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Village of Camargo

Board Meeting Minutes

REGULAR SESSION

Tuesday, October 15, 2024

 

The Village Board of the Village of Camargo met in Regular Session on Tuesday, October 15, 2024 at the Camargo Village Hall.  The meeting was called to order by President Bart Dann at 6:00 pm.  Roll call found the following trustees present:  Nancy George, Jim Lansford, Jim Hardway, Jeane Breiland and Gary Gilpin.  Treasurer Shirley Badman and Superintendent Kyle Raymer were both present as well.

 

Public Comment:  N/A

 

Consent Agenda:  Nancy George made a motion to approve the consent agenda.  Jim Hardway seconded the motion, and the motion passed.

 

New Business:

•  Condemning Hearings:

1. 1. 107 W Issacher:  The trailer on the property has been torn down.
   2. 106 W Issacher:  The property was purchased on 10/15/24 and now has new ownership.  The new owner (Katterhenry) was present at the meeting.  She advised they are tearing down the house and putting up a greenhouse.  They plan to recycle, reuse, and repurpose as much as possible.  She needs to find homes for the appliances.  They are going to use the windows to replace the windows in their home.  A fence will go up to keep rubble in and children out during construction.  She said this property will no longer be a nuisance to the Village.  Demolition will begin as soon as the ground thaws.  Her husband works for a grain company, and they are busy until winter.  As soon as the ground is thawed out they will begin removing the structure.  She asked for a continuance with an agreement the Village see progress.  The Board granted her some time, and asked that she come to the March 2025 meeting and report an update.
   3. 410 S John:  The Village has purchased this property, and the closing is scheduled for Friday, October 18, 2024.  The trailer will then be placed up for bid and removed from the property as a park will be installed.
   4. 411 S John:  The property owner was present (Loewenstein).  He stated he didn’t care what happened to the property.  He said it was nice until the current tenants moved in.  It is a 1991 Amish built modular (not a trailer).  There are holes in the floor, and he hasn’t paid taxes in 4 years.  Technically, he still owns it.  He would sell it for $10,000.  Mr. Loewenstein stated he believes it is inhabitable the way it sits.
   5. 419 S John:  Mr. Loewenstein owns this property as well.  He says it has all the items the state requires: heat, water, and guidelines met by law.  He has a large hole in the roof.  This was placed their intentionally to dry out mold.  John says he does NOT have a title to it.  The wood in the side yard is being used for the interior, and there is a dumpster coming to remove the trash.  He wants to get the house fixed, but he is 70 years old and working a lot of hours, especially this time of year.  The pop-up camper in the yard, he purchased and was told it was in good shape.  He used it once, and it fell apart.  The Board granted Mr. Loewenstein some time to make the necessary repairs, and asked that we see some progress.  He, also, will need to make an appearance at the March 2025 board meeting to report an update.
   6. 67 E George:  This property owner has been in contact with the building inspector, Tim Wegeng.  Tim has granted him the permit, as he is building a 2 story home on the foundation that is sitting there.  Some progress has already been made.
   7. 412 S John:  This property owner lives in Arkansas, and the Village does NOT have a good address for him.  We mailed the notification letter to his brother that lives next door and is in communication with the owner.  Neither of them showed up at the meeting, and President Dann has not heard from them either.  Jim Lansford made a motion to move toward condemning the property.  Jeane Breiland seconded the motion, and the motion passed.  President Dann will take this matter to the attorney in order to proceed.  
2. Set Trick or Treat Hours:  October 31st from 5pm-7pm
3. Set Park Hours for Taylor Haines Park / Approve Camping Permit: President Dann received a phone call that there were some people hanging around Taylor Haines Park.  The Sheriff’s Office showed up and was just asking them some questions.  They were uncooperative and refused to give the deputy their information.  Because we do not have posted park hours, the deputy could do nothing about them being there.  Due to the amount of suspicious activity and the concerns to keep our Village safe, President Dann suggested we set park hours and overnight park permits.  Clerk Salisa Dann made a mock permit application for the Board to approve.  Some discussion ensued regarding the verbiage on the sign as well as the permit.  Jeane was concerned that the wording “fishing permit” would lead users to believe they could fish there without following IDNR’s laws.  The wording was changed to camping and overnight usage.  Park hours would be set from 6am-10pm to match Opal Thompson Park.  Anyone using the park outside of those hours would need a permit.  Permits are free and can be obtained by anyone on the village board.  The number to contact for such permits will be listed as the Village Hall, and that number is checked on a regular basis.  There is a 3 day limit per permit.  Jim Hardway made a motion to proceed with Taylor Haines park hours and after hours permit as discussed.  Jeane Breiland seconded the motion, and the motion passed.  Clerk Dann will make the necessary changes to the permit and have them ready to be issued.  President Dann will contact Vernon to have the signs made.
4. Set Trash Days for Spring 2025:  May 16 from 8a-4p and May 17 from 8a-12p
5. New Computer and Quick Books for the Treasurer:  Treasurer Shirley Badman stated her computer is really slow.  Partly due to the age, and partly due to the amount of information on it.  She followed with a bid for new QuickBooks.  This option includes a cloud-based memory and printable forms for taxes.  The version she has now does not offer that, and she has to do them all by hand.  Superintendent Raymer stated he would gladly take her old computer and wipe it clean.  It would be perfect for the computer work he has to complete for the EPA.  Most of his reports are on excel and online.  He is currently using his own laptop.  Nancy George made a motion to purchase the new computer and QuickBooks programming.  Jim Hardway seconded the motion, and the  motion passed.
6. Approval for Field and Pest Control:  President Dann spoke with Konnie Crist at Legacy.  They have agreed to spray our ball field for the weeds.  This would be a quarterly treatment costing the Village $75 per treatment.  This treatment is safe for children and pets – ONCE the lawn is dry.  Nancy asked Kyle if this was something the Village could do themselves.  He said the actual work could be done by the Village employees.  However, we do not have the licensing to purchase and use the chemicals the Legacy does.  By the time they do all of that, it wouldn’t be cost effective.  Nancy also asked about pest control for the community building.  For $175 quarterly, they will spay for ants, spiders, and set traps for mice.  Jeane asked about the type of traps being used.  These will be the little green boxes that the rodents walk into.  The entire box will be disposed of.  There are no charges for call-backs if necessary.  This treatment will be for the interior and the exterior, and this is also child friendly.  Gary Gilpin made a motion to hire Legacy to treat the ball field and the community building.  Jim Lansford seconded the  motion, and the motion passed.

 

Old Business:  N/A

 

Village Superintendent’s Report:  Village Superintendent Kyle Raymer reported the following:

• Water leak on our side (Parsley)
• We have 2 yokes on hand.  He is going to order some more.  They are between 6 weeks and 6 months out for shipping.  Brass fittings are the same way.  He is going to order some of them as well.
• He spoke with an engineer at the EPA regarding our violation.  He explained that it is a yearly average that went over the limit – NOT a specific month.  Samples are higher in the hotter months.  The least expensive fix would be to install auto flushers.  This is not really fixing the problem; it just moves more water (and that water is wasted).  The next best case would be a spray aeration mixer for the interior of the water tower.  The chemicals we are getting from VG are breaking down and then the by-products go up.  We have 3 days of water coming from VG before it is ever used or tested.  This is the most economical way Kyle has seen to fix the by-product issues.  The aeration system can be installed while there is water in the tank.  There is no structural work that would need to be done.  The EPA explained that there are no repercussions for these violations unless you are constantly failing the sample testing.  The aeration system should remove at least 50% of the chlorine.  Kyle will continue to look for a system that is economical.
• He has been pricing new salt spreaders for the truck.  He has reached out to a Boss dealer and gotten no response.  A new one is $11.500. He found a Salt Dog for $3500.  Kyle explained that the sale we purchase from Gilles is $14.00 / bag, which makes is $600 per pallet.  If we buy in bulk, we can get 1 ton of salt for $150.  We have been granted permission to store our salt at the township.  He went on to explain that each bag has to be opened and manually dumped into the spreader.  If the salt has any moisture in it, it get rock hard and difficult to use.  The bulk salt will be loaded with the tractor.  Kyle said he would continue to shop for a more reasonably priced spreader.  He also said it has to be electric.
• There was an issue with the oil and chip company.  Now it is too cold to do it.  We will add our job to next year’s bid and do twice as much.

 

Village President’s Report:  Village President Bart Dann reported the following:

• Mr. Shaw reached out to Village Clerk Dann regarding his water bill.  She printed a ledger showing his payment history.  Mr. Shaw stated he did not receive the bill until after the bill was late.  Unfortunately, this was two months ago.  Clerk Dann explained that because he waited so long to report the late bill, she would take the issue to the Board.  The Board is aware of the on-going issues with the delivery of the water bills.  Therefore, a credit was granted.  Clerk Dann will notify Mr. Shaw of his credit and issue it as such.
• EMS using the basement.  The fire department has informed President Dann that they no longer wish to have EMS use their fire house.  The Village has granted permission for them to use the basement.  There are two recliners that were purchased for them, and President Dann will get them a key for access.  They will have a full kitchen, and have been advised that if they provide a smart television, we will give them wifi access for the tv.
• Frontier has sent the Village to collections.  President Dann has had numerous conversations with Frontier.  They are trying to charge the Village a restocking fee for a router that the Village owns and purchased.  President Dann agrees that we owe $237.87 and we are NOT paying them the full amount of $350.00.  No one at Frontier will accept this, and they are continuing to charge the fees.  He will continue to fight them as long they are charging the Village for fees we aren’t paying.
• Closing on John Street Property:  The closing is scheduled for Friday at 2pm.  There was a small discussion about liability insurance.  The Village is allowing the current home-owner to occupy the trailer until she closes on her property.  The Board agreed that she needs to sign a liability waiver exempting the Village from any injuries she or anyone else might obtain while she is still living there.
• Victory Church Parking Lot:  It was brought to President Dann’s attention that the Victory Church is asphalting their parking lot.  The concerned citizen was worried about water run off and potential flooding.  Village Superintendent Kyle Raymer and Part-time employee Doug Raymer met with Trustee Jim Hardway and Pastor Duane Piercy.  They discussed the water run off and the church installed a new tile all along the side of the parking lot to assist the water being removed.  Kyle explained that that water does not back up at the corner where the drain is.  The water back up in front of the Village Maintenance Shed.  He went on to explain that that the catch basin is new.  The water used to run directly into the grass and over the sidewalk.  The new parking lot curbs will direct the water into the catch basin and will stop the mud from covering the sidewalk and going into the road.  When the last rain came through the runoff water stayed off the sidewalk and off the road.  Per Jim Hardway, the project was supposed to be completed last week.  Hopefully they will get to it this week.  The citizen that called Bart questioned if there were permits issued.  Bart explained that we don’t issue permits for asphalting your driveway and parking lots.  Moving forward, we will have our building inspector involved and form a committee for such things.  Then Tim and said committee can report to the Board of their findings.  Jim Hardway stated that Victory Church will assist in any solutions necessary if there are major issues that stem from their parking lot.  Jeane Breiland’s concern was the condition of the tile that runs into Brenda Lumpp’s yard.  President Dann explained that her tile was just replaced about six years ago.  Nancy George stated that when a project of this magnitude is happening, it should have been brought to the attention of the Board prior to the project being completed.  Gary Gilpin stated that we could have hired an engineer to look at the project to ensure all legalities and the Village were covered.  Jim Hardway stated that hindsight 20/20, they thought they did the right thing by reaching out to Kyle and Doug.  Kyle stated that we have nothing in our ordinances that governs these issues.  Nancy stated that there are special taxes in Champaign for asphalt parking lots.  These taxes cover the expenses of proper water removal and hiring of engineers.  President Dann stated that for one, we don’t have those taxes here, and for two, Victory is a church and wouldn’t be taxed anyway.  Jim Hardway also went on to explain that the curbs around the parking lot are 6” higher than they need to be in order to keep the water from running eroding the dirt around the sidewalks.  Jeane suggested that an agreement be made between the Village and Victory Church, and moving forward and any large project should be brought to the Village’s attention.  Jim Lansford asked what a large project is?  President Dann also stated that Victory Church did reach out to the Village (Kyle and Doug) and sought their opinion.  If Kyle and Doug would’ve brought this to the Board and suggested they did the right thing and they agreed that Victory was okay to proceed, what was the Board to do then?  They deal with water everyday and they know the tiles and where they are and how they drain.  President Dann also stated that ANY board member can ask questions of any project they see happening in the village.  It is not just up to Kyle, Doug, and Bart.  They are voted in to keep things running soothingly.  It is just as much their job as it is anyone else’s.  To end the discussion, Jim Hardway agreed that Victory Church would be helpful in assisting any solutions that might be necessary IF there is flooding due to water run off from the parking lot.  He also agreed that any projects done in the future will be brought directly to the Board’s attention.
• Speed Limit Signs:  Clerk Dann altered the verbiage in the speed limit sign ordinance to allow the Board to change any speed limit within reasonable limits.  President Dann will check with the attorney regarding the legality of this prior to making the change and posting the signs.
• 30 MPH sign in front of Tim Little’s property:  Township Supervisor Frank Miller called Bart and informed him that the 30 MPH sign in front of Little’s property needs to be removed.  The township oil and chips this portion of the road, and one of his board members saw the sign.  Bart explained to him that as much as the Village appreciated his assistance in the oil and chipping, this is actually Village property.  The speed limit sign went up, because drivers are not slowing down prior to the curve on River Rd.  If his board member saw the sign, they already know where Village limits are, and removing the sign will not benefit the Village in any way.  The Board agreed, the sign stays.
• Village Clerk Salisa Dann received several messages from the Griffins inquiring about the status of the insurance claim.  Clerk Dann advised she had no information.  President Dann received a call from RML stating that Mr. Griffin was uncooperative and rude to the agent and ultimately ended up with him hanging up on her. The agent was asking Michael Griffin questions about some of the items on their list.  Mr. Griffin stated that the toilets, the dishwasher, and the clothing items were all still being used.  So she stated the damage that was done was clearly cosmetic, and they were still using them.  Due to the uncooperative nature of Mr. Griffin, RML denied the claim.  The agent explained to President Dann that the Village went above and beyond in trying to find the water issues and fix them.  She explained that the Village falls into the category of tort and immunity.  This means the Village is not responsible for issues we are not aware of.  Mr. Griffin messaged Clerk Dann again and stated he and his wife were contacting an attorney.  At this point all conversations were stopped, and RML was advised of the attorney comment.  No one has heard anything from Michael or Valerie since.

 

With no further business to come before the Village Board, Village President Bard Dann called for adjournment at 8:05 pm.

 

Salisa Dann

Village Clerk