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

May 17, 2022
7:00 PM
Reagan Community Center

Mayor Kristine L. Hill called the Regular Meeting of the Tampico Village Council to order at 7:00PM.

Commissioners Jim Coleman, Jennifer Morales and Ryan DeBrock were present. Commissioner Kendell was absent. Chief Lewis, Village Utilities Clerk, Jamie McIntire, and Village Superintendent, Tyler Chriest, were also present. Village Clerk, Kathy Leathers, was also present and recorded the written and audio minutes.

Mayor Hill led those present in the Pledge of Allegiance.

Minutes of the May 3, 2022 Regular Meeting were approved as presented.
Minutes of the May 3, 2022 Closed Meeting were tabled until all Commissioner’s are present to approve.

Reports of Village Officials
Mayor Hill reported that the Village will receive a $313.00 Rebate from Nicor because of the new HVAC system that was installed. Nicor also advised that the building will save 522 therms a year because of the HVAC system. Therms are currently going for $1.11 so that will also be a nice savings.

Chief Lewis will be attending what is assumed to be the final Mitigation Forum on Thursday, which will help the Village stay up to date with FEMA and any other emergency assistance the Village can receive.

Mayor Hill advised that the Tiger Cubbies Daycare Board did meet and decided to disband. They sent a letter that will be reviewed and discussed at the next meeting that includes a request of what to do with their remaining funds.

Mayor Hill reported that Clerk Leathers gave the Council information that was received from Village attorney, Mr. Shirk, in regards to an ordinance for video/conference calls for Village meetings. That will also be reviewed and discussed and put on the agenda for the next Village meeting.

Mayor Hill advised that she sent a question to Mr. Shirk asking what authorizations she has during an emergency or even what Tyler Chriest can spend. Where are these guidelines and how does the Village go about following them? He sent back a response that will be given to the Council. Mayor Hill advised that this is something that needs to be worked on this summer. The Village currently does not have an ordinance or information that lays out who is authorized to do what, other than what happens at board meetings. Shirk advised that he feels that can be counter productive at times and there should be guidelines in place. Mayor Hill advised that this information will be in the next meeting packets for everyone to review and it will be placed on the next meeting agenda. Mayor Hill requested Mr. Shirk to provide guidelines that other City’s and Village’s are following to help guide our Village on what to do.

Clerk Leathers also provided the Council information on a free rate study the Village had completed through the Illinois Rural Water Association. Those packets included recommendations for the Village that Mayor Hill forwarded to Matt Hansen, the Village’s Engineer. Hansen agreed with some of the information but felt some of it wasn’t quite what it should be, so Hansen will also perform his own assessment then give the Village more guidance on what to do moving forward. His information will also include the current rates of what other City’s and Village’s are doing around us. Mayor Hill advised that the Village does have some room to increase our current rates and will have to. Hansen wants to include more information and factors with his study such as payroll changes. Once that information is gathered it can be reviewed and
discussed on how to move forward in the near future.

Mayor Hill advised that Commissioner Coleman and Utilities Clerk McIntire will be absent from the first meeting date in June, and Clerk Leathers will be absent from the second meeting date in June. Clerk Leathers recommends having one meeting for the month of June on the 15th. The Council agreed that one meeting for the month of June to be held on Wednesday the 15th at 7:00PM would be acceptable. If anything changes in the mean time it will be posted.

Mayor Hill asked Chriest for any updates he may have. Chriest advised that the water tower was put back online Saturday after it’s cleaning/maintenance. He has both photos and videos to show that it should be in much better condition.

Chriest reported next on the sewer relining project. The cleaning and televising has been completed and they will be back on June 6th to start the next phase of the project. They also cleaned an additional 400ft. in an area that has had problems in the past. Mayor Hill advised that this will help keep our system going much better.

Remarks from Guests
Village resident, Bonnie Anderson, asked how long the work will take that they’ll be starting on June 6th for the sewer relining. The next phase of the project, the grout phase, is scheduled to take place June 6th through the 17th. Anderson thought she heard the employees working on the project say that this next phase, she would not be able to use any water or flush toilets for four days. Chriest advised that it’s actually four hours and only when they are working in those specific areas do people need to be mindful of their usage. Chriest advised that he’ll try to contact Hoerr to see if they have a mapped schedule in place. Mayor Hill advised that surely Hoerr will put public announcements out, like last time, to those affected businesses and residents with direction of what is needed during that phase of work.

Unfinished Business
There was no Unfinished Business to discuss at this time.

A motion was made by Commissioner Morales, second by Commissioner DeBrock at 7:13 PM, to leave the Regular Meeting and go into a Closed Session to discuss the Appointment, Employment, Compensation,
Discipline, Performance or Dismissal of Employees of the Public Body and Possible Action on Any Item Discussed in Closed Session as Allowed by 5 ILCS 120/1 and the Illinois Open Meetings Act. “Yes” votes were Coleman, Morales, DeBrock and Mayor Hill. The motion carried.

A motion was made by Commissioner Morales, second by Commissioner Coleman at 7:25 PM to leave the Closed Session portion of the meeting and return to the Regular Open Meeting. “Yes” votes were Coleman, Morales, DeBrock and Mayor Hill. The motion carried.

New Business
Mayor Hill advised that the Council is going to table hiring a part-time police officer until Jarrett Ludwig’s paperwork has been received for the Council to review.

Next the Council discussed applying for a DCEO Grant for Phase II of the Sewer Relining Project. Mayor Hill advised that this doesn’t mean the the Village will accept or receive the grant but these grants only come out on certain dates. It would be good for the Village to stay on the list to go for the grant. The grant writing services and attorney fees are costly but this will greatly improve our Village and save us thousands down the road. Commissioner DeBrock asked what it will cost to apply for the grant. Mayor Hill replied that the grant writing agreement cost $8,000.00. DeBrock asked what about the extra costs in the project that the grant doesn’t cover? Will we have that in our budget? Mayor Hill replied that if it’s not feasible at that time the Village can refuse the grant. DeBrock said she’d like more information on the cost and how much the Village would have to spend. Mayor Hill replied that Willett & Hofmann gather that type of information to figure the budget and keep it in a schedule, like they’ve done for us all along, so if there is
an issue at that time that we can’t take the grant then we won’t. It is better to try for it. Mayor Hill advised that the Village’s budget is very tight and there need to be increases with the water and sewer. If we don’t jump on these opportunities then the Village is going to have failures that will cost us hundreds of thousands of dollars that won’t be covered by any grant money, even if we have to take out a note to cover the smaller portion. Commissioner Coleman said that’s what I’m asking. How much does the Village owe on notes right now for our end on these grants? Are we all paid up with everything we have going so far? Clerk Leathers advised that nothing has been paid for yet. There have been no payment requests that have came though. It’s unclear what the grant admin fees are going to be along with the engineering fees. Clerk Leathers advised that at one time it was quoted that it would cost $40,000.00 for the grant admin and maybe close to that for the engineering services. Coleman said so we’re talking 80k plus the 8k. Mayor Hill replied probably more like 40k with the 8k. That’s what they’ve done for years, but you’re looking at $80,000.00 verse a half a million dollars in project revenue. Coleman said that makes sense to me but I’m wondering does the Village have the 80k with as tight as we are right now and with everything we have going on. Next on the agenda is buying a mower. Coleman asked is there room, in your opinion? Mayor Hill replied I think so. It’s going to be tight and there’s going to be a lot of juggling but in order to keep our product running through our pipes we need to look into this. Even if we have to take out another loan and we will have to look at increasing the water and sewer because the price of chemicals is going up. Mayor Hill advised that we haven’t been able to have a tax levy in years and that’s hurt us. The Village needs to get our tax levy’s going so we don’t end up with a referendum. Coleman asked Chriest if he’s heard of any bad situations happening around town with this first phase. Chriest replied that as far as the infrastructure, this will be great for our system. Mayor Hill advised that it has been critical in several areas. Coleman asked if anyone in the community has complained about problems in their homes during this last phase. Chriest advised that there were some issues with the jetting but that’s something that’s going to happen. Coleman said to get better we have to go through a few bumps in the road. Chriest replied for sure. It would not be feasible to go and dig up all these sewer mains. Lining is a great option. Mayor Hill advised that it’s a more affordable option. If it gets to the point that the Village is granted the grant and the budget doesn’t look like we can afford it, it is worth the gamble. The Village took a bad hit after the storms in 2019. There was a lot of infiltration and sediment and those old clay pipes were falling apart. DeBrock asked if the Village received the full amount with the last grant. Clerk Leathers replied yes $550,000.00. Chriest advised that the bid was less than what the grant was. Coleman asked how many phases are there? Chriest replied if we do this next phase and it’s equal to what we’re doing now, the Village will be roughly 85% lined or PVC. Two phases would get the town in great shape. Those are figures given to us by Matt Hansen. Chriest advised that he’s still in the process of learning the Village’s system areas and that takes some time to learn. Mayor Hill advised that the whole system was videoed and they are in the process of videoing it again. Commissioner Morales asked so is Phase I just a certain percentage of the sewer lines and this next phase will expand further out? Chriest replied right, Phase I is what they’re working on right now and there’s 7,200 linear foot that covers this phase. Mayor Hill advised that they broke it down to the most critical concerns. The whole plan is eventually getting to the water tower but we need to do more water lines. Then this grant became available and it was something that needed to be addressed before finishing the other. Resident Anderson asked in that project doesn’t it eventually include a well? Mayor Hill advised that yes, a well is part of it but you need to get your water lines up to snuff first. Matt Hansen would be willing to come talk with everyone about it. Mayor Hill asked would we like to go for Phase II? I’m not sure what the deadline is. DeBrock asked if we vote to apply then Matt Hansen comes and talks with us and it’s completely out of our budget, can we still vote no? Mayor Hill replied we can withdraw. Morales advised that we will have to pay part of the grant writing fee. DeBrock asked so if we only get half of what’s projected, we can decline it? Mayor Hill advised that the Village hasn’t missed that mark yet on what’s needed for the project because they usually submit more then what the project scope is. Then that way they get the maximum. Commissioner Coleman made the motion to apply for the DCEO Grant for Phase II of the Sewer Relining Project, with a second from Commissioner Morales. “Yes” votes were Coleman, Morales, DeBrock and Mayor Hill. The motion carried.

Next the Council reviewed approving the agreement for Professional Grant Writing Services through Community Funding & Planning Services for Phase II – DCEO Sewer Relining Project. Mayor Hill advised this is the $8,000.00 and Jill Pepin handles the payroll, all of the paperwork during the projects as well.

Pepin has written into the gran so she’s covered on that end of it. Coleman asked if it comes down to it that we can’t afford it, all the Village is paying is 50% of that $8,000.00? Mayor Hill replied yes. Coleman asked so we have to approve it first, then they submit it? Morales said the Village will pay the $4,000.00 now, then the other $4,000.00 when they submit the grant. Coleman asked and we can have Willett & Hofmann come talk at a meeting to tell us what our chances are? Mayor Hill replied yes, we can get them to come to a meeting. DeBrock asked but we’ll be out the $8,000 for the grant writing. Coleman replied if we submit it. Mayor Hill said $8,000.00 if it’s submitted, $4,000.00 if Pepin just writes it. Commissioner Coleman made the motion to approve an agreement for Professional Grant Writing Services through Community Funding & Planning Services for Phase II – DCEO Sewer Relining Project at the cost of $8,000.00 if submitted, with a second from Commissioner Morales. “Yes” votes are Coleman, Morales, DeBrock and Mayor Hill. The motion carried.

Next on the agenda is to review Ordinance NO.O01-22-05-17 an Ordinance Amending the Whiteside Carroll Enterprise Zone within the Illinois Counties of Whiteside and Carroll. Mayor Hill advised that basically what this is, through the Enterprise Zone when they apply to start a business in the communities they pay 5% of what their project fee is, application fee and project fee. Mayor Hill advised that is use to be a half percent for the whole thing. This will not affect our Village budget or be a cost to the Village. This is just to support the Enterprise Zone so they can charge more and have more money at hand to attract more businesses to the area. Commissioner DeBrock made the motion to approve the ordinance, second by Commissioner Morales. “Yes” votes are Coleman, Morales, DeBrock and Mayor Hill. The motion carried.

An Amendment to the Whiteside Carroll Enterprise Zone Intergovernmental Agreement was next on the agenda for the Council to review. Mayor Hill advised that this is a follow up to the ordinance that was just approved. If anyone wants to build a business within our zone, that will also be covered here by the Enterprise Zone. Commissioner DeBrock made the motion to approve the Amendment, second by Commissioner Morales. “Yes” votes are Coleman, Morales, DeBrock and Mayor Hill. The motion carried.

Next the Council reviewed a Resolution to Close Route 172, (Main Street), for Tampico Festival Days Activities. Mayor Hill advised this would start 9:00AM on Friday, July 15, 2022 until 6:00PM on Sunday, July 17, 2022. This Resolution is sent as a request to the State to close the road. A motion to approve the Resolution was made by Commissioner Morales, second by Commissioner Coleman. Mayor Hill reported that Tampico Fest Committee member, Mallory Wetzell, advised that the committee has been meeting every month and things are shaping up nicely and they’ve added more volunteers. It’s looking good. “Yes” votes were Coleman, Morales, DeBrock and Mayor Hill. The motion carried.

At this time the Council began to discuss the possible purchase of a lawn mower for the Public Works Department. Mayor Hill reported that she’s spoke with Chriest and at this point he’s leaning more towards the Grasshopper because it’s a diesel And I agree. It does cost a little more. Chriest advised that there’s pros and cons to each machine. Public Works Employee, Bruce Peltier, also did a lot of checking into it as well. Peltier advised that he feels the best two options would be either they Grasshopper or the Simplicity. The Grasshopper is diesel and the Simplicity is gas. The Simplicity has a 72in. deck where the Grasshopper has a 61in. deck. Peltier advised that the Simplicity also rides better because of the 22in. suspension seat. Chriest advised that the diesel tractor may be more reliable. Peltier reported that the Grasshopper has a 3 year unlimited hour warranty and the Simplicity has 2 years/500 hours warranty. Mayor Hill advised that the Village does buy diesel in bulk, that if they fill up once it should last throughout the day rather than having to stop at Casey’s to fill up. Chriest reported that the diesel tractor has a fold up front deck which makes it easier to clean and sharpen the blades. The diesel is more expensive to repair when you’re out of warranty verse the gas. Coleman asked you prefer the Grasshopper? Peltier replied I prefer the Simplicity because it has the bigger deck, but the Grasshopper does have the fold up deck to clean easier and sharpen the blades and has the diesel that the Village has in bulk. The warranty is a little better on the Grasshopper as well. Mayor Hill advised the the Village does have a Grasshopper that’s lasted for many, many years. Chriest reported as far as financing goes, it sounds like 36 months 0% interest for the Grasshopper but there is a 3.5% participation fee to do the financing. If you do 48 months it’s a 3.85% participation fee with a $125.00 docking fee. DeBrock asked what about the Simplicity? Chriest replied that the Simplicity is 24 or
36 months with 0% interest. DeBrock asked no participation fee? Chriest replied they did not state that. Mayor Hill advised that she thinks it’s ultimately up to Chriest and Peltier to decide because they’ll be the operators of the machine. DeBrock advised that she had a couple questions about the old mower. What’s wrong with it and why did we not know we needed to buy a new one before we did our new budgets? Chriest replied it’s his understanding that Bruce Hill mentioned a while back that a new mower was needed but was told it wasn’t in the budget. Chriest advised that he tried using it, they’ve tried working on it and this time of year you can’t be working on them because you need to be running it. So we had to take the mower to Wilco to get worked on and they said there’s a lot of hydrophilic leaks, both pumps leak where they’re put together and right now there’s no kits to repair that. There’s also bad seals on the left side, there’s two hoses that need replaced and the pump fan and wheel motor that is not available right now. If they do fix the two hoses and patch it for the cost of approximately $850.00, that still won’t guarantee a fix. Chriest was told to fix it the parts would be $2,600.00 and looking around $800.00 in labor and the fluids and filters will cost $300.00 for a rough total of $3,700.00 to fix it. Chriest asked Wilco what the value of the tractor would be after the repairs and he was quoted $2,000.00 which would put us upside down. Chriest was also told that the Village would be given $500.00 to put the old mower for trade and then they aren’t even going to try to fix it. They’re going to just try and push it off on someone as is. Chriest advised that with the costs coming out upside down, this would be a good time to look at getting something new. Mayor Hill added that they struggled with the mower all last year. DeBrock said if we had known to budget for this it would have made it a little easier to purchase, but you have to do what you have to do. Coleman asked what budget would this come out of? Clerk Leathers answered that it would come from Public Property which maintains the ball diamonds and parks. DeBrock added so my budget and I didn’t budget for that. Mayor Hill advised but we’ll be making payments so it will be spread out. Clerk Leathers added it does not hurt to get 0% financing. It will help maintain the credit rating for the Village. Coleman asked so Peltier likes the Simplicity? Peltier answered yes. Mayor Hill added Bruce Hill likes the Grasshopper. Chriest shared that he’s fine with either one. Village resident, Deb TerBush, asked who’s going to do most of the mowing? Chriest replied Peltier and myself. TerBush then asked once the warranty is up, I know you can work on gas but can you work on diesel? Chriest replied I do not work on diesel. DeBrock advised that she likes the 72in. deck on the Simplicity. Chriest advised that neither is a bad machine. Coleman asked do you think we’ll get another 16 years out of the diesel like we did the old one? Chriest replied he does not have a crystal ball. Coleman said good call. Chriest said he’s familiar with the Vanguard engine in the Simplicity and he is a fan of that engine. Mayor Hill asked what if we approve this mower tonight, you go to get it tomorrow and it’s not there? Chriest advised that availability is an issue everywhere. Mayor Hill advised that she thinks the Council should approve the purchase up to the higher dollar amount in case that’s all that’s available, and it needs to be taken care of so these guys aren’t scrambling. Morales asked can we just approve them the $15,800.00? It’s just a $2,500.00 difference between the two. Mayor Hill added they both have the financing. I would like to see a motion made to approve the purchase of a mower at the discretion of Public Works not to exceed $15,800.00. TerBush asked are both mowers available now? Peltier answered as far as we know. Clerk Leathers asked are you going to try and purchase the Simplicity first? Chriest replied that he’s fine with whichever. Clerk Leathers asked the Council is that what you’ve decided? Coleman and DeBrock said yes, the Simplicity is the way to go. Mayor Hill said to be safe, I’d still like the motion to read not to exceed the $15,800.00. Clerk Leathers said that’s true and that’s what the motion says, but if he can get the Simplicity that will be the one they go with. Chriest advised either way we have to go get that old mower unless we trade it in. Commissioner Morales made the motion, second by Commissioner Coleman to approve the purchase of a lawn mower at the discretion of Public Works not to exceed $15,800.00. “Yes” votes are Coleman, Morales, DeBrock and Mayor Hill. The motion carried.

Building Permits
Building Permits issued by Village Zoning Administrator, Art Spencer, were 312 E. Booth St. – Roof.

Communications
Communications were discussed earlier in the meeting.

Bills were ordered paid on a motion by Commissioner DeBrock, second by Commissioner Morales. “Yes” votes were Coleman, Morales, DeBrock and Mayor Hill. The motion carried.

The meeting adjourned at 8:04 PM. The next Regular Meeting of the Tampico Village Council will be Wednesday, June 15, 2022 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 15th DAY OF June, 2022

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