it. That’s why she is here, what does she have to do in order to get this passed.
Mayor Hill said in all fairness, what the council can do is put it on the agenda for the next meeting to discuss this again and possibly move forward and have more people coming in with ideas and wishes, the council can hear them as well as those who are opposed. Mayor Hill said that way Camper is not going out and getting petitions. Mayor Hill wants to take a baby step and see how the two sides are weighing in on this and see where they want to go with this before spending village money or Camper spends here time running around trying to find out. Mayor Hill said the council would put it on the next agenda and also get the word out. Hill said that way people opposed or for it can come to the meeting or send a representative or send a letter or whatever. Mayor suggests people contact the village and give the council their feedback. Commissioner Hill agreed saying the village has to spend money to get this to work too. Commissioner Maupin said that doesn’t mean there’s not a way to recoup some of the money. He said even if the council has to inspect them, license each person or something like that. Maupin said he doesn’t see it as a lost cause because it is something he, himself, would be interested in. Maupin said he would be for if the council can figure out a nice way to do it that doesn’t anger everyone around. Maupin continued and said we are close, we all have neighbors we are a town and it is not a farm. Maupin feels the village needs to walk that line very carefully how the village is going to do this. Maupin said it needs to be delicate, sensitive and needs to not be something the council rushes through in one or two meetings. Maupin thinks the council needs to see more interest in town because right now there seems to be three interested and he is not saying there are going to be more than 10 people with chickens in town or anything like that but he is saying if there are more than 10 people who are okay with it with at least maybe being a neighbor to someone who has chickens, that would go a long way. Mayor Hill told him the council could even hold a public hearing at some point if people want to have more input. Maupin said the council is supposed to do what is in the best interest of the village. Mayor Hill said just because she is not for it doesn’t mean…she is here to serve the public. Commissioner Hill said as long as the council keeps it at a limit. Camper said that is what was in the paper she gave the council last year. Mayor Hill said it tells which chickens you can have and cannot. Carol Camper said and how many, what kind of cages and how far away from your neighbors. Camper said those are all thing to consider.
Budget figures are still being discussed and considered.
Mayor Hill reported information from Digifarm and their request for antenna placement for a GPS system for area farms. Mayor Hill said she was told there is about a 50 mile area to be served and the RCC is in the right spot for the unit. Mayor Hill said the village’s current internet would not support it so the village would have to switch. She said she has calls and e-mails into other internet service providers that would be faster and could provide the specifics for this unit. Mayor Hill stated that of course they would have to pay for the placement and it will be determined how much and what, there are different aspects to it. Mayor Hill told the council when she gets more information she would let them know. She should have more information by the next meeting. She said she just wanted to give council members the heads up it will be the back part of the building and it’s about an 8 inch dish. The system will probably need 6 gigs. Mayor Hill stated the internet in the building now drops too often. Commissioner Hill said it will need to have a line directly to it. Mayor Hill reported the company has a unit on the motel in Annawan as well. She said they seem very pleasant. She said this appears to be the wave of the future and she has just been gathering information. The Mayor said she doesn’t want the RCC to look like an airport with every company that does this to come in. She advised she would get more information.
Discussion of purchasing a golf cart for village maintenance. Commissioner Hill said it is one with a dump bed,heavy duty, utility-type in good shape. The initial quote was for $3,000.00 but Commissioner Hill may be able to talk the price down. Mayor Hill said the cost could be spread over 3 different departments and it will save on the wear/tear on the larger trucks. Commissioner Maupin said it would be nice if there was an estimate of how much it might save the village to purchase one just to see how cost effective it would be. Maupin wondered if they were able to read meters from it, it might save a couple tanks of gas a month. Maupin would like to know how long it would be for it to pay for itself. Mayor Hill said she could have Tom, [Pierce], look into that. Commissioner Hill said it would also be good for park maintenance. He said instead of getting in and out of the truck, you could just reach for what you need and it would be a lot less maintenance than for the bigger trucks. Commissioner Maupin said he would just like to see some sort of plan for how quickly it would pay for itself. He said if it’s going to take 10 years to pay for itself then it’s probably not worth it. Mayor Hill suggested discussing again when more information is available.
There were not building permits issued by Zoning Administrator, Ron Kuepker.
Mayor Hill announced a Special Meeting will be held on Tuesday, March 22, 2016 at 7:00 PM to finalize the agreement with the Fire Department and the Storm Siren so it can be done before the trustees next meeting.
Bills were ordered paid on a motion by Commissioner Maupin and seconded by Commissioner Vancil. “Yes” votes were Hill, Meier, Maupin, Vancil and Mayor Hill. The motion carried.
The meeting adjourned at 7:37 PM. The next regular meeting of the Tampico Village Council will be Tuesday, April 5, 2016 at 7:00 PM in the Reagan Community Center located at 202 W. Second Street.
Kathy A. Leathers Clerk
Kristine L. Hill Mayor
MINUTES APPROVED THIS 5th DAY OF APRIL , 2016
**These minutes are not official until signed, dated and sealed by the Village Clerk**
