REGULAR MEETING OF THE MAYOR AND COUNCIL OF THE VILLAGE OF TAMPICO
September 17, 2024
7:00 PM
Reagan Community Center
Mayor Bruce Peltier called the Regular Meeting of the Tampico Village Council to order at 7:00PM.
Commissioners Sherry Coleman, Susan Dean, Jim Coleman and Tammy Kendell were present. Tampico Police Chief, Terry Strike, and Village Superintendent, Tyler Chriest, were also present. Village Clerk, Jamie McIntire, was present and recorded the written and audio minutes.
Mayor Peltier led those present in the Pledge of Allegiance.
Minutes of the September 3, 2024 Regular Meeting were approved as presented.
Minutes of the September 3, 2024 Closed Meeting were approved as presented.
Reports of Village Officials
Superintendent Chriest reported that winterizing the ball diamond will begin soon. He will also be servicing the blowers and lining up a vac truck for the lift station. A pressure transducer was recently installed at the lift station so Chriest plans to clean that out before winter.
Chriest also reported that shoulder work was completed at the ball diamond where the new blacktop was installed. He also plans to check on the border of the playground equipment at the park and hauling in sand and salt material before winter.
Chriest advised that all the painting was completed on Main Street for parking and crosswalks.
Commissioner J. Coleman asked if Chriest had heard from Matt Habben on the removal of the necessary park equipment. Chriest replied that Habben plans to start removal in approximately two weeks. Chriest said if he gets approval from the Council, he’d like to remove the fence around the playground equipment located on the East and West sides of the RCC building. Chriest advised there’s no reason to keep it and it will help with leaf removal and the removal of the playground equipment. The Mayor and Council had no issues with removing the fencing. Chriest said he plans to cap the area with gravel for the time being once the fence is removed. Then it will depend on what the plan is moving forward. Chriest said he plans to have tether balls at the park since the poles are already provided. Mayor Peltier also suggested having 4 squares and hopscotch at the park. Chriest said he’ll keep everyone updated with the progress. J. Coleman said someone in the community suggested a pickleball court, but that would be quite costly and the area where it would be installed would have to be completely resurfaced.
Commissioner Dean said the memorial bench installed at Booth Park looks very nice and they did a great job with it. The Mayor and Council agreed. Mayor Peltier thanked Chriest for pressure washing the location where the bench was installed and said it looks very nice.
Remarks from Guests
There we no remarks from guests at this time.
Unfinished Business
The first item for unfinished business was to review updates on the Lead Service Line Inventory. Mayor Peltier advised that more door hangers went out last week and we were able to get 11 or 12 more inventories completed. Commissioner J. Coleman asked how many that leaves incomplete. Chriest replied approximately 100. Commissioner S. Coleman asked how much time do we have left to get them completed. Clerk McIntire said September 20th is the cut off date. Chriest advised there is one more appointment scheduled that he’ll take care of Friday.
Next the Council began to review / discuss information regarding the State Grocery Tax ending January 1, 2026. Clerk McIntire said she received more information from Village attorney, Mr. Shirk. Shirk advised that the Council won’t have to act on this ordinance until July of 2025 to make sure all necessary information and documentation is submitted on time. Shirk also stated that it’s very unlikely that the State will reimpose the tax, but we can repeal the Village tax if that happens. This can be tabled for the time being until it’s closer to that July 2025 date.
The Council began to review / discuss alarm system for RCC Building (Village Hall & PD Offices). Clerk McIntire said herself and Commissioner S. Coleman met with a few companies. S. Coleman said the one we liked the best was The Audio Video Connection located out of Dixon. Clerk McIntire said there’s no annual or monthly fee with this company. We would purchase the equipment and pay for that and the installation up front. There would only be an additional cost if we decided to add additional equipment, which can be done at any time.
Clerk McIntire said we also met with a representative with ADT, but we weren’t very impressed. He even said himself that they’ve installed their equipment in other areas of the Village, and it doesn’t work. S. Coleman said they even said our Wi-Fi wasn’t strong enough but the company out of Dixon had no issues with it. Mike Sigel with the WISP even came to check on it and everything was fine.
Clerk McIntire advised that they also met through a zoom call with a company called Rhombus. Commissioner Kendell stated that’s a bigger company. Clerk McIntire said they were a little more complicated to understand and we have not received an official quote from them yet.
Commissioner Dean said she liked the price quote with The Audio Video Connection company and likes that they’re located right in Dixon. Commissioner Kendell agreed. Mayor Peltier asked if there would be a screen to view the videos. Commissioner S. Coleman said it would be viewable by whoever is connected with their phone. Kendell said most of them are that way now.
Commissioner S. Coleman said there is one more quote we could receive from a gentleman that’s from Prophetstown, who actually works with Mike Sigel and the WISP quite a bit. He said he could come Friday to take a look around. S. Coleman said she’ll meet with the gentleman from Prophetstown on Friday then we can make a decision at our next meeting. The Mayor and Council agreed. Mayor Peltier said he’s glad we received more quotes, and the Council agreed. Clerk McIntire said she’ll reach out to the representative with The Audio Video Connection to let them know we’re waiting for one more quote, but we are very interested in the quote he presented.
Last under unfinished business was to review / discuss / approve Insurance Adjustment for the Village Utilities Clerk. Mayor Peltier said he’d like to push this to the end of the meeting and the Council agreed.
New Business
First under new business was to review / discuss / approve payout of vacation hours for Village employee. Clerk McIntire said Utilities Clerk, Jennifer Vails, has requested 5.5 hours to be paid out for her remaining vacation time. A motion to approve was made by Commissioner Dean, second by Commissioner S. Coleman. “Yes” votes were S. Coleman, Dean, J. Coleman, Kendell and Mayor Peltier. The motion carried.
Next was to review / discuss / approve Agreement with Community Funding & Planning Services – Application for IEPA PWSLP Public Water Supply Loan – Lead Service Line Replacement Project for a fee of $6,000. Clerk McIntire advised that Jill Pepin said the Village could pay 50% upfront and the remaining 50% once it’s complete, or even invoice the Village monthly. Commissioner Kendell said Clerk McIntire and Pepin could work that out for however it works best. Clerk McIntire said she’ll contact Pepin to figure out what will work best. A motion to approve the agreement was made by Commissioner Kendell, second by Commissioner J. Coleman. “Yes” votes were S. Coleman, Dean, J. Coleman, Kendell and Mayor Peltier. The motion carried.
The Council began to review / discuss / approve Agreement with Community Funding & Planning Services – Application for IEPA PWSLP Public Water Supply Loan – Water Treatment Project for a fee of $6,000. A motion to approve was made by Commissioner S. Coleman, second by Commissioner Dean. “Yes” votes were S. Coleman, Dean, J. Coleman, Kendell and Mayor Peltier. The motion carried.
Last under new business was to review / discuss / approve Village bookkeeping / utility program provider. Mayor Peltier said we’re currently using Village Books, but that program is being discontinued. We need a new service for our bookkeeping and utility bills. Clerk McIntire said herself and Utility Clerk Vails have researched and spoken with different communities and the company gWorks is the one that looks to best suit our needs. They have helped a lot of communities that have switched over from Village Books. The communities we’ve spoke with have said it’s been a pretty seamless process with the transition. Prophetstown is one that has recently acquired gWorks. They work with our meter reading system so we wouldn’t have to change that. They provide an option for electronic billing and automatic payments while still providing paper billing. They have 24/7 assistance that can be done remotely and even a step-by-step instruction if you forgot how to move forward with a certain step. Commissioner Kendell said the electronic billing will be very nice with it costing 72 cents a stamp. Clerk McIntire said it is an initial cost of $13,580 for the program and the installation of the program, then an annual payment of $5,880. That would be split between the General Fund and the Water and Sewer Fund, and after the first payment of the $13,580, we won’t have to pay again until 2026 and that would be the $5,880. I know it looks like a lot but it’s going to be like that no matter what company we go with. Also, a lot of these companies only provide either the utility billing side, or the “HR” side. This company provides both and we don’t have to find a different meter reading company. Clerk McIntire advised that they did give us a $1,500 discount if we sign with them before September 30th. If we sign with gWorks, they hope to have us up and running by January 1st. Mayor Peltier asked when will Village Books be done. Clerk McIntire said it’s done. We’re still able to use the program but we no longer have a contact if something goes wrong and there won’t be anymore updates to the program. Commissioner Dean said so we’re playing on borrowed time. Sounds like it would be better to get this going sooner rather than later. Clerk McIntire said we’re terrified to have to make this switch, but after all the research we’ve done, this is the company we feel most comfortable with. Kendell said you might be terrified, but the current system is so antiquated that once you’re used to the new system, it’ll be so much easier for you. Clerk McIntire said that’s what we’re hoping for. Dean said I also think the community will be happy with the upgrades and the option for electronic payments and billing. Superintendent Chriest said hopefully this will help with all our red tags. Clerk McIntire said that would be awesome. Commissioner J. Coleman asked where are they out of. Utility Clerk Vails said they are out of Omaha. Clerk McIntire said they’ll be handling a lot of this remotely. Clerk McIntire advised that she has Mr. Shirk look over the agreement and he didn’t have any issues to point out. Dean said so we need to approve this now to be able to receive the discount. Clerk McIntire said yes. A motion to approve the contract with gWorks for Multi-Fund Accounting Program for the Village of Tampico for a one (1) time fee of $13,580 and an annual fee of $5,880 to be split between the General Fund and the Water Sewer Fund was made by Commissioner Dean, second by Commissioner Kendell. “Yes” votes were S. Coleman, Dean, J. Coleman, Kendell and Mayor Peltier. The motion carried.
Building Permits
Building Permits approved by Zoning Administrator, Tyler Chriest, was 103 N. Washington St. – Roofing House.
Communications
Clerk McIntire advised that Jenee Blackert with the Tampico Historical Society reached out and said they are holding an event here at the gym on February 22nd with a snow date of March 1st. All are welcome to attend the event or if any of you would like to speak at the event about Tampico, past or present, you can reach out to Jenee. There will be other guest speakers and a silent auction.
Matt Habben did stop by the office with an $800 donation for the playground equipment that he’ll be removing. The Mayor and Council thought that was very nice.
Clerk McIntire said the Village also received a donation from the Tampico Days Committee in the amount of $1,500 for the installation of frisbee golf at the ball diamond. The Mayor and Council also thought that was very nice.
Bills were ordered paid on a motion by Commissioner Kendell, second by Commissioner J. Coleman. “Yes” votes were S. Coleman, Dean, J. Coleman, Kendell and Mayor Peltier. The motion carried.
Mayor Peltier asked for a motion to go into closed session to discuss the Insurance Adjustment for the Village Utilities Clerk.
A motion was made by Commissioner J. Coleman, second by Commissioner Kendell at 7:28 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 S. Coleman, Dean, J. Coleman, Kendell and Mayor Peltier. The motion carried.
A motion was made by Commissioner J. Coleman, second by Commissioner Dean at 7:40 PM to leave the Closed Session portion of the meeting and return to the Regular Open Meeting. “Yes” votes were S. Coleman, Dean, J. Coleman, Kendell and Mayor Peltier. The motion carried.
A motion was made to approve a monthly Insurance Adjustment for the amount of $500 for Village Utilities Clerk, Jennifer Vails, effective immediately and also receive one (1) year retro pay from the date of September 20, 2023 by Commissioner J. Coleman, second by Commissioner Kendell. “Yes” votes were S. Coleman, Dean, J. Coleman, Kendell and Mayor Peltier. The motion carried. Mayor Peltier thanked Utilities Clerk Vails for being patient and letting the Council work through the details. We think you are very valuable to the team. The Council agreed. Utilities Clerk Vails said thank you.
The meeting adjourned at 7:43 PM. The next Regular Meeting of the Tampico Village Council is Scheduled for Tuesday, October 1, 2024 at 7:00 PM in the Reagan Community Center located at 202 W. Second Street.
Jamie M. McIntire
Clerk
Bruce Peltier
Mayor
MINUTES APPROVED THIS 1st DAY OF October, 2024
**These minutes are not official until signed, dated and sealed by the Village Clerk**
