Village of Camargo
Board Meeting Minutes
REGULAR SESSION
Monday, March 11, 2024
The Village Board of the Village of Camargo met in Regular Session on Monday, March 11, 2024 at the Camargo Village Hall. The meeting was called to order by President Bart Dann at 6:03 pm. Roll call found the following trustees present: Nancy George, Jim Lansford, Jim Hardway, Jeane Breiland (arrived at 6:07), and Gary Gilpin. Village Superintendent Doug Raymer, Water Superintendent Kyle Raymer, and Village Treasurer Shirely Badman were all in attendance.
Public Comment:
Wade Lorenz and Billy White: Mr. Lorenz and Mr. White were present asking questions about the electric co-op. Mr. Lorenz wanted to know if it was legit. Per President Dann, yes it is a program that is authorized by the Coles County Aggregate. As of right now, those rates are lower than Ameren. Each resident has the option to opt-in or opt-out.
Marie Taylor: Mrs. Taylor was present regarding on-going issues with someone in their neighborhood. She has to be extremely careful when taking her dog out. Someone opened her gate and left it open, and luckily their dog didn’t get out. This person is also parking on their lawn.
Kevin Earl: Mr. Earl also has several complaints regarding the same person in their neighborhood. He has an aerial photo of the property (photo shown to board members). He would like to raise concerns regarding Gage Bailey. He parks in front of the fire hydrant, and Mr. Earl would like to see parking only on one side of the street. Mr. Bailey starts fires in the backyard of the property on the other side of Mr. Bailey’s residence. They often have noxious fumes and loud booms. Mr. Bailey has two vehicles on his property that are unlicensed, and Mr. Earl overheard him talking about Mr. Bailey bringing another vehicle in. He is selling wood off of the property that is being brought in from Bees Trees (a tree trimming company that Mr. Bailey works for). We are zoned residential, and Mr. Earl believes that Mr. Bailey should not be allowed to sell wood off the property. He also has 5-6 lawn mowers and a dune buggy.
President Dann stated that he was present when he parked in front of the fire hydrant, and he was made to move it.
Mr. Bailey also revs his vehicles up at 9pm – knowing well that he has until 10pm.
Mrs. Angela Earl: Mrs. Earl stated he comes outside and calls the neighbors (specifically her) bad names.
Mr. Earl stated the police won’t do anything, and they have been notified several times.
Mrs. Taylor asked how long he could burn, and what all is allowed to be burnt? She was informed by the Board that he could burn wood until dusk, unless there was a bonfire. He should only be burning wood.
Mr. Earl stated he burnt the Mediacom cable, but no one can prove it. He stated that Mr. Bailey is very retaliatory. Mrs. Earl stated the cable was sliced with a knife. Mediacom is moving the cable.
President Dann stated he spoke with Mediacom,and they changed the line, and they are covered with a plastic covering. The wire covering was melted, but no one can prove who did it. Bart called Terry Southard (the property owner to the east of Mr. Bailey’s residence), and Mr. Humphrey (the property owner to the east of Mr. Southard), and they both gave Mr. Bailey permission to use their properties.
Jeane Breiland: In Villa Grove, you cannot park your vehicles on the lawn. Is this something we can put in our ordinances? Bart replied that yes we can, but that is a process, and not something we can just instill in a meeting.
Mr. Earl asked if the Board would please change the ordinances to limit how many vehicles one person can have? And he has questions about the lawn roller (homemade with a junked truck).
Bart informed the crowd that he spoke with Mr. Bailey for over an hour. He wants no more trouble with his neighbors. Bart told him to clean up his property and abide by the laws / ordinances.
Mr. Earl and Mrs. Taylor stated that Mr. Bailey is parking on both sides of the street. He is blocking both sides of the road and limiting access to driveways.
Mrs. Taylor would also like to know if anyone got permits for the shed that was brought in on Mr. Humphrey’s property. Bart advised that permits were not needed. The shed is on skids and belongs to Mr. Humphrey.
Mrs. Taylor went on to add that Mr. Bailey is revving and driving fast on George Street. What are they supposed to do about this? President Dann advised them to call the police. Record it on your phones and take pictures. Those are admissible, and the police can use them as evidence.
Mr. Earl stated his speeding has improved since Bart spoke with him. He would still like to see no parking signs on his street or just parking on one side of the road.
Jim Lansford stated he had a suggestion. The Board could make an ordinance on how close one can park to a driveway.
Mr. Lorenz stated that a picture is worth a thousand words. He suggested that the neighbors invest in cameras. They will record all the activity, and the videos can be used against Mr. Bailey. He personally uses the Blink System.
Joe “Bird dog” Marlatt: Mr. Marlatt needs to know what his brother’s water bill was. He also asked if we could move the account into Sam Marlatt’s name – as he will continue to reside in the home. Water Billing Clerk Salisa Dann stated she would get the information for him and call him the next day. Due to the passing of his brother, there would be no late fees assessed.
Consent Agenda:
Nancy George made the motion to accept the consent agenda (with two changes to the minutes). Jim Hardway seconded the motion, and the motion passed unanimously.
New Business:
- Set Park Clean Up Days: Saturday, April 13 from 10-1 Bart advised the merry-go-round is broken again. We might have to consider purchasing a new one.
- Discussion of 2 Part-time Employees: Bart stated he would like the Board to consider two part-time employees instead of just one. For example: Employee one would only work 20-25 hours a week and employee two would only work 20-25 hours a week. The Village would still save money on benefits. Shirley Badman stated that if there is any chance of anyone going over 1000 hours, we HAVE to put them in IMRF. However, we can still not offer benefits. Shirley stated that the school has a 600 hour limit, and the Village has a 1000 hour limit. And there can be no conversations regarding hiring back a retiree for a minimum of 61 days. Gary Gilpin stated that he believes we are going to have to hire a full time employee and raise the rates of both Kyle and a new employee. Nancy George stated we have options that we can look at when trying to save money. For example, we can contract out the mowing. Jim Lansford asked Shirely if she would please get some numbers crunched for the next meeting to show what it would cost / save regarding hiring two part time employees vs one full time employee.
- Ditch on South White Oak: The Douglas County Health Department called Bart regarding the ditch on South White Oak that runs north and south in front Drake’s residence. Someone had their septic run to the ditch, and the Health Department was notified to check it out. The Village has to dredge the ditch and make it deeper, and Drake’s culvert is collapsed. The Village does not pay for personal culverts. However, the Village is going to hire Cody Miller (Limited Land Management) $900 for the digging, and Drake’s are going to pay for the culvert. Mr. Armagast (the other property owner) just purchased the property, and he suggested a French drain. He wanted to know if the Village would consider paying for it. The Board agreed that we are not starting this precedence. It was stated that they thought this was gray water, but it was tested, and it is not. This is septic water, and it needs to be fixed.
Old Business: Nothing to report
Village Superintendent’s Report: Doug Raymer was present to say it was officially his last day. He submitted his resignation letter for retirement. He had nothing to report.
Village Water Superintendent’s Report: Kyle Raymer had nothing to report. They finished up the Village Hall, and he has DBP’s coming up soon.
Village President’s Report: Village President Bart Dann reported the following:
- Circling back to Mr. Lansford’s earlier question regarding the Village Hall sign, Village Clerk Salisa Dann has emailed Dowell several times to get a quote for new sign inserts with no response. Bart called them this week, and the contact person we had information for no longer works there. Bart sent them the artwork, and they will get back to us regarding a recommendation on pricing. It should be 4-6 weeks. There was a small discussion of the sign lighting and how long it is turned on. Jim Lansford stated he has seen the lights on at 3am. It was suggested that maybe we could use LEDs, use a dusk to dawn timer, or just a timer in general.
- Jim Hardway stated the street light is out at the corner of Hill Street and Vine Street. That corner is very dark at night time.
- Bart also talked to the Villa Grove Police Department regarding an inter-governmental agreement for extra patrol and ordinance violations. As soon as he hears back from Chief Ray, he will share that information with the Board.
- For the last few weeks, President Dann has stopped in at the Community Building, and it has been rental ready from ERBA. He has devised a checklist that needs to be used every week before they leave for the weekend. The Board has approved the checklist, and Bart will get a copy to Kim Johnson. Bart stated it is not Ginger’s responsibility to clean up after ERBA and then again after the rental. The building is supposed to be rental-ready by 4pm each Friday. This is in the agreement that ERBA signed.
With no further business to come before the Board, Village President Bart Dann called for adjournment at 7:20 pm.
Salisa Dann
Village Clerk