Illinois Valley Times

Village of Ladd Village Board met Aug. 12

Here are the minutes provided by the board:

The Ladd Village Board met in regular session on Tuesday, August 12, 2025, in 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 Patrick Flanagan, Jan Martin, Dan Nelson, Brad Nicholson, Molly Thrasher, and Bernie Victor (6)

In attendance: Engineer, Adam Ossola; Police Chief, Jacob Frund; Deputy Clerk/Treasurer, Julie

Koch; Admin Asst., Samantha Sarosinski; and Clerk, Rhonda Bezely.

Nicholson motioned/Martin seconded to accept the July 22, 2025, regular meeting minutes as presented.

Ayes: Flanagan, Martin, Nelson, Nicholson, Thrasher, Victor - Motion carried

Nelson motioned/Thrasher seconded to authorize payment of the bills of $162,529.17

Ayes: Flanagan, Martin, Nelson, Nicholson, Thrasher, Victor - Motion carried

Correspondence: None

Public Comment: None

Committee Reports: Nelson stated that Central Tank Coating has done a nice job on the north water tower located in the annex. He said it is really clean and shining in the sun. This water tower was painted this year. Nelson & Victor addressed the tree at 231 S. Selby Ave. It was reported to have been struck by lightning. Nelson stated that it has quite a few dead branches, and the homeowner would like it removed. Nelson and Victor recommend the removal of this tree. He would like to plant a new tree. Nelson stated it is 60% dead.

Village Engineer: Old Business: Hoerr Televising Recommendations for Sewer Repairs: Ossola stated that after watching the video Hoerr provided and looking at their recommendations, he made up a sheet that specifically discusses these areas and also provided pictures of these pipes and a map on the back showing the locations of these repairs. Two large lines on the East side of town need to be lined due to tree roots. These are main lines to the Village’s sewer. There is also a line that runs between the two main lines we need to address. This one is cracked severely, so it will not be able to be lined. This is an overflow line. Ossola suggests we repair it, but it could be dug up and replaced in the future. Victor asked if we don’t replace it in a timely manner, what would happen, and Ossola said it would likely collapse and cause a sinkhole. The last area noted by Hoerr was between Bureau and Main Ave from Pine Street south. Pipe is in reasonably good condition, but it could benefit from adding a manhole in the upstream to facilitate cleaning. The approximate cost of this specific issue is approximately $10,000.00. Ossola suggested a CDBG grant application to help pay for this. If the Village would like to move forward with this grant, Ossola stated that we need to let NCICG know so they can get the income survey done on the East side of town, only in the area of these two Lines. This grant bids the end of 2025 in December. We would not know if we were awarded the grant until 2026, and the work likely would not be bid or a contractor selected, and the project would not start until the end of 2026 at the earliest, and more likely in 2027. The CDBG grant has no match up to $600,000.00 award. The village would pay the application fee and engineering costs. Discussion ensued. Ossola stated the Village may want to hire Hoerr Construction to do the work. This may be less expensive than applying for the grant in the long run. We will begin by conducting the income survey and use the results to guide our next steps. This will help us determine eligibility and identify the best path forward. Victor motioned/Nicholson seconded to hire NCICG to perform an income study, and if the Village qualifies, apply for the CDBG grant to include all reported concerns (A-D listed on the 8/11/25 Memorandum re: Review of 2025 Sewer Televising), provided by Chamlin Engineering, supplying all necessary engineering information to complete the grant.

Ayes: Flanagan, Martin, Nelson, Nicholson, Thrasher, Victor - Motion carried

New Business: Water Treatment Plant Roof: Ossola stated that back in May, we discussed the condition of the 20-year-old roof on the Water Treatment Plant and decided to go out for bids in the fall to hopefully obtain a lower bid due to roofers being less busy. Ossola has a bid package put together and asked the council if they’re ready to go out for bids.

Martin motioned/Nicholson seconded to go out for bids on the Water Treatment Plant Roof using the Bid Package that Ossola put together.

Ayes: Flanagan, Martin, Nelson, Nicholson, Thrasher, Victor - Motion carried

Superintendent’s Report: Not in Attendance

Police Chief: Chief Frund reported he has been very busy with administrative things and FOIA requests. He and Sarosinski are also getting the Traffic Garden from the Safe Routes to School 2023 grant award finalized and ready for kids to participate.

Building Inspector: Not in Attendance

Village Attorney: Not in Attendance

Old Business: Roll Offfor Yard Waste in 2026: Julie Koch spoke with a Republic employee regarding bringing a roll off into the Village for residents to put yard waste in. Koch stated that there is a $50 delivery fee and a $350.00 fee to dump the 20-yard roll-off once full. Concerns included the location of the roll off, residents' ability to bring bags of yard waste to the location of the roll off (not everyone has a truck to put the bags in), and monitoring this roll off so tires, TVs, etc., don’t get put into the roll off and fill it up. Discussion ensued. It was felt to leave the yard waste program as is for next year.

The cost increases every year. The 2026 yard waste pickup will be from April through November, and the price will be $105.84 per resident.

New Business: Garbage Rates Beginning October 1st, 2025: Garbage rates from Republic Services increase to $20.95 per resident on October 1, 2025. The council was provided information on the cost, revenue, and property tax money we receive from paid taxes for the garbage fund. After a lengthy discussion, they reached a decision. We will revisit the garbage rates next August to set the billing rates for October 1, 2026.

Nelson motioned/Nicholson seconded to Increase Garbage Rates from $13 per household to $15 per household monthly, starting October 1, 2025. 

Ayes: Flanagan, Martin, Nelson, Nicholson, Thrasher, Victor - Motion carried

Old Business: Chicken Guidelines: This was tabled until Attorney Pat Barry returns from being out of town.

New Business: Safe Routes to School Application 2025: Discussion ensued regarding the best route to put on our application. After a lengthy discussion, it was decided to continue the project east on the north side of the road from Summit to Eastern, stopping at the Duplex on the West side of the road. Then crossing over to the South Side of Cleveland and taking the sidewalk to where the Hollingers’ driveway ends, which is just before the tracks. We need to get permission from the Railroad for future grants to cross these tracks.

Victor motioned/Nicholson seconded for the 2025 Safe Routes to School Grant Application through NCICG to go from Summit to Eastern on the North Side of E Cleveland, then cross Cleveland and go east to the Railroad tracks on the South Side of Cleveland, and also replace sidewalk on LaSalle Ave from Locust to Cleveland on the East Side of the block and Authorize President Cattani and Clerk Bezely to sign this application.

Ayes: Flanagan, Martin, Nelson, Nicholson, Thrasher, Victor - Motion carried

New Business: Pass Ordinance 1194: Bezely explained that Atty. Barry stated that the IL Department of Revenue reached out and requested a change be made to the Original Ordinance. Section 6 needed to state the actual date this tax would begin.

Victor motioned/Nicholson seconded to pass Ordinance 1194, An Amended Ordinance Implementing a Municipal Grocery retailer's Occupation Tax and a Municipal Grocery Service Occupation Tax for the Village of Ladd, Bureau County, Illinois, with the amended date of January 1, 2026, as requested by the IL Department of Revenue.

Ayes: Martin, Nelson, Nicholson, Flanagan, Thrasher, Victor, and President Cattani – motion carried

New Business: Sewer Backup: Michael & Michelle Garcia had an emergency at their home and were unable to attend tonight’s meeting to discuss the 2 feet of sewer backup they experienced on July 30, 2025, in their basement.

Announcements: Bezely announced that Conxxus is starting to bore in fiber. They will eventually have representatives going door to door explaining the speeds and rates available. They will get Peddler Permits from the Village of Ladd. The council asked the Clerk’s office to put this information on Facebook and our Website to keep the people updated. Suarez & Associates is merging with Brennan & Stuart for their Group Insurances – health, dental & vision. We will meet our new representative next week. Bezely explained that Ladd Grade School got a new chiller, AC unit, and it was larger than the previous one. A new concrete pad and fence were needed. The council waived their permit fee in 2005. Bezely asked if the council wanted her to bill the school for the additional fencing. The council stated that it would waive any fees. SURF fiber-optic should be contacting the Village soon to set up their installation. A pricing sheet in the council's packets showing various venues in our area and their rental fees, along with fees for the Ladd Community Center. It was inadvertently omitted in the July meeting packet when the future of the community center was being discussed. Ladd Solar 2 & 3 went to a vote tonight at the Bureau County Zoning meeting. The latest update heard was that if the application submitted follows all the requirements, this will likely go through when the County Board meets and votes. Discussion ensued, and the Village wonders why we could appeal the setback issue, but none of this seems to matter. The owner of the property putting on the solar has every right to do it. It’s their land, which is how it was explained, and they have every right to do it as long as they have followed the requirements. Again, it is not 1 ½ miles from the Village limits, so we still don’t know why that is not being addressed. Some of the Republic Services employees have been on strike, which has caused problems with yard waste pickup in the Village.

We’re in a contract until September 30, 2028, with Republic. We are hoping they get things ironed out and all garbage, recycling, and yard waste pickup returns to normal. Sheffield Public Restrooms: Trustee Nelson was in Sheffield recently and took pictures of the Men’s restroom to show how nice they are. Community Center grass cutting – Bezely called TNT and talked with Todd about a few concerns President Cattani had. The JULIE flags were removed per BJ, so when the grass is cut on Thursday, all the overgrown patches of grass will be cut. The ditch looks bad because they are alternating directions on every cut, which leaves the ditch looking bad. Bogatitus will fix that this Thursday when they cut again.

Nicholson motioned/Martin seconded to adjourn.

Ayes: Martin, Nelson, Nicholson, Thrasher, Victor - Motion carried

The meeting adjourned at 8:01 pm.

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