Illinois Valley Times

Village of Ladd Village Board met Jan. 9.

Here are the minutes provided by the board:

The Ladd Village Board met in regular session on Tuesday, January 9, 2024, at the Ladd Village Hall at 121 N. Main Avenue. 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, Dan Nelson, Brad Nicholson, Andy Ruggerio, Molly Thrasher (5)

Absent: Jan Martin

In attendance: Village Clerk Rhonda Bezely, Deputy Clerk/Village Treasurer Julie Koch, Engineer Adam Ossola, Atty. Pat Barry

Margherio motioned/Ruggerio second to accept the December 12, 2023, regular meeting minutes as presented.

Ayes: Margherio, Nelson, Nicholson, Ruggerio, Thrasher - Motion carried 5-0

Nelson motioned/Nicholson second to authorize payment of the bills in the amount of $129,120.16.

Ruggerio mentioned a bill for grass cutting in November he felt that wasn’t accurate. Atty. Barry and several council members stated that it was a very mild November and grass did need to be cut.

Ayes: Margherio, Nelson, Nicholson, Ruggerio, Thrasher - Motion carried 5-0

Thrasher motioned/Margherio second to accept the Treasurer's Report for November 2023.

Ayes: Margherio, Nelson, Nicholson, Ruggerio, Thrasher - Motion carried 5-0

Correspondence: Thank you cards from Gateway, IVCIL, and Doug Colmone were shared

Public Comment: None

Committee Reports: Margherio thanked Ruggerio, Stewey, and his wife, Kristen for plowing Village sidewalks. Ruggerio told the council that he is still waiting on a quote from P&D Sign for the flag poles. He is getting pricing on adding 2 poles by the tank and straightening the existing poles on the monument since they are leaning. Discussion ensued regarding what was decided at a previous meeting. This is what the quote should include. Nicholson questioned if the poles were donated back when the monument was constructed. Bezely will check the records and report at the next meeting. Ruggerio stated that the sidewalk up to the monument and the concrete on the monument are going to need to be painted in the spring. It was painted 3 years ago in the summer.

Engineer’s Report: Unfinished Business – Discuss Cost Estimates for New Village Hall: Ossola distributed the cost estimate to renovate the Community Center into the new Village Hall which will house the Clerk’s Office, Police Department, and the Council Chambers. Ossola had 2 local contractors provide pricing. The quote was thoroughly discussed. Nicholson and Margherio questioned the need for an employee bathroom. Bezely explained we need a kitchen sink for dishes and a cabinet for storage of items. Bezely thought this would be accomplished in the new bathroom also. It was stated that IDPH would not allow those to be combined in a bathroom. The cost of the bathroom also included many other mandatory renovations. Bezely didn’t feel it was fair to say that the bathroom she requested for employees totaled $40,000.00. She asked Ossola for a more accurate breakdown of just the bathroom cost. After a long discussion regarding the additional bathroom and the other line items on the renovation quote, the council determined the bathroom area should be changed to a kitchenette. This would include a kitchen sink and cabinet, countertop for coffee pots, microwave, and refrigerator. That would allow the mop sink to be in the mechanical room and the kitchenette separate, in the area where the employee bathroom was shown. Bezely also reminded the council we will need someone to move all the contents of the Village Hall to the new Village Hall and the council told Bezely we will use Village employees to move things. Also mentioned was the cost to set up wireless internet, and office equipment, computers, printers, etc. It was stated they are aware of incidental things. Ossola was asked the approximate time frame that we could expect this to be done. He stated approximately one year before moving in.

Margherio motioned/Nicholson second to earmark $750,000.00 for Renovation of the Ladd Community Center at 303 S Central Avenue to become the New Village Hall which will house the Village Clerk, Police Department, and Council Chambers.

Ayes: Margherio, Nicholson, Ruggerio, Thrasher, Cattani - motion carried 5-1-1

Nayes: Nelson

Absent: Martin

New Business – Safe Routes to School (2021 Application): Ossola explained the final steps to start the SRTS 2021 project includes passing the Agreement and Resolution tonight and then a bid letting will be on March 8, 2024, in Springfield. IDOT handles this entirely. The final project cost after IDOT added changes is $339,687.00 and the Village of Ladd’s portion is $67,937.40.

Thrasher motioned/Nicholson second Approval of Village President Frank Cattani to Sign the Joint Funding Agreement and to Pass Resolution #1161 to Appropriate the Matching Funds for Safe Routes to School (2021 Application).

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

Superintendent’s Report: Not in attendance

Police Chief: Not in attendance

Building Inspector: Not in attendance

Village Attorney: Nothing to report

New Business – Liquor License for Ladd Fire Dept: The Fire Department submitted a Special Event

Liquor License Application for their February 17, 2024 Annual Fundraiser.

Nelson motioned/Margherio second to Approve the Special Event Liquor License for the Ladd Fire Department’s Annual Fundraiser on February 17, 2024.

Ayes: Margherio, Nelson, Nicholson, Ruggerio, Thrasher - Motion carried 5-0

New Business – EEF Program Funds: Silver Creek Farms applied for energy efficiency funds available to Ladd Businesses. Rod Whelpley from IMEA provided application and details for the Village of Ladd to determine the amount of money they will allow Silver Creek Farms to use. The maximum amount of funds available is $6,303.15.

Nicholson motioned/Nelson second to Offer Silver Creek Farms $6,303.15 in Electric Energy Efficiency Funds and Authorize Doug Englehaupt to Perform Pre & Post Inspections for the Project.

Ayes: Margherio, Nelson, Nicholson, Ruggerio, Thrasher - Motion carried 5-0

New Business – Donation Request IMUA: No action was taken

Announcements: Bezely reminded the council that BCR Alerts have ended. She reached out to TextCaster to see if we could get pricing to go directly through them. They have provided pricing but Bezely needs clarification on the number of allowable users the Village can have. Bezely also spoke with OnSolve and will compare the information from both companies and bring this to the board at the next meeting. W-2s are completed and provided to employees. Ladd Sports Alice Gorman who passed away in 2023 had memorials directed to Ladd Sports. $770.00 has been received in Alice’s Memory. A thank you card will be sent. Sidewalks Curt Frund has been so kind and shovels the Village sidewalks for the Clerk’s Office and Police Department. Big “Thank You” to Curt. Rate Increase January 1st Water and Sewer Rates are increased. 3.5% & 7% respectively. Utility Billing Clerk Koch explained the fees. The new minimum water fee is $41.29. The new minimum sewer fee is $29.40. These rates take effect with January’s usage and will be billed in February 2024. Discussion ensued. Thrasher asked how Ladd Convenience was coming along. Bezely was told that the Health Department inspected them and they needed to have a couple of plumbing changes done. Once this is complete, they will call BCHD to come back to inspect. Bezely mentioned needing their Certificate of Insurance/ACCORD certificate since their prior had expired. Atty. Barry stated they could not open without getting this to the clerk. Atty. Barry has been helping Bezely advise them on how to get this taken care of. Thrasher asked about Charro Tacos. Nothing has changed but the owner emptied out food and such and had Bezely make sure their dumpster was picked up. Nicholson stated that he received alerts from Shaw Media. Bezely got a message from Illinois Valley News/Shaw Local but wasn’t given the option to opt into any group alerts. Jared Bell, the Shaw Media sales rep told Bezely he would let her know when they found a new company but hasn’t heard anything. Bezely is still looking into a cost-effective way to send out alerts to ALL residents. Nicholson questioned the public meeting at the last meeting in December regarding the Housing Rehabilitation Grant Program. He asked if this was the same thing that Koch called him about several months ago where the Village had an application fee and could lose the fee if the grant doesn’t get Federally funded. The Village must commit funds to this grant and the more we commit to it, the stronger our application would be. There was confusion on contractors who would be hired to do the work and having to bid it prevailing wage or not. Bezely read an email from Connie Buchanan of NCICG that said it would be a contract between the resident selected to receive the money and the contractor assigned to do the work which would not require prevailing wage. More discussion ensued. Bezely explained how moving forward came about. All council members were contacted and all information was given regarding a decision to go forward with this application because Connie Buchanan needed an answer before our next meeting. Village President Cattani advised Bezely to move forward with applying since the count was 4 trustees including Cattani were in favor and 3 trustees were not.

At 7:45 pm Thrasher motioned/Nicholson second to move out of regular session into executive session to discuss 5ILCS 120/2 (c) (2) Collective negotiating matters between public employers and their employees or representatives.

Ayes: Margherio, Nelson, Nicholson, Ruggerio, Thrasher - Motion carried 5-0

At 8:10 pm we entered back into regular session.

Roll Call: Margherio, Nelson, Nicholson, Ruggerio, Thrasher - Motion carried 5-0

Nicholson asked about information he was given regarding attending a meeting in Putnam County to discuss the Fiberoptic Broadband grant opportunity for our area through NCICG. We are planning to attend this meeting to get more information. We are also currently in contact with SURF Internet.

Thrasher motioned/Nicholson second to adjourn.

Ayes: Margherio, Nelson, Nicholson, Ruggerio, Thrasher - Motion carried 5-0

The meeting adjourned at 8:16 pm

https://www.villageofladd.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/01/2024-01-09-MINUTES.pdf