Village of Crete Village Board met June 27.
Here are the minutes provided by the board:
President Michael Einhorn called to order the regular board meeting of the President and the Board of Trustees of the Village of Crete at 7:02 p.m. and led those assembled in the Village of Crete Municipal Building, 524 W. Exchange St, Crete, Illinois in reciting the Pledge of Allegiance to the Flag.
On a roll call by Village Clerk Deborah Bachert the following were present in the municipal building: Trustees Steve Bruns, Stephen Johnson, John Phelan, Katrina Seifert, Mark Wiater and President Michael Einhorn. Trustee Holly Milburn was absent. A quorum was present.
Also in attendance: Administrator Mike Smith, Media Consultant Nick Borrell, Sue Peterson and various members of the community.
CITIZEN’S SPEAK
Visitors are always welcome to all public meetings of the President and Board of Trustees of the Village of Crete. Interested parties wishing to speak should identify their intent to speak, they then may give their name and where they reside if they so choose and then make their comment. Persons may also provide their address privately to the Village Clerk if they so choose; persons are advised that addresses are considered private information under the Freedom of Information Act and thus are exempt from disclosure pursuant to any Freedom of Information Act request. However, to give proper consideration to all items on the agenda, the President has the authority to limit participants in debates and will close repetitive or abusive remarks. In addition, public comment rules are posted in the board room.
Jim Hanus, Village Website – Reported on work he has completed on the website. See the list of items as follows for work that has been fixed/accomplished on the Village Website:
• Search box now located in top Navigation Bar
• Search box is also in Navigation Bar on Mobile Devices
• Implemented Search Engine Plug-In that will search for text with PDFs
• Search Engine will cache text in the database - When users search for a specific word or text in a PDF, the PDF will show up in the search results.
• Converted all Scanned PDFs to searchable text.
• Organized all PDFs into their respective folders on the website.
• Updated the Minutes and Agendas page to reflect the folders.
• Implemented a File Browser plug-in to view files in user friendly method.
• Users now have an efficient way to preview and/or download Minutes and Agenda PDFs.
• The File Browser plug-in can be used in many ways - We can display important files anywhere on the website.
• The file browser can be used for residents to download/preview online forms such as building permits, animal tag applications, etc.
Recommendations to be considered/completed:
- Use the File Browser to provide simple way for residents to download online forms.
- Give residents the option to fill out forms online and submit to respective department.
- Will have option to pay online, but this is up to the Village. PSN is not a supported payment processor unless it is done manually.
- Clean-up the home page. Make it look more appealing. Right now we only show latest news.
- We should be displaying upcoming agenda and most recent minutes.
- Quick links to certain departments of the website
- I noticed some towns record their minutes. We can setup live streaming hardware if this is needed.
- Waiting on village website email address from Mark. This will resolve the contact form email issues.
There were many people from the community attending the board meeting to ask questions and voice concerns. Following are some of the items discussed.
• A resident asked about the regulations of the painted yellow lines. President Einhorn answered that state law addresses the length and placement of the painted yellow lines on the streets / curbs.
• Paul Flowers was present asking to present information to residents about installing solar panels for energy solutions.
• Several people in the Williamsburg area asked when their water issues would improve. President Einhorn and Trustee Johnson explained the wait for parts for well house #3 is causing a delay in completion in this area. All wells in the Village serve to make one system. Wells cannot be moved. The work has been completed on the wells from the greatest use are to the smallest are of use. Two companies supplying parts went out of business during Covid and a new source for parts is in the works.
• Renee Chavez, Director at Crete Park, and David Seifert, Crete Library Director, were in attendance to ask for participation in a study being planned to learn about the needs and wants and the spending habits in the community. They will be asking for monetary contribution.
• A resident asked about the demolition at the old high school site and the conditions left unresolved. The broken rocks and glass remain dangerous in this area. The Village Board explained the resident must contact the school district as the Village cannot dictate the actions of the school board.
APPROVAL OF AGENDA:
Special orders
Unanimous Consent Agenda
All items on the Consent Agenda are considered to be routine in nature and will be enacted in one motion. There will be no separate discussion of these items unless a board member so requests, in which event, the item will be removed from the Consent Agenda and will be considered separately.
• Approval of Minutes : Regular Board Meeting – June 13, 2022
• Approval of Bills June 13, 2022 thru June 24, 2022
• Ratification of Payroll - Bi-weekly payroll ending June 15, 2022
Trustee Milburn was absent due to testing positive for Covid at 4 pm on June 27th.
Trustee Wiater approved the bills of Public Safety for Trustee Milburn.
In accordance with an opinion from the Illinois Attorney General’s Office, President Einhorn read aloud the items as listed for approval prior to action being taken on the Consent Agenda with brief explanations.
Motion and Vote for the Unanimous Consent Agenda:
A motion was made to approve the Unanimous Consent Agenda with the additions as listed above. Motion: Trustee Stephen Johnson Second: Trustee Steve Bruns
ON ROLL CALL:
Ayes (6) Trustees Bruns, Johnson, Phelan, Seifert, Wiater and President Einhorn
Nays (0) none Absent (1) Trustee Milburn Abstain (0) none Motion declared carried.
REPORTS: PRESIDENT AND TRUSTEES:
Public Health – Trustee Katrina Seifert – no report
Water Department – Trustee Stephen Johnson – no report
Road and Bridge – Trustee Steve Bruns – no report
Building and Grounds – Trustee John Phelan – no report
Finance, License and Ordinance – Trustee Mark Wiater
• Will have a new ordinance for the next meeting with a change in the composition of the Police Department.
Public Safety – Trustee Holly Milburn – absent; no report
President Michael Einhorn
• Noted the shortage of fire department personnel and the challenges being met by working with other neighboring departments to service calls as needed.
COMMITTEE AND DEPARTMENT REPORTS:
Village Administrator – Michael Smith
• Curb preparation has been completed for upcoming road work.
• TIF bids are expected to be received for sidewalk work in the downtown.
• Several taxing bodies have been asked to participate in the University of Illinois survey program. There will be a cost for participation to be determined by the number of participants.
• Alley work bids are due on July 6th for the bid opening. Agreement forms have been sent to all property owners.
Police Department – Chief of Police Scott Pieritz – Report submitted
• Sangamon Street Speed Limit: There has been discussion on the speed limit on Sangamon Street between Exchange St. and south of Wayne St. Conclusion: Due to the “old high school” being torn down, this eliminated some of the school zone issues with children walking to school. The Crete-Monee Administration (1500 Sangamon) still has pre-kindergarten school, however, these kids are dropped off my parents, and do not walk. There are some kids walking to Crete-Monee High School which is still a safety concern. Heritage Park is still a safety concern, as is the general public and bike riders. The speed limit just south of Heritage Park (in unincorporated Will Count jurisdiction) is 30 mph). Recommendation to Village Board: Raise the speed limit on Sangamon Street to 30 mph. Keep School Zone signs posted and remain at 20 mph while school is in session. This has been discussed with representatives from the Crete Park District and Crete-Monee High school District who agreed with this decision.
• Presentation on Recruitment/Retention Efforts: Sgt. Konvalinka and Chief Pieritz plan to present to the board on this topic in the not too distant future.
• New Community Policing Initiative: The police department is launching a new community policing initiative to include new community engagement, events, activities, and programs. There is a new Facebook page to announce this new program that will be up and running soon.
• New Recruits: Three (3) new recruits are doing well in the academy. Once they graduate, they will enter (12) weeks of field training on the street.
• Staff Meeting: A recent staff meeting of 4 ½ hours with department supervisors was held. The summer call request is increasing for service, crime, and new initiatives. The department is moving to a new officer evaluation program, scheduling in-house training (Use of Force, CPR re certification, Tactical Emergency Medicine, Taser re-certification, evidence collection, fire arms re-certification, and rapid response). The FLOCK camera system should be 100% online in the next month.
Fire Department –
Superintendent of Public Works – Justin Pancrazio – Report submitted; absent
Building Department – Building Inspector Mike Smith – Report submitted
Code Enforcement – Code Enforcement Supervisor Marty Braccio - absent
Fire & Police Commission – Jim McPhee - absent
EMA – Marty Braccio
• Clerk Bachert announced “Congratulations” to Lt. Ryan Allison who has qualified as an Associate Emergency Manager (AEM) through the International Association of Emergency Managers.
Animal Control/Code Enforcement Officer – Ryan Allison - absent
Planning Commission – Karen Tellef - absent
Heritage & Architecture Commission – Phyllis Monks - absent
Media Consultant – Nick Borrell
• A video about non-legal Fireworks and their dangers will be posted to the web.
• There is a new Starbucks video.
• Promoted the upcoming 5-0 car race that will be held on September 24th. Officer Taylor drives the Crete PD car in the race. Proceeds/donations from the race benefit Illinois Special Olympics.
COMMUNICATIONS:
Warrants:
Excise (Telecom. Tax) – (Col. April) 2022-$ 9,017.52 2021-$ 10,016.81
Local Use – (Col. June) 2022-$ 28,913.09 2021-$ 27,459.68
Sales Tax – (Col. April) 2022-$ 98,242.30 2021-$101,042.15
Sales Tax of ½ percent – (Col. April) 2022-$ 40,620.49 2021-$ 36,395.19
Income Tax – (Col. June) 2022-$ 78,931.62 2021-$121,936.30
MFT Allotment – (Col. June) 2022-$ 27,799.80 2021-$ 26,986.31
Pers. Prop. Rep. Tax–(Col) 2022-$ 2021-$
ComEd Utility Tax (Col.) 2022-$ 2021-$ Nicor Utility Tax (Col.) 2022-$ 2021-$
Video Gaming Report (Col. April) 2022-$ 25,175.22 2021-$ 26,477.07
• Annual request/notification from the Salvation Army for their Red Kettle Campaign to be held from Monday, November 1st through Saturday, December 24th, 2022. Board action may be taken.
• Reminder of the Saturday, July 9th 2022 Main Street Exchange event supporting NAMI which is related to suicide awareness and prevention.
• President Einhorn received a thank you letter from SSMMA for supporting the first ever Celebrate the Southland Gala. Thanks to Trustee Seifert for preparing the basket from the Village for this event. Plans are underway for an event in 2023.
• Judy Petrungaro of the Crete Chamber sent an announcement for June 29th at 6 pm at Aurelios: The Crete Country Christmas planning group will meet. Helpers/volunteers are appreciated.
• Heidi Gonzales sent notification of Village Woods hosting a “Tiki Time Thursday” business after hour’s event on Thursday July 21st. Hours are 4:30 – 6:30 pm.
OLD BUSINESS:
• No Old Business was discussed.
NEW BUSINESS:
1. Discussion regarding implementation of a monthly “Small Business Saturday” that will be honored village wide. Purposes in which to foster local support for our businesses within the village of Crete. Board action may be taken.
Trustee Seifert is asking for input and possible support of the board members to designate one day a month as a “Shop Local” event throughout the Village. There would be no cost to the Village. Details are yet to be decided. The idea is in the creation stage. It was mentioned that the Chamber should be involved in this type of planning and that all businesses receive information on the planning, whether or not they belong to the chamber.
A motion was made to close the open session of the board meeting at 8:42 pm and to enter into Executive Session for the purpose of Consideration of the purchase or lease of real property for the use of the public body, including discussion of whether a particular parcel should be acquired. (5 ILCS 120/2 C 5).
Motion: Trustee Mark Wiater Second: Trustee Steve Bruns
ON ROLL CALL:
Ayes (6) Trustees Bruns, Johnson, Phelan, Seifert, Wiater and President Einhorn
Nays (0) none Absent (1) Trustee Milburn Abstain (0) none Motion declared carried.
EXECUTIVE SESSION: Consideration of the purchase or lease of real property for the use of the public body, including discussion of whether a particular parcel should be acquired. ( 5 ILCS 120/2 C 5)
The board returned from Executive session at 9:33 pm.
A motion was made to reopen the regular session of the board meeting at 9:34 pm.
Motion: Trustee Mark Wiater Second: Trustee Steve Bruns
Ayes (5) Trustees Bruns, Johnson, Phelan, Seifert, Wiater
Nays (0) none Absent (1) Trustee Milburn Abstain (0) none Motion declared carried.
No additional discussions or comments were made.
ADJOURNMENT:
As there was no further business to come before the board, a motion was made to declare the meeting adjourned at 9:35 p.m.
Motion: Trustee Stephen Johnson Second: Trustee Mark Wiater
Ayes (5) Trustees Bruns, Johnson, Phelan, Seifert, Wiater
Nays (0) none Absent (1) Trustee Milburn Abstain (0) none Motion declared carried.
https://villageofcrete.org/wp-content/uploads/2022/07/06-27-2022-minutes.pdf
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