Will County Gazette

Village of Manhattan Board of Trustees met Feb. 20.

Here are the minutes provided by the board:

A Regular Meeting of the Village of Manhattan President and Board of Trustees was held on Tuesday, February 20, 2024.

CALL TO ORDER:

Mayor Adrieansen calls the Village of Manhattan Board meeting to order at 6:00 P.M.

ROLL CALL:

Neighbors aye, Young aye, Dilling aye, Beemsterboer aye, Adamski absent, Doyle aye, Adrieansen aye (6 ayes, 0 nays, 1 absent). Also present are Lewis, Nelson, Pintar, Gehrke, Wold, Doyle, and Attorney Taylor.

PUBLIC HEARING/RECOGNITIONS/SPECIAL ITEMS:

Mayor Adrieansen presents states that Officer Robert Bernardy will be sworn-I as a full-time police officer.

Village Clerk Lewis Swears In Officer Robert Bernardy.

PUBLIC COMMENT:

There is no public comment.

CONSENT AGENDA:

Doyle Motion to Approve the Consent Agenda which consists of the February 6, 2024, Village Board Meeting Minutes, Executive Session Meeting Minutes, Including Audio, July-December 2023 (Not For Release), Approval of February 20, 2024, Bills List, and A Resolution Authorizing the Use of Foxford Drive and U.S. Route 52 on Saturday, June 15, 2024, for the Annual Dad’s Day Fundraiser (Dollars Against Diabetes). Beemsterboer Second. Roll Call: Neighbors aye, Young aye, Dilling aye, Beemsterboer aye, Adamski absent, Doyle aye (5 ayes, 0 nays, 1 absent, 0 abstain) Motion Carried.

NEW BUSINESS:

Mayor Adrieansen informs the Board of Trustees that the first item on the agenda is a Resolution Authorizing the Absorption of Fees for Online Payments and Increasing the Limit for Utility Bill Payments. The Village uses Invoice Cloud for online payments. Prior to COVID these fees were charged to the resident. However, due to COVID, it was viewed as prudent to keep contact to a minimum and the Village paid those fees and has ever since. Mayor Adrieansen states that there has also been a transaction limit amount of $200 and the Village is looking to increase that to $400.

Finance Director Gehrke informs the Village Board that the benefits of this process is that online bill payments have increased. There is an increased timeliness of bill payments, increased ease of recording payments. This reduces staff time needed for customer interaction during the payment process and it’s easier to input payments into the Village financial system. Finance Director Gehrke is recommending the board approve the proposed fee schedule Option 1: Fees absorbed by the Village; Utility Billing transactions with a credit card will cost $3.95 and have a cap of $400. ACH transactions will cost $0.95. No budget action is required as these fees are already included in the budget.

Young Motion to Approve a Resolution Authorizing the Absorption of Fees for Online Payments and Increasing the Limit for Utility Bill Payments. Neighbors Second. Roll Call: Young aye, Dilling aye, Beemsterboer aye, Adamski absent, Doyle aye, Neighbors aye (5 ayes, 0 nays, 1 absent, 0 abstain) Motion Carried.

Mayor Adrieansen informs the Board of Trustees that the next item on the agenda is the Fiscal Year 2024/2025 Proposed Budget as a First Read. This is another step in our annual budget process. Finance Director Gehrke has provided a board memo that highlights some key items in the proposed budget. Mayor Adrieansen states that a Committee of the Whole meeting will take place in March to review the budget and have an open discussion.

Mayor Adrieansen gives a few examples of major projects that can move forward in 2024/2025:

➢ Well 7 Project

➢ Baker Road Improvements east of Cedar

➢ Annual Road Maintenance

➢ S. Park Street

➢ Water Main Projects – Front Street and Manhattan Road

➢ New Fire Station Sewer and Water

➢ Trask Street Drainage Project

➢ Route 52 Watermain to support future economic development.

➢ Design work for Eastern Ave South

➢ Dog Park construction

Finance Director Gehrke informs the Village Board that he would like to see them all review what has been provided to them and will be setting up individual meetings with Trustees to review the budget and answer questions. Finance Director Gehrke states that there will be a public presentation of the budget and then the budget must be passed by April 30, 2024.

FROM VILLAGE OFFICIALS

Mayor Adrieansen announces the following:

➢ The Comprehensive Plan RFQ has been published and the final deadline for companies to submit their qualifications is March 1, 2024.

➢ The Village will be receiving funding of $75,000 towards our Comprehensive Plan from JADA. The next Village Board meeting will have an IGA and letter of request to receive that funding.

➢ Police and Fire battled in the Chili Cook-Off this past Sunday and the Police Department won! Congrats to them.

➢ The Park District has begun to demolish some of the old structures at the Round Barn.

The entire Village Board would like to congratulate Officer Robert Bernardy on becoming a full-time police officer for the Village of Manhattan. The Village Board would also like to congratulate the Manhattan Police Department for the win at the Chili Cook-off on Sunday, February 18th.

Dilling informs the Village Board that there are some safety items for the building that he would like placed on the agenda for the Next Village Board Meeting.

Village Clerk Lewis Announcements:

➢ Registration forms for the Annual Touch-A-Truck went out last week. The event is planned for Saturday, May 11, 2024, from 11:00 A.M. – 1:00 P.M. There will be food trucks, face painters, and a balloon twister.

➢ The next Senior Luncheon is scheduled for Wednesday, March 27th at 11:00 A.M. at the Hansen Community Center. The Mayor’s State of the Village video will be played for the attendees and the Park and Township will give a short update on the past year accomplishments and a look ahead.

REPORTS FROM VILLAGE STAFF

Monthly Reports for January 2024 in the Board Packet are presented to the Village Board for Finance, Police, EMA, Public Works, Village Engineer, and Building and Development.

Finance Director Gehrke gives the Village Board an update on the ERP System. Data cleanup in MSI is complete and the meeting for the Commercial Development module is coming up next week.

Police Chief Wold informs the Village Board thar there is a safety meeting with Police, Fire, and EMA the week before Irish Fest. Police Chief Wold informs the Village Board that he is working with Finance Director Gehrke to streamline the online golf cart registration process. It will be new and improved and easier for the resident. Police Chief Wold states that the Chili cook-off raised a total of $2,500 for Project Fire Buddies and Illinois Special Olympics.

Emergency Management Director Doyle states that they are gearing up for Irish Fest and will have plenty of help this year. Emergency Management Director Doyle would like to thank the Village Board for the purchase of the EMA truck. It has been delivered and it will be a tremendous help to the department.

ADJOURNMENT

Young Motion to Adjourn. Dilling Second. All are in Favor. Motion Carried.

Meeting Adjourned at 6:28 P.M.

https://cms7files1.revize.com/manhattanil/Agendas-Minutes/Village%20Board/2024/Minutes/02.20.2024.pdf