Kankakee Times

City of Watseka City Council met July 22.

Here are the minutes provided by the council:

The meeting was called to order at 6:30pm by Mayor Marcier present were Alderman Muench, Petersen, Miller, Dewitt, Garfield & Alderwoman Rohlfs. Absent Alderman Brault and Pence.

Public Hearing on an Ordinance Providing for a Budget and Appropriation for General Corporate and Other Purposes for the Fiscal year Beginning May 1. 2025, and Ending April 30, 2026, for the City of Watseka, Iroquois County Illinois. City Attorney Cainkar opened the hearing, it was posted in the newspaper, an ordinance was on file, there were no questions, Public Hearing was closed.

A Motion was made by Muench, seconded by Garfield to Approve City Council Regular Meeting Minutes from June 27th, 2025. Motion passed 6-0.

Public Comment: Larry Hasbargen lives on Herron Court; he is in attendance to represent the families that live there. Mr. Hasbargen said that 40 plus loads of dirt were brought in, that’s a flood zone but you’re going to say you took it from your stockpile, I bet you took it from all over town when you did sewer repairs, I saw the pile of dirt, and it smelled like sXXX. He wants the dirt tested for contamination, the contract was not done right, and whoever the contractor was should come back and fix it, he is also checking with the courthouse to see if a variance was completed you need a variance to haul dirt into a flood zone, and I bet one wasn’t done. Mr. Hasbargen shared that there is a sinkhole that was filled with dirt where 2 pipes pulled apart and weren’t fixed. They took the dirt from a high spot to a low spot, did the council approve of this or did the mayor approve of this? His next stop is the health dept.; he wants the dirt checked. He also plans to check if the variance was filed, he states the dirt did not come from a flood zone, it came from a stockpile. Barb Manos stated that she went to FEMA.com and she read off a paper what she found, she asked if the proper certification was done and was it signed off by an engineer. She then also read from Quick Guide IDNR. Jody Billings, also of Herron Court stated that she was not here to give facts but to give some humanity she gave some history of Park Ave. that is gone from flooding where she grew up she wonders how these decisions are made when the residents have proof of a problem, she also shared that someone on the council could be affected by flooding. Tanner Cahoe stated he showed up tonight to talk to those people in attendance that he personally went out there to re-probe and see how low the pipe was, he has just taken over the ownership of that property and shared that there is no cover on the pipe. He said if the pipe were to float or break away, we would get a lot more water than we would by covering it. He is not saying to fill it with dirt or push water out or anything. He stated he feels that the city is trying to do the right thing, the pipe does need fixed, personally he is with those who are concerned that it needs fixed. Tim Billings asked a question he has worked with engineers in the past, why was a water way not cut out?

Ordinances, Resolutions, Agreements & Proclamations

• Ordinance #2754-Providing for A Budget and Appropriation for General Corporate and Other Purposes for the Fiscal Year Beginning May 1, 2025, and Ending April 30, 2026, for the City of Watseka, Iroquois County, Illinois

• Ordinance #2755- Authorizing the Purchase of Real Property Commonly Known as 1215 West Sugar Creek Court, Watseka, Illinois

Consent Agenda

• Ordinance #2754-Providing for A Budget and Appropriation for General Corporate and Other Purposes for the Fiscal Year Beginning May 1, 2025, and Ending April 30, 2026, for the City of Watseka, Iroquois County, Illinois

• Ordinance #2755- Authorizing the Purchase of Real Property Commonly Known as 1215 West Sugar Creek Court, Watseka, Illinois

A Motion was made by Miller, seconded by Rohlfs to set the Consent Agenda-Motion passed 6-0.

A Motion was made by Rohlfs, seconded by Muench to accept the Consent Agenda. Motion passed 6-0.

Standing Committee Reports

• Finance, Legal and Audit

A Motion was made by Garfield, seconded by Rohlfs Claims in the amount of $1,134,796.26 Motion passed 6-0. Mayor Marcier explained why the claims were so high this month.

A Motion was made by Rohlfs, seconded by Muench Accept and place on the file the June Treasurers report. Motion passed 6-0.

A Motion was made by Muench, seconded by Garfield Approve Balanced Budget for Fiscal year 2025-2026. Motion passed 6-0.

Public Works/Water Wastewater

A Motion was made by Miller, seconded by Rohlfs Ratify Public Works Labors Union Contract Local 751. Motion passed 6-0.

A Motion was made by Miller, seconded by Garfield Mark Clifton $2.00 per hour pay increase for CDL License effective 5/1/25. Motion passed 6-0.

A Motion was made by Rohlfs seconded by Miller Justin Posey $2.00 per hour pay increase for CDL License effective 5/1/25. Motion passed 6-0.

A Motion was made by Miller, seconded by Muench South 2nd St. & Cherry St. water Main Design Engineering from Robinson Engineering for $115,500 this will be paid with TIF money. Motion passed 6-0.

Discussion was then started about Herron Court, Public Works Director Loren shared he hopes that the residents of Herron Court see that they have been trying to make improvements for many years now, the storm sewer issue he inherited as well as the tile issue this was done by a previous Director yes, he would have done things differently. He understands the issues with the tile the warranty on the project is no longer valid so there is no going back to IPC to fix it. Loren touched on that there was not enough fill on the pipe, it floated down a swale we had bad weather, we lost a lot of dirt there was a crater in the soil we had to haul dirt. Mr. Hasbargen stated that Loren was lying that dirt had to be hauled away, Loren told Mr. Hasbargen yes, the dirt was gone but he did not know where it went, Mr. Hasbargen proceeded to tell Loren he was a liar. Loren shared that the tile versus the swale to keep the area dry, they will brush hog it 2x a year, to keep it from becoming a swamp. Loren also shared that the city trucks are 3-ton trucks not a semi load and he shared a picture of the property to the council. There is a section with fill, that was placed 3 feet on the pipe. Loren probed the area it was still at 12 inches the risk is of the pipe coming out of the ground. They had to bring in fill because a loose pipe will be a much bigger issue. Keith from Robinson surveyed the area to have balance the city brought in some material and some was brought out. Mayor Marcier asked if there was anything else that could be done. Loren shared to clean it up, let it settle and smooth things out, it must be maintained, slope it off there is nothing that we added that shouldn’t have already been there, again that was a previous Director not me. Keith added the west end gets lower, the pipe will be full all the time, Alderman Miller asked if possibly going with smaller pipe, Loren shared we need to keep it clear that will help with water flow this will not solve any flooding issues discarding it properly.

Public Safety

None-Alderman Muench shared that this was not on the agenda but the tasers that were ordered there was a miscommunication they sent training vouchers to send someone to the class, the class is August 7th & 8th, they will be sending a person and the benefit from this is that the person they send can certify future officers.

Code Enforcement

A Motion was made by Garfield, seconded by Rohlfs Façade Grant for 123 N. 8th St. $4,836.72 (Victor Torres) Motion passed 6-0.

Miscellaneous Business

A Motion was made by Miller, seconded by Rohlfs Appoint Robert Harwood to Police Pension. Motion passed by 5 with Alderman Garfield abstaining.

Appoint Mark Garfield to Police Pension-tabled until next month.

A Motion was made by Miller, seconded by Rohlfs 4% Pay increase for: Code Enforcement, Police Secretary, Administrative Assistant, Public Works Director, Fire Chief, effective 5/1/2025. Motion passed 6-0.

A Motion was made by Garfield, seconded by Rohlfs to adjourn at 7:08pm. Motion passed 6-0.

https://www.watsekacity.org/media/4296