Village of Elwood Board of Trustees Met Jan. 6.
Here is the minutes provided by the board:
The Regular Meeting of the Village Board of Trustees, Village of Elwood, January 6, 2021, at 7:00 PM, was called to order by Village President Doug Jenco.
EXECUTIVE ORDER NO. 2020-73 / COVID-19 EXECUTIVE ORDER NO. 69
Governor JB Pritzker announced that due to a resurgence of COVID-19, the State of Illinois is moving into Tier 3 enhanced mitigations. Tier 3 mitigations went into effect statewide at 12:01 am Friday, November 20, 2020. The executive order imposes the Tier 3 enhanced mitigations that impact government meetings. The governmental agencies are encouraged to hold public meetings remotely as long as they follow meeting requirements.
In order to constitute a quorum and participation, each member of the public body participating by audio or video conference for a meeting held under these provisions is considered present at the meeting for purposes of determining a quorum and participating in all proceedings.
Role Call
Physically Present: Village Board President Doug Jenco, Village Board Trustees: Darryl Lab, Ron Schmidt, Tricia Maas, Michael Varman, and Kendy Elberson
Remotely Present: Village Board Trustees Jodie Bertucci
Also, Physically Present: Village Administrator/Village Clerk Julie Friebele, Director of Public Works Larry Lohmar, Police Chief Fred Hayes, and Attorney Jordan Kielian
The Meeting Opened with the Pledge to the Flag
Presentations and Public Hearings
No Presentations were given, no Public Hearings were held.
Public Comments – Pertaining to Agenda Items
Members of the audience remotely present nor physically present, did not have public comments pertaining to agenda items.
Consent Agenda
A motion was made by Trustee Schmidt to approve the Consent Agenda as follows:
• Presentation of Minutes – December 9, 2020
• Presentation of Bills – Paid Invoice Report November 4, 2020 through December 8, 2020 in the amount of $49,979.65.
• Presentation of Bills – Paid Invoice Report December 10, 2020 through January 3, 2021 in the amount of $25,092.75.
• Presentation of Bills – Unpaid Invoice Report in the amount of $88,979.84.
Trustee Varman seconded the motion. A vote was called: Trustee Maas – yes, Trustee Varman – yes, Trustee Elberson – yes, Trustee Bertucci – yes, Trustee Schmidt – yes, Trustee Lab – yes. The motion carried.
REPORTS & COMMUNICATIONS FROM VILLAGE OFFICIALS
Administration – Village Administrator Julie Friebele
November 2020 Financial Report
The November 2020 Financial Report prepared by Finance Director Robbie Day was presented to the Village Board for review. The report represents the Village of Elwood’s year to date revenues, expenses, and end of the month fund cash balances.
Police Department – Chief Fred Hayes
During the month of November 2020
The Elwood Police Department responded to 511 calls for service. For more details concerning the types of calls, residents can visit the Village of Elwood website.
Police officers issued a total of 259 citations: (The reason for the low year to date number is due to the COVID19 Pandemic)
• Local Citations (O.V.) 7
• State Citations 252
• Overweight Violations (10)
• Monthly Total 259
• Year to Date Total 2043
Arrest Report Summary:
• Traffic Arrests 39
• Warrant Arrests 3
• Criminal 1
• Monthly Total 43
• Year to Date Total 315
TRAINING REPORT:
OFFICER CLASS DATE Hours
Due to COVID-19 All Training Was Cancelled
Total Training Hours: 0
Public Works – Director of Public Works Larry Lohmar
WWTP
Multiple items have been prepared at the water & wastewater plant for winter, which included the draining of pipes, greasing and servicing motors and pumps, and additional repairs in planning for the winter months.
Storm Drains
Public Works spent a great deal of time cleaning the roadways and clearing out the Village’s storm drains of sludge and debris in preparation for winter.
Well 8 Generator
During our last power outage, it was a great feeling knowing that the generator at Well 8 was running and supplying water to the residences. This was a luxury we haven’t had in the past.
Police Sally Port
Staff installed a forced air gas heater unit in the police sally port in an effort to keep the pipes from freezing while the Village boiler is not in operation.
Snow & Ice Storm
Public Works staff over the holidays worked 125 hours and traveled 1188 miles plowing snow and spreading 158 tons of salt on Village roadways to keep them passable and clear of snow and ice.
Work Along Route 53
A contractor is doing work along Route 53 for ComEd. The contractor is boring lines and installing black pipe from ComEd’s St. Louis Street substation into Joliet as part of a ComEd upgrade.
Authorization for Well 10 Repairs
Well 10 has failed after trouble shooting, it was determined that the windings in the motor have failed. The Well 10 pump was already pulled twice and probably should be replaced. Instead of incurring the fees to pull and inspect the pumping equipment it might be cost effective to pull and replace the pumping equipment. The Village received a quote from Municipal Well & Pump to replace Well 10 motor and pump and new piping and wiring in the amount of $201,240.00. A motion was made by Trustee Lab to authorize Municipal Well & Pump to replace Well 10 motor and pump, new piping and wiring in the amount not to exceed $201,240.00. Trustee Schmidt seconded the motion. A vote was called: Trustee Maas – yes, Trustee Varman – yes, Trustee Elberson – yes, Trustee Bertucci – yes, Trustee Schmidt – yes, Trustee Lab – yes. The motion carried.
Village Administrator – Julie Friebele
Candidates for the April 6, 2021 Consolidated Election
The Village of Elwood will have the following positions available:
(1) Village President, four-year term
Petition Received for Nomination
• Douglas Jenco
(3) Trustee Positions, four-year term
Petitions Received for Nomination
• Ron Schmidt
• Jodie A. Bertucci
• Kendy Elberson
Holiday Event
Typically, the Village hosts a tree lighting ceremony, although this year being as it may with the Pandemic the Village had a Christmas Parade instead on Friday, December 11th. Public Works Director and staff built an incredible sleigh for our two (2) guests of honor, Mr. and Mrs. Claus, (Paul & Jill Mihelich) freezing cold and soaking wet, there were no complaints only HO HO HO’s Merry Christmas Elwood throughout the Village, they did an amazing job and brought joy to all! Mayor Jenco and Trustees Darryl Lab, Michael Varman, Tricia Maas, and Ron Schmidt all rode the Christmas tram and endured the raining sleet throughout the whole town. Not a single person that was out in the cold wet weather complained about it, instead they all talked about how wonderful it was to see the residents come out even in the frigid rainy weather to see the parade and be part of the celebration.
Also participating in the parade were Elwood’s Police Dept., Public Works, Administrative Staff, Elwood/Manhattan Library, Jackson Township, Midewin, and the Elwood Fire Department. Thank you to all that participated and made the 2020 Village Christmas Parade so special!
DECO Grant $750,000
On December 30, 2020 we received from David E. Parr, Deputy Director, Office of Grants Management a PDF copy of the Village’s fully executed Grant Agreement. The Village is hopeful to receive the first portion of funds within the next 30 days. Once received we intend to move forward with the heating/cooling system in the Village Hall building as quickly as possible.
Village President – Doug Jenco
• Thank you to all that were involved in the Christmas parade. Thank you, Larry and staff, for building the amazing sleigh, I am proud of the public works staff.
• Great job Public Works on keeping our roadways cleared during the snow.
• The Beautification Committee does a wonderful job on the decorations in the Village.
• The Administration department does a fantastic job.
• Police Department continues to do a terrific job, even during the battle they had with the COVID19 Pandemic.
We are moving forward and starting 2021 on a positive step. Happy 2021 to everyone!
Other Business
Special thank you to the WalMart distribution center for coordinating with Elwood School for a contest for grades kindergarten through 2nd grade. In each grade there were two (2) winners, and the winners received bicycles.
The Village received seven (7) gift cards worth $50 each to pass out to residents that might have fallen on hard times and could use a little help. Realizing that the Elwood School would be more familiar with families that are going through difficult times the Village turned over the gift cards to the Elwood School to distribute.
COVID19 has affected most households in one way or another. At the Board meeting held on December 9, 2020 the Village Board recommended during these unprecedented times to assist our residents by giving each household receiving a Water/Sewer Utility Bill from the Village of Elwood a one-time credit of $50.00. The credit was applied to their December 2020 bill and we received many comments from our residents expressing how grateful they were to receive this gift and how thoughtful and kind it was!
Public Comments
Members of the audience comments:
• It was great to see all of the people out enjoying the Sledding hill.
• Happy New Year, thank you for all you do.
Closed Session
No closed session.
Actions To Be Taken Following The Closed Session Meeting
No closed session, no actions were taken.
Adjournment
A motion was made by Trustee Maas to adjourn the meeting. Trustee Schmidt seconded the motion. A vote was called: Trustee Maas – yes, Trustee Varman – yes, Trustee Elberson – yes, Trustee Bertucci – yes, Trustee Schmidt – yes, Trustee Lab – yes. The motion carried.
http://www.villageofelwood.com/AgendaCenter/ViewFile/Minutes/_01062021-610
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