Illinois Valley Times

Village of Ladd Village Board met Oct. 10

Here are the minutes provided by the board:

The Ladd Village Board met in regular session on Tuesday, October 10, 2023, in the Village Hall. Village President, Frank Cattani called the meeting to order at 6:30 pm and led the pledge of allegiance to the American flag.

Roll Call: Present: Trustees Dave Margherio, Jan Martin, Brad Nicholson, Andy Ruggerio, and Molly Thrasher, Dan Nelson (6)

In attendance: Deputy Clerk/Village Treasurer Julie Koch, Police Chief Jacob Frund, Engineer Adam Ossola, Superintendent Doug Englehaupt (6:58 arrival)

Thrasher motioned/Ruggerio second to accept the September 26, 2023, regular meeting minutes as presented.

Ayes: Margherio, Martin, Nicholson, Ruggerio, Thrasher, Nelson - Motion carried 6-0

Nelson motioned/Margherio second to authorize payment of the bills in the amount of $36,274.74. Ayes: Margherio, Martin, Nicholson, Ruggerio, Thrasher, Nelson - Motion carried 6-0

Correspondence: Thank you from the Players Club for the ribbon-cutting ceremony, snack, and thoughtful gifts. It’s a reminder of what a great community Ladd is. They are all proud to be a part of our community. Thanks from Jimmy, Kevin, and Matt.

Thank you from Phil and Mary Ann Hocking to Village President Cattani, Village Clerk, Trustees, General Superintendent, and employees for purchasing and planting trees throughout the Village at no cost to the residents. We appreciate all the time and effort that went into planning and executing this project, which will be a real asset for Ladd.

Public Comment: None

Committee Reports: Margherio stated that the tree on the berm of Isreal Ramos's property is still looking good and blooming. There is a punky branch that they would like removed. They ask that Doug or one of the guys just remove the large dead branch which is concerning to a resident who made us aware of it. President Cattani stated that he would talk with Doug about it.

Engineer’s Report: None

President Cattani stated that we received a letter from IDOT stating the request for a cost increase for the Village of Ladd 2021 Safe Routes to School project was awarded in the amount of $21,820 due to additional improvements that is requested by IDOT, bringing the total funds available to $271,752 for this project.

Nelson asked Ossola how the sidewalk project was going. Ossola stated that they are wanting some environmental reviews done which they submitted. We are just awaiting the grant agreement now.

Superintendent’s Report: None

Police Chief: Chief Frund reported that he was at training last week for the SWAT certification, which was the second week of the training. That is now complete. He also completed the high-risk vehicle stops, where he can do training for everyone else in the department because it is now mandated with the state. He can hopefully work some training out on a weekend and with some other departments as well.

Red ribbon week and the Halloween parade at the school. Frund and Sammi are working with the school to get things put together for that.

Margherio asked if diagonal parking is allowed on side streets. Frund stated that as long as the vehicle isn’t sticking out into the road or over the sidewalk, then there is nothing they can do about it. If it’s a problem that he sees then he will go to the resident and ask them to move it.

Margherio also stated that we removed the parking spot across from the Players Club and people are still parking there. He asked if we could move the sign to have it face South, instead of West in hopes that people will be more likely to see it.

Nelson stated that there is a motorhome on South LaSalle that is hanging over the sidewalk. Stated that there is plenty of room in the driveway if they just move it up. Frund stated that he would look into it.

Building Inspector: Not in attendance

Village Attorney: Not in attendance

Unfinished Business: Discuss Update on USDA Information on a New Village Hall: Sammi stated that following the last meeting she and Doug called about the USDA grant and they stated that they no longer fund big projects. They stated the max that they could fund was $30,000 for a generator to make the building usable for a warming/cooling station within the Village. They called a couple of other places that day and asked to see what the interest rates are. The USDA does offer a loan at 3.875% for a fixed 30-35 year loan. They said that this is the highest it has been in years and they foresee it going down in the future. Doug and Sammi worked out some numbers for the project and what the payments would look like. Sammi explained the numbers for a 30 and 35-year loan for a project at $1.2mil, 1mil, and a $700,000 project for the new Village Hall. She also explained that we could allocate some money, and explain where that would all come from to offset some of the payment for the month. The council also asked if there would be a penalty from the loan institution or the USDA if we paid it off early. Sammi is going to look into that for the next meeting. The USDA also stated that they want us to try local first and then we need to have notes from 3 local institutions stating that their interest rates would be higher than what the UDSA can give us. They talked about moving funds from other accounts and making a Village Hall account. They want numbers from the video gaming taxes, terminal fees, and water debt service to see if we can use those to put towards the new Village Hall. Ossola asked Sammi if she had looked into the difference in the interest expenses would be from the bank loans versus the USDA loan could do and what the savings would be between the USDA and another bank to make it worth it to jump through all the hoops in going with the USDA loan. Sammi will look into that for the next meeting as well. If we sell the current Village Hall we could also put that money into an account and if we lose money from gaming terminals and taxes due to a business closing then we have that money sitting there to help us out. The council stated that we could put that money into a CD and gain the interest until it is needed.

Discuss Municipal Code Changes and Online Platform: Sammi stated after the last meeting that she emailed Civic Plus back. She and Chief Fund were hoping to sit down with Pat Barry before the meeting to discuss what Civic said. That was unable to happen as Pat and Colin were unable to make it to today's meeting. Civic said the cost to put it online is an annual fee of $550.00 and that is the only fee that we will have. They will update it annually for free in July of every year. The recodification is 12,600.00. Civic shows no record at all of a legal review for our account and Rhonda hasn’t seen where we have had Pat do a legal review either. If we go with the recodification we can implement Pat into it but they also have Legal attorneys that will work with us if we would like that instead and that is all included in the recodification. Once all the recodification is completed it is sent to us for review and then we can put it all into one ordinance for the recodification to be complete. The board has decided to put it online for the village's use but not to the public until the recodification.

Nelson motioned/Martin second to accept the $550.00 a year to Civic Plus for the code changes and online platform of the ordinances as they are currently

Ayes: Margherio, Martin, Nicholson, Ruggerio, Thrasher, Nelson - Motion carried 6-0

New Business: Discuss and Possible Approval of the Use of Electric Energy Efficiency Fund: A&B Garge filled out a pre-application to use some of the IMEA Electric Energy Efficiency Fund Program for an LED lighting project. The project qualifies for an incentive of $3,865.60. Currently, the Village has $6,303.15 remaining to allocate for the electric efficiency project in the FY2023/24. The council had decided that it would only help the Village look better and that we are here to help with what we can. They are requesting the $3,865.60 out of what we have remaining. The Council asked Doug what his thoughts were. Doug stated that he would give them the ok if it was up to him. The council agreed with Doug to go with this, that it is good the community. Our remaining amount allocated for the FY2023/24 would be $2,437.55.

Nelson motioned/Thrasher second to approve A&B to utilize $3,865.60 from the IMEA Electric Energy Efficiency Fund (Project number 41_Ladd_1_2024) for their lighting project.

Ayes: Margherio, Martin, Nicholson, Ruggerio, Thrasher, Nelson – Motion carried 6-0

Consider Bids for Community Water Supply Testing Program: Doug explained to them the difference between going with TEST or the Illinois EPA Laboratory for the Community Water Supply Testing Program. Doug stated that some of the tests are time-sensitive and that by the time he takes the samples and gets them to the post office, in hopes that they get there in time. If they don’t receive them on time then the test will need to be redone and resent out. The cost of all of that and the postage that will be needed to get them there, It’s just much more convenient to go with TEST. TEST will come out and take the samples that are needed and make sure Doug knows if there is anything needed from the village side. TEST’s quote is $3,603.00 annually and the Illinois EPA Laboratory quote is $1793.08 annually. Council agreed with Doug that we would continue to use TEST for this.

Nelson motioned/Nicholson second to approve TEST in the amount of $3,603.00 to do the Community Water Supply Testing Program.

Ayes: Magherio, Martin, Nicholson, Ruggerio, Thrasher, Nelson – Motion carried 6-0

6-Month Review and Discussion Executive Session Minutes: Table till next meeting when Pat Barry will be present.

Announcements:

Abdulia Macia wants to thank the Village for the two trees that they planted on her property. She stated that they are beautiful.

Softball sign has been hung by the Village worker. Koch is going to contact those 3 people and see when a good time for a picture is. She will get it all set up with them and President Cattani as to when will be a good time and then she will meet with them to get the picture taken and get it put in the paper.

The park signs that we had Dick Ajster make are done and Doug has gotten them from him and they will get them hung up.

The no parking sign at the corner of Cleveland and S Main ave isn’t very visable when people pull up and they are still parking there. President Cattani asked Doug if he could, or have one of the other guys turn the sign to face south instead of west.

The smell coming from Charro Tacos is horrific. The owners came in last week and stated that they are thinking that they will be here next week to start cleaning it out. We will keep a eye on it in hopes that, that will happen otherwise we will look further into what we can do about the situation.

Martin asked what was going on with the convience store. Koch mentioned that she had talked the owner this week and that he said by December/January.

Thrasher motioned/Martin second to adjourn.

Ayes: Margherio, Martin, Nicholson, Ruggerio, Thrasher, Nelson - Motion carried 6-0

The meeting adjourned at 7:24 pm

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