REGULAR MEETING OF THE MAYOR AND COUNCIL OF THE VILLAGE OF TAMPICO

January 16, 2018
7:00 PM
Reagan Community Center

Mayor Kristine L. Hill called the Regular Meeting of the Tampico Village Council to order at 7:00 PM after the Public Hearing conducted by Matt Hansen with Willett, Hofmann & Associates, Inc. with information about the Water Replacement Project.

Commissioners Derrick Maupin and Scott Meier were present. Commissioners Robert Sigel and Todd Tornow were absent. Police Chief Terry Strike, Police Officer Boyd VanDellen and Assistant Clerk Jamie McIntire were also present. Village Clerk, Kathy Leathers, recorded the written and audio minutes. The meeting was also video recorded.

Mayor Hill led those present in the Pledge of Allegiance.

Minutes of the January 2, 2018 Regular Meeting were approved as presented.

Reports of Village Officials
Mayor Hill advised Village residents to continue to keep water running during the colder temperatures. You can call Village Hall and let Utilities Clerk Anna Wetzell know so she can adjust the rates. A lot of towns are experiencing breaks. This should hopefully help with that. Mayor Hill said Wetzell will work with people when she notices larger bills.

Remarks from Guests
Village Resident Susan Frank began to ask about the purchase of the new police vehicle. Mayor Hill advised that topic will be discussed when reached in the agenda. Frank asked if she could speak at that time if she does not agree. Mayor Hill said yes.

Unfinished Business
A motion was made by Commissioner Maupin with a second by Commissioner Meier to approve the Resignation of Council Commissioner Robert Sigel. “Yes” votes were Maupin, Meier and Mayor Hill. The motion carried.

Mayor Hill began to discuss Adopting Building Codes for Unsafe Building Ordinance. We’re not going to vote on this. We’re going to keep it tabled and keep the discussion open on it. Mayor Hill said Chief Strike and I have gone through the information pretty extensively. All it’s saying is when we have homes that are abandoned and in very poor, irreparable and unsafe shape, it gives the Village the ability to board them up and put a lean on them so we can get them cleaned up and litigate the problems. Especially with foreclosure homes. We’re not going around town to see who is doing what projects. Ron Kuepker takes care of that with building codes. We’re not trying to harass anyone. For example, there’s a house on South Main that has racoons going in and out of the roof. That needs to be stopped but we have no leverage. This will give us leverage to do that. Mayor Hill said I’d like the commissioners to have a little more time to look over the information and also have our new commissioner brought on to the council with time to look over the information. Chief Strike said we’re not going to pick anyone apart. We’re just picking up what needs picked up.

The discussion turned to reviewing the 2018 Project Plans and Budget Worksheets. Mayor Hill asked if there are any questions on those. There were not. She told the council to begin thinking about projects you’d possibly like to see done.

New Business
The council began to discuss appointing a new Council Commissioner. Mayor Hill said Al Wildman has agreed to come back to our council again. He has stepped forward and offered to come back. Mayor Hill said I’d really like to appoint him to our council again. He knows what’s going on within the Village. Resident Frank said that she thought Jeff Hinton took the position. Mayor Hill said no, I have not spoke with Jeff Hinton. Clerk Leathers said Hinton has not contacted us. Mayor Hill said I trust that Wildman is a very good candidate for this. Frank said yeah, he’s probably a yes man too. Leathers said we need a motion and a second. A motion was made by Commissioner Meier with a second from Commissioner Maupin. “Yes” votes were Maupin, Meier and Mayor Hill. The motion carried.

Newly appointed Village Commissioner Al Wildman took his place at the Council Table where Village Clerk Kathy Leathers administered the oath of office and presented Wildman with information to assist him with carrying out his duties.

Mayor Hill signed a Proclamation urging all citizens to participate in activities planned by the Tampico Area Historical Society & Museum and the President Ronald Reagan Birthplace to remember President Reagan’s birthday. The birthday observance to honor the Former President and Tampico native is planned for Tuesday, February 6, 2018 from 10am to 4pm.

The council began to discuss Employee Health Insurance Coverage Rates. Clerk Leathers said our insurance agent put this out to three companies, and they each gave a couple different options for us. After looking through everything, the most comparable for us would be to renew with United Healthcare, the Heritage Plus Plan. The deductible did go up. It will be $1,500 for an individual and $3,000 for a family. Office visit co-pays go up, but the prescription co-pay stays about the same. This will amount to a premium of $3,047.58 per month. Mayor Hill asked if this is what we’re with now. Leathers said yes. Mayor Hill said I know we had issues in the past when we switched and they wouldn’t cover certain preexisting conditions and they wouldn’t cover some medications. Commissioner Maupin said that’s not an issue anymore. Mayor Hill said the preexisting isn’t but sometimes there is with medications. Resident Frank asked if the amount said was $3,000 a month. Mayor Hill said yes. Frank then asked how much the deductible is. Leathers said $1,500. Frank said no comment, just shocked. Mayor Hill said I’m good with this. Especially since we’re already with this company because the rates are going to go up no matter what we do. Maupin said they go up every year. Mayor Hill said the others were going up even more. Maupin said it’s all about minimizing how much it goes up. Mayor Hill asked do we have a motion and a second to go with the plan presented. Commissioner Maupin made a motion with a second from Commissioner Meier. Frank said excuse me, I know you’ve already signed everything but is that insurance based on the amount of employees you have all together. Mayor Hill said Clerk Leathers, Superintendent Pierce and Chief Strike are the employees we insure. Frank asked if more employees were added, would it be cheaper. Leathers said no, it would be more expensive. Maupin said we don’t have enough employees to follow their group plan. We don’t get the discounted rates so we’d have to pay more because we don’t have enough for the group plan. We’re basically paying per individual. “Yes” votes were Maupin, Wildman, Meier and Mayor Hill. The motion carried.

The council began to review the List of Persons Required to File Statement of Economic Interest. Mayor Hill said we’ll just have to add Al Wildman to the list. Leathers said yes, and he already has his paperwork for that. Mayor Hill said I can’t think of anyone else who needs to be added. Leathers said we’ll get this sent off after we add Wildman to it.

The meeting turned to Resolution NO. R13-18-01-16. A Resolution Designating the Authority of Mayor Hill or Derrick Maupin to do Business with Peoples National Bank on Behalf of the Village of Tampico. Resident Frank asked for what reason. Mayor Hill said for the possible loan on the new police vehicle or any other things we need to work with. We’re typically the ones that sign everything, Commissioner Maupin and myself. Maupin said one of us has to sign the checks with Clerk Leathers. A motion was made by Commissioner Meier and a second from Commissioner Wildman. “Yes” votes were Maupin, Wildman, Meier and Mayor Hill. The motion carried.

The meeting turned to the discussion of a possible purchase of a 2013 Tahoe Police Vehicle. Mayor Hill said the Sterling Police Department got a really good deal on trading in a couple of their Tahoes. We were able to possibly get one of them. They are in excellent condition. They also threw in the lights, sirens, cages and council. They gave that to us because we’re another Municipality and to help us out. Village resident Deb TerBush asked if that’s not already included in the price. Chief Strike said no and it all has to be installed. Mayor Hill said when they trade them in, they have to strip them. They can’t sell them that way because it could get into the wrong hands. Resident TerBush asked they can’t include that in the price. Commissioner Meier said no, Sterling already traded it in and pulled everything out of it. Commissioner Wildman said outfitting a vehicle with emergency equipment is another $7,000 to $7,500. Commissioner Maupin said we’d be trading in the black unmarked Impala. We do also have a Charger. Resident Frank asked so what’s the price of this one. Clerk Leathers said the price for the 2013 Tahoe after a trade in of $1,500 and after a security fee of $500, the balance is $17,007.94. This will be financed through Peoples National Bank for a 5 year note with yearly payments of $3,780 per year. Resident Frank asked the interest. Leathers said 2.5% and that amounts to $315 a month. That money will be set aside in a special savings account. Maupin said this is coming from police funds that can only be used on police items. Mayor Hill said that our existing Impala has 150,000 miles on it. Maupin said the Tahoe has 90,120 miles on it. Mayor Hill said the Impala was never a police vehicle. It wasn’t built to withstand the use that we got out of it. Resident Frank said I don’t know what a Tahoe is. Mayor Hill said it’s like a SUV with 4 wheel drive. Mayor Hill asked do we have a motion and a second on this. Is there anymore questions for discussion. Maupin said I just want to say that I’m usually anti us spending a lot of money on equipment, but this falls within the kind of terms that I’d like to see us get with vehicles. Even if you could go out and find something relatively cheaper, say in the $10,000 to $12,000 range, you still have to outfit that vehicle with equipment that you have to buy. When you search the internet for that price range, you get into Wisconsin and Southern Illinois or Iowa, and you start to get further away where you won’t necessarily know where the vehicle came from. Maupin said the kicker to me is that Sterling is tossing in the equipment. If you buy a cheaper car so you can purchase the equipment, it’ll bring us right back and probably won’t get the features such as the 4 wheel drive. Resident Frank asked if the vehicle has been looked at. Maupin said he personally hasn’t seen it. Mayor Hill said yes it’s been looked at and Chief Strike has driven it. Resident TerBush asked if it’s been inspected to see what’s wrong with it. Mayor Hill said yes. It’s at Kunes Dealership and has gone through the point check and all of that. Chief Strike said we’ve even talked them into putting a new set of tires on it. TerBush said I just know the last car you bought, there were major problems after you purchased it. Mayor Hill said that was the Impala that we bought at Green down in the Quad Cities. Chief Strike said that was under warranty. Mayor Hill said we did run back and forth with that a few times. That was quite a few years ago. Resident Frank asked which cars engine blew up. Mayor Hill said we’ve never had an engine blow. Maupin said not while I’ve been here. Frank asked if this is a vehicle you’d purchase for personal use. Mayor Hill said yes. I drive something very similar. The Tahoe is very similar to my Avalanche. Maupin said a lot of people have Tahoes. It’s a full size SUV. It is a Chevy. Mayor Hill said it fits all the equipment in it. A motion was made by Commissioner Maupin with a second from Commissioner Meier. “Yes” votes were Maupin, Wildman, Meier and Mayor Hill. The motion carried. Resident Frank said guys, I know you’ve already signed everything but what did you do with the Malibu. Mayor Hill said it’s an Impala and it’s being traded in. Frank asked what did you get for it. Chief Strike said $1,500. We only got $600 for the last white one we traded in. And we got them to put $1,000 worth of tires on the Tahoe. So if you think of that with the trade in, plus the new tires, we got $2,500 for the car. Maupin said I think it’s fair. Wildman said trade in on squad cars is very low.

Communications
Clerk Leathers said I’m keeping a close eye on the Statehouse Briefing. They’re putting out so many mandates and a lot of those have to do with the police department. There’s a thing now where all juvenile records have to be expunged. You can’t ask for any type of information about juveniles on an employment application. If you inadvertently somehow release any type of juvenile information, it starts out at a $1,500 fine because it’s a violation of the law. Leathers said they’re moving right along with the different policies. Sexual Assault Victims, there’s new policies for that. Officer Involved Shootings, there’s new policies for that. We’ll just have to keep watching closely to all the things coming to play. Mayor Hill said Mr. Shirk also helps us quite a bit with all that. He’s very well versed and knows what we need to take care of. Clerk Leathers said we’ve been sharing information back and forth so we can stay on top of it.

Bills were ordered paid on a motion by Commissioner Maupin with a second by Commissioner Meier. “Yes” votes were Maupin, Wildman, Meier and Mayor Hill. The motion carried.

Mayor Hill asked if anyone else had anything to address. There was nothing.

The meeting adjourned at 7:26 PM. The next Regular Meeting of the Tampico Village Council will be Tuesday, February 6, 2018 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 6th DAY OF February 2018

**These minutes are not official until signed, dated and sealed by the Village Clerk**