Kankakee Times

Village of Ashkum Board of Trustees met Jan. 6.

Here are the minutes provided by the board:

The Ashkum Village Board met Monday, January 6, 2025 @ the village hall. Present were Paul Heideman, Donna Schmitz, Mike Cotter, Shannon Meier, Angie Wycoff, Shelley Ponton, Ellen Mikeworth, and April Lyons. Maintenance Supervisor Derek Miller, Treasurer Krystal Alberts, and Therese Simoneau from The Advocate, were also in attendance.

President Heideman called the meeting to order at 7:00 p.m.

Clerk Donna Schmitz emailed the minutes of the December 17, 2024 meeting. Shannon Meier moved to approve the minutes as sent, seconded by Mike Cotter, and the motion passed. Clerk Schmitz also emailed the minutes of the December 23, 2024 Special Board meeting. Mike Cotter moved to approve the minutes as sent, seconded by Angie Wycoff and the motion passed.

NEW BUSINESS/VISITORS

President Heideman recognized Maintenance Supervisor Derek Miller who reported on the following:

Ø Derek reported the backflow protectors have been tested for the village and Fire Department.

Ø Seals have been installed on the new door at the park and on the entry door to the village hall.

Ø Everything is going well at this time.

OLD BUSINESS

President Heideman reported on the following:

Ø Todd Lemenager sent pictures of the work he completed on the house on Fourth Street. When Todd gets back from his extended vacation in Florida, Derek Miller, Building Inspector, and Logan Mathy will walk through and make sure the changes meet our building codes. Derek reported they would take pictures and make a list of everything that needs to be done and then talk to Jim Glenn for his expertise.

Ø President Heideman gave the information on the sewer grant (for unsewered communities) to Neil Piggush to review.

Ø President Heideman reported Neil Piggush contacted him and will send us a contract for the water main project. Mr. Piggush would like to have something signed so they can get started on it for summer. Neil called Derek and said he would like to start the engineering now and; on top of that, Ashkum has to fill out a source water protection plan. Neil said he could do it for us and could add the cost of what it would cost to do into the EPA loan. During the discussion that followed, it was suggested that since Mr. Piggush is familiar with filling out the forms, we should let him do it for us. Ellen Mikeworth moved to have Neil Piggush fill out the forms for the source water protection plan and to include the cost for doing it into the EPA loan, seconded by Shelley Ponton and the motion passed.

COMMITTEE REPORTS

Trustee April Lyons had no report.

Trustee Ellen Mikeworth had no report but reminded the board the garbage rates are going up in February.

Trustee Shelley Ponton asked if we’ve received demolition prices yet and was advised we haven’t.

Trustee Angie Wycoff had no report.

Trustee Shannon Meier reported she’d asked Maintenance Supervisor Derek Miller if he could use part time help this summer as her son Derek would be available. Derek reported there’d be painting and power washing projects he could use extra help doing.

Trustee Mike Cotter had no report.

Clerk Donna Schmitz distributed invitations to the February 8th Annual Awards Banquet. RSVP’s are due February 5th.

Treasurer Krystal Alberts reported she could meet with the Finance Meeting next Tuesday at 6:00 p.m.

As there was no further business to come before the board, Angie Wycoff moved to adjourn the meeting at 7:29 p.m., seconded by Shannon Meier and the motion passed.

The next scheduled meeting will be Tuesday, January 21, 2025 at 7:00 p.m. at the village hall.

https://ashkum.net/meeting-minutes