Kankakee Times

Village of Clifton Board of Trustees met Aug. 13.

Here is the minutes provided by the board:

Call to Order President Winkel called the meeting to order with the Pledge of Allegiance at 7:00 p.m.

Members Present: President Andrew Winkel, Trustees Jim Schoon, Casey Hull, Joe Kolosky, Paul Hess, and Randy Gigl (arrived at 7:05 p.m.), Members Absent: Trustee Brianne Ryan Also Present: Clerk Shannon James, Treasurer Sandy Tammen, Police Chief Jim Lehmkuhl, and Maintenance Supervisor Tim Kent (left at 7:53 p.m.). Mack Berry arrived at 7:48 p.m., left at 7:53 p.m. and returned at 7:54 p.m.

Approval of Minutes Hull moved and Koloksy seconded to approve the minutes of the Regular Meeting of the Clifton Village Board, July 16, 2018. 4/0 motion passed by acclamation.

Public Questions and Comments: None.

Planning Commission: No report.

Maintenance Department: See section below.

Building and Zoning: No report.

Police Department: No report.

Streets and Alleys: No report.

Water and Sewer Committee: See section below.

Budget and Finance Committee: No report.

Police and Public Safety Committee A Police and Public Safety Committee meeting is scheduled for tomorrow, August 14, 2018, to discuss policing with the Village of Ashkum.

Ordinance and Zoning Committee The Permitted Vehicles on Village Streets Ordinance is still pending as it is being reviewed by the village attorney. (Trustee Randy Gigl arrived at 7:05 p.m.)

Local Improvement Committee Schoon moved and Hess seconded to pay for removal of a dead tree at 250 Jensen Avenue and charge the homeowner $25.00 a month on the village utility bill for said property until the balance of tree removal is paid in full. This arrangement has occurred in the past. Kent will have the homeowner sign the agreement when it is ready. Roll call of votes. Ayes 5; Hull, Kolosky, Hess, Schoon, and Gigl. Nays 0. Motion carried.

John Caspary approached the village on behalf of the Clifton Community Development Corporation to request permission for the north greenway section to connect to the village electricity rather than go through the expense of opening an account for a short amount of time as the greenway will become the village’s in the future. The village would pay for the utility expense. Kolosky moved and Hull seconded to grant permission for the north greenway to connect LED lighting to the village electricity. Roll call of votes. Ayes 5; Kolosky, Hess, Schoon, Gigl, and Hull. Nays 0. Motion carried.

Treasurer’s Report/Payment of Bills Tammen presented the account balances sheet. Koloksy moved and Hull seconded to accept the treasurer’s report / balance sheet as presented. Roll call of votes. Ayes 5; Hess, Schoon, Gigl, Hull, and Kolosky. Nays 0. Motion carried.

See payment of bills section below.

Village Clerk Discussion was held on both the procedure to review and release closed session minutes as well as reasons why closed session minutes would be released. No motion to release closed session minutes was made.

Village President Kolosky moved and Hull seconded to approve the Ordinance Providing for the Regulation of and Application for Small Wireless Facilities in response to Public Act 100-0585 (Ordinance 2018-06). Roll call of votes. Ayes 5; Schoon, Gigl, Hull, Koloksy, and Hess. Nays 0. Motion carried.

Kolosky moved and Hull seconded to update the Fee/Fine Schedule to include fees for the Ordinance Providing for the Regulation of and Application for Small Wireless Facilities. Roll call of votes. Ayes 5; Gigl, Hull, Kolosky, Hess, and Schoon. Nays 0. Motion carried.

Winkel handed out additional proposed changes to the Fee/Fine Schedule related to water billing fees. The changes continue the process of including village fees on the schedule itself rather than in the ordinances. The update to the schedule will be included on the September board meeting agenda for consideration.

The water billing printer is no longer functioning. Winkel will research a printer that will print on billing cardstock. Kolosky moved and Hull seconded an expense not to exceed $500.00 for a Water Billing Printer. Roll call of votes. Ayes 5; Hull, Kolosky, Hess, Schoon, and Gigl. Nays 0. Motion carried.

Water and Sewer Kent reported the outside of the water tower is in need of washing and getting very close to needing paint. Painting the tower from the blue line down would take care of areas that need primed and painted as well as some areas that have rust. Jim Earleywine told Kent and Gigl rough estimates would be around $5,000 to have the tower power washed and could be upwards of $30,000 to do the top down. Kent said the tower needs to be at least power washed, and some spots primed and painted. Further discussion will be held at the committee level.

The committee has revisited drainage issues on the south side of the village. Improvement costs for that area will be many times higher than the drainage projects just undertaken on the northwest end of the village.

The committee also has been discussing tile blockages around the village. Three areas in particular have been discussed: apartment parking lot at the end of Spaulding, West First and Elliot, and the 100 Block of Seventh Avenue. Hemenover’s are interested in resurfacing the parking lot for the apartments at the end of Spaulding but would like to hold off until the village has solved the problem in that area so the new surface will not have to be dug up after completion. Gigl will be gathering estimates for the three areas for presentation at next month’s village board meeting.

Schoon reported a large amount of water is getting to the south left station. It is speculated that rubber gaskets around manholes may need attention or more likely, residents have sump pumps tied in to the system. Smoke testing and inspecting connections may need to be considered. Kent relayed the amount of water running through the sewer plant is huge. Discussion was held regarding what happens when the sewer plant reaches capacity as well as general issues at the plant, including resident use of “flushable” wipes which are not flushable and are a cause of problems at the plant.

Concluding Public Questions and Comments A concern was raised regarding the health of trees and bushes on the greenway. Discussion was held on the spring weather the village had as well as the lack of rain this summer. Hess relayed the trees are stressed but may recover. Hess also stated the fate of the trees may not be known for a good year or two. (Additional public questions and comments below.)

Maintenance Department (Berry arrived at 7:48 p.m.) Kent relayed findings regarding water pooling under the pool liner. The maintenance department has spent two hours a day pumping water out of the pool liner this summer. When the main pump went out, Kent noticed no water collected under the liner. He suspected the gutter drains and took the time to caulk all the gutter drains and patched a few holes in the liner. Within eight hours of the main pump being turned back on, water was collecting under the liner again. Suspecting a problem in the feed lines, either a crack or coupling problem, Kent reduced pressure from 20 to 12 lbs. After a day and a half of reduced pressure, there was no water collecting under the pool liner and there has not been any since then. Discussion was held on how to find out if there is an issue under the decking in the feed lines. Sending a camera through the lines was suggested as well as checking into a company that may be able to spray a seal coating in the lines. Kent will investigate the issue. (Kent and Berry left at 7:53 p.m. Berry returned at 7:54 p.m.)

Payment of Bills Tammen read the listing of bills to be paid as a full printed version was not available. One Comcast bill was withheld to investigate an abnormal charge. Hess moved and Schoon seconded to pay the bills as presented. Roll call of votes. Ayes 5; Kolosky, Hess, Schoon, Gigl, and Hull. Nays 0. Motion carried.

Concluding Public Questions and Comments Continued Berry had asked for copies of old minutes at the last board meeting and relayed his appreciation for receiving them. Berry presented another FOIA request: information related to the sales tax and gambling income misdirected to the county from the state that was owed to the Village of Clifton. Berry stated he is in no hurry for the information. Tammen replied she believes it is taken care of and went on to relay the village was receiving typically between $3,000.00 and $4,000.00 for sales tax up until March 2017 when the village received a payment of roughly $33,000.00. When Tammen questioned the state regarding what the payment was for they stated they could not tell her. Since that time the amounts have been higher than they were before the March 2017 payment. Tammen was also told by the state they could only go back nine (9) periods, although it is unclear what a period is. Video gaming in March 2017 jumped up between $1,000 and $2,000. Before that time it was typically around $700. Winkel relayed he will gather email communications regarding the matter for Berry. Tammen said her communication regarding the matter was in the form of phone calls so no records exist.

Adjournment Kolosky moved and Hull seconded to adjourn at 8:13 p.m. 5/0 motion passed by acclamation.

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