Village of Seneca Village Council met Aug. 1.
Here are the minutes provided by the council:
Seneca Village Council held a regularly scheduled Council meeting at Seneca Village Hall on August 1, 2023 and the meeting was called to order at 6:00 p.m.
Roll Call:
Present: Mayor Olson, Commissioners Higgins, Peddicord, Victor and Weber
Absent: None
Also Present: Village Clerk Jennifer Peddicord, Attorney Bob Russo and Village Engineer Casey McCollom
All stood for the Pledge of Allegiance to the Flag of the United States of America.
Mayor Olson reminded the public about National Night Out taking place this evening (August 1) at Crotty Park.
A motion was made by Comm. Higgins and seconded by Comm. Peddicord that the Council approve the July 18, 2023 Council meeting minutes as presented. Clerk Peddicord pointed out that there had been an error in the motion for hiring of Officer Franco. The hourly rate was wrong and has been corrected and that change was noted in the minutes.
Roll Call: Ayes: Olson, Higgins, Peddicord, Victor and Weber
Nays: None
A motion was made by Comm. Victor and seconded by Comm. Higgins that the Council approve the payment of bills as presented. Comm. Victor pointed out that under TIF 1 there is one more payment, and December will be the last payment.
Roll Call: Ayes: Olson, Higgins, Peddicord, Victor and Weber
Nays: None
BUSINESS SPOTLIGHT PRESENTATION:
None.
COMMUNICATIONS, PETITIONS, REPORTS AND ADDITIONAL AGENDA ITEMS:
None.
OLD BUSINESS:
Commissioner Peddicord:
A motion was made by Comm. Peddicord and seconded by Comm. Victor to approve the adoption of Ordinance 23-13, An Ordinance Amending Title 6, Chapter 9 and Section 12 of the Seneca Code of Ordinances Regarding Golf Carts and Utility Task Vehicles. This allows for revoking the golf cart license if an underaged driver is caught driving the vehicle, or a driver is ticketed for DUI.
Roll Call: Ayes: Olson, Higgins, Peddicord, Victor and Weber
Nays: None
A motion was made by Comm. Peddicord and seconded by Comm. Weber to approve the adoption of Ordinance 23-14, An Ordinance Amending Chapter 8 of Title 6 of the Seneca Code of Ordinances Regarding Vehicle Impound. This updates our code to allow the police department to impound a golf cart or UTV if an underaged driver is caught driving the vehicle, or a driver is ticketed for DUI. Impoundments will be handled the same as if a car is impounded.
Roll Call: Ayes: Olson, Higgins, Peddicord, Victor and Weber
Nays: None
Mayor Olson:
Mayor Olson advised that he was contacted by the Illinois Valley Association of Realtors with concerns about the vacant building ordinance to be considered this evening. They asked that the ordinance be delayed for one month. Comm. Weber questioned how long a building has to be empty before it can be considered vacant. Mayor Olson stated that this ordinance is geared more toward commercial buildings. A motion was made by Comm. Weber and seconded by Comm. Victor to defer the adoption of Ordinance 23-15, An Ordinance Creating Chapter 1 of Title 4 of the Village Code Pertaining to Vacant Buildings to the first meeting in September.
Roll Call: Ayes: Olson, Higgins, Peddicord, Victor and Weber
Nays: None
COMMISSIONER'S REPORT AND NEW BUSINESS:
PUBLIC PROPERTY, WATER & SEWER - WEBER:
A motion was made by Comm. Weber and seconded by Comm. Higgins to approve an expenditure to Master Meter in the amount of $1,750.00 for annual support of Master Meter system.
Roll Call: Ayes: Olson, Higgins, Peddicord, Victor and Weber
Nays: None
Comm. Weber presented an Ordinance Authorizing Sale and Disposal of Surplus Village Property for discussion. This ordinance will be passed at the next meeting.
A motion was made by Comm. Weber and seconded by Comm. Victor to approve an expenditure to Simple Communications in the amount of $3,750.00 for email migration to Office 365. The clerk and treasurer have been working with Simple Communications on removing unused email addresses, and commissioner emails will be consolidated into departmental email addresses so they can be passed from person to person.
Roll Call: Ayes: Olson, Higgins, Peddicord, Victor and Weber
Nays: None
A motion was made by Comm. Weber and seconded by Comm. Higgins to approve an expenditure to Illinois Environmental Protection Agency in the amount of $5,000.00 for annual NPDES fee. The bill was for $10,000.00, which was incorrect, and has been corrected to $5,000.00.
Roll Call: Ayes: Olson, Higgins, Peddicord, Victor and Weber
Nays: None
A motion was made by Comm. Weber and seconded by Comm. Higgins to approve the purchase of fireproof file cabinet for village hall records room in the amount of $4,294.00.
Roll Call: Ayes: Olson, Higgins, Peddicord, Victor and Weber
Nays: None
A motion was made by Comm. Weber and seconded by Comm. Victor to approve the hiring of Alex McCaslin for the Parks Department at a rate of $13.00 per hour. The previously hired summer worker is leaving for college, and we still need someone to take care of watering and work at the parks into the fall.
Roll Call: Ayes: Olson, Higgins, Peddicord, Victor and Weber
Nays: None
ACCOUNTS AND FINANCE - VICTOR:
Comm. Victor presented a Financial Policy Manual for review. The Financial Policy Manual was prepared by Treasurer Figgins and she can answer any questions.
STREETS - HIGGINS:
A motion was made by Comm. Higgins and seconded by Comm. Victor to approve an expenditure to Chamlin & Associates in the amount of $18,837.50 for engineering for 2023 Motor Fuel Tax street program. This represents the design half of the project. There will be an additional fee of 6% of the bid cost after construction.
Roll Call: Ayes: Olson, Higgins, Peddicord, Victor and Weber
Nays: None
A motion was made by Comm. Higgins and seconded by Comm. Weber to approve an expenditure to Compass Minerals in the amount of $9,669.66 for road salt.
Roll Call: Ayes: Olson, Higgins, Peddicord, Victor and Weber
Nays: None
A motion was made by Comm. Higgins and seconded by Comm. Weber to approve an expenditure to Compass Minerals in the amount of $3,921.65 for road salt.
Roll Call: Ayes: Olson, Higgins, Peddicord, Victor and Weber
Nays: None
Comm. Higgins announced that the village was awarded Illinois Special Bridge Program funding for fiscal year 2028 to finish the bridge that washed out on River Road. This will be an 80/20 split. Funds become available in FY 2028, which begins in the Summer of 2027. Casey McCollom, Village Engineer, advised that the bridge has been designed and it will be put out for bid in 2027. An inspection of the bridge recently took place and it is not considered deficient. Casey indicated it is hard to get on the special bridge program, and Seneca was able to do so because of the washout.
PUBLIC HEALTH AND SAFETY - PEDDICORD:
Comm. Peddicord presented an Ordinance Amending the Seneca Code of Ordinances with Respect to the Fencing Requirements Around Swimming Pools. This would require that all required fencing must be completed prior to filling the pool with water, or no later than 30 days after completion of construction or installation of the pool.
PUBLIC AFFAIRS - OLSON:
Mayor Olson presented the council with an application for a video gaming license for 777LUCKYSLOTS DBA: LUCKY 7 FUEL. Mayor Olson stated that there has been a lot of discussion around town regarding having too much video gaming in town. Commissioner Peddicord put out a survey on Facebook requesting opinions from the public on video gaming, with the following results:
55.5%: Enough already! We have more than enough video gaming in Seneca.
24.3%: I love video gaming! We can never have too much video gaming in Seneca.
20.2%: I don't care! We have more, or less, it doesn't matter to me either way.
Comm. Peddicord indicated that he has heard for the past two years that people in town are tired of gaming.
Pat Regan, the applicant for 777 LUCKYSLOTS spoke regarding his plans for the gas station (the subject of the application), his purchase of the old hotel, and the NO. 4 Social Garage. He asked that there just be a level playing field and he just wants to be a part of the community.
Jim Knaparek of Fat Daddy'z stated that he does not believe the village needs anymore licenses issued.
Comm. Higgins requested that the council hold off on voting until more research can be done.
A motion was made by Comm. Victor and seconded by Comm. Higgins to defer approval of video gaming license for 777LUCKYSLOTS DBA: LUCKY 7 FUEL.
Roll Call: Ayes: Olson, Higgins, Peddicord, Victor and Weber
Nays: None
A motion was made by Comm. Victor and seconded by Comm. Higgins to approve a donation to Shipyard Festival Committee for 2023 Seneca Days in the amount of $5,000.00. Mayor Olson advised that in 2020 the village donated $3,000.00 to the Shipyard Festival Committee, which was never cashed due to Shipyard Festival being canceled due to Covid. Mayor Olson asked that the $3,000.00 be reissued and an additional $2,000.00 be added to the donation. The funds will be taken out of Public Benefit. Comm. Weber expressed concerns regarding the amount of the donation and pointed out that with $5,000.00 in costs to the police department, essentially the village is donating a total of $10,000.00.
Roll Call: Ayes: Olson, Higgins, Peddicord, Victor and Weber
Nays: None
A motion was made by Comm. Peddicord and seconded by Comm. Victor to approve a bid in the amount of $134,000.00 for parking lot repavement by D Construction. This would be the parking lot of Main Street, including striping, and the parking lot off of Armour Street, behind the businesses on the east side of Main Street. One bid was received. Mayor Olson advised that if we do this, we will need to put off the façade program until April 1st. The funds will come from video gaming revenue. Mayor Olson advised that we've been saving the video gaming funds for a long time to make improvements to downtown. He would like to have the work completed by Shipyard Days. Comm. Higgins suggested doing lighting now before repaving. Lighting would add another $60,000.00 - $70,000.00 to the total cost, and would have to be done later.
Roll Call: Ayes: Olson, Higgins, Peddicord, Victor and Weber
Nays: None
PUBLIC COMMENT:
None.
A motion was made by Comm. Victor and seconded by Comm. Peddicord to adjourn the council meeting at 7:04 p.m.
Roll Call: Ayes: Olson, Higgins, Peddicord and Weber
Nays: None
Absent: Victor
https://cms5.revize.com/revize/seneca/Docuemnt_Center/Agenda%20and%20Minutes/Mayor%20and%20Village%20Council/2023/Minutes/Minutes_2023_08_01.pdf
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