Peoria Standard

Village of Peoria Heights Board of Trustees met Jan. 26.

Here is the minutes provided by the board:

The meeting was called to order at 6:00 p.m.

Everyone stood for a moment of silence and the Pledge to the Flag.

Upon calling roll, the following Trustees were present: Diane Mariscal, Beth Khazzam, Jeff Goett, Brandon Wisenburg, and Sarah DeVore. Trustee Mariscal was present by phone. Trustee Sherryl Carter was absent. Others present included Mayor Michael Phelan, Village Administrator and Chief of Police Dustin Sutton, Village Clerk Stephanie Turner, and Village Counsel Attorney Mark Walton.

Trustee Goett made a motion to approve the minutes from January 5, 2021. Trustee Khazzam seconded the motion. The Board voted 5-0 to approve the minutes.

Mayor Phelan opened the meeting to public comment. Hearing no public comment, he closed the meeting to public comment and moved on to old business.

Trustee DeVore commented she had been under the impression that the ordinance the Board had recently passed relating to the Fire Chief established that the Fire Chief would report to the Village Administrator, but it states the Fire Chief reports to the Board of Trustees and the Village Mayor. She suggested changing it. Trustee Wisenburg agreed it needed to be amended as did Trustee Khazzam. Mayor Phelan agreed as well, and Attorney Walton stated that he would prepare an amendment.

Hearing no additional old business, the Board moved on to new business.

Trustee Goett introduced the ordinance approving a franchise agreement with Comcast for discussion. Trustee Goett asked if there were changes to the agreement, and Attorney Walton stated there were no changes to the rate. He explained that there were changes at the federal level regarding what free services could be provided to government entities so some public facilities would no longer be covered. Attorney Walton stated the agreement was pretty standard. Trustee Wisenburg noted the agreement was not an exclusive agreement, and Attorney Walton agreed. Trustee Wisenburg asked if there were any additional considerations that the Village could solicit such as considerations for low income families. Attorney Walton noted that the industry was very tightly regulated at the federal level. The ordinance will be moved to the Board meeting for action.

Trustee Goett made a motion to approve Resolution 21-01 to approve public question for April 6, 2021 election. Trustee DeVore seconded the motion. Trustee DeVore noted that the question was non binding. Trustee DeVore stated she had said she would like a question asking if the public would be willing to pay additional property tax to fund the Peoria Heights Fire Department. Attorney Walton recommended basing the question as tax increase per $100,000 value of house in order to better express to the public the costs. Trustees DeVore and Khazzam discussed the benefits referencing of various tax increases in the question. Trustee Wisenburg asked if it was necessary to put a dollar figure. Attorney Walton noted there were very few constraints on how the Board structured the question. Trustee DeVore asked about asking multiple questions, and Attorney Walton noted that asking multiple open-ended questions would be more appropriate to a survey on the Village’s website. Trustee Wisenburg expressed his opinion against listing a specific tax percentage increase. Trustee DeVore replied that ballot question was nonbinding, and the Board wouldn’t be required to levy the percentage listed if it was unnecessary. Chief Sutton agreed it was nonbinding and emphasized that the referendum question would be a tool to give the Board information regarding public opinion. The Board came to a consensus to change the question in Resolution 21-01 to read “Shall the Village of Peoria Heights levy a property tax rate not to exceed $88.00 on an owner-occupied home with a fair market value of $100,000 in order to fund the Village fire department?” Trustee Goett made an amendment to change the question, and Trustee DeVore seconded the amendment. The amendment changing the ballot question passed 5-0. Resolution 21-01 passed as amended 5-0.

Trustee DeVore introduced discussion of an ordinance amending the building code for the purpose of establishing residential garage regulations. Trustee DeVore noted that there are no regulations requiring garage doors and such structures created code and public safety concerns. Trustee DeVore noted that the ordinance under discussion didn’t apply to car ports. Chief Sutton stated the properties which didn’t have garage doors, which are a handful, have been the victims of crimes. Trustee Khazzam stated support but questioned if the ordinance would require owners to shut the garage door. Chief Sutton stated that wouldn’t be regulated. The ordinance would be moved to the Board meeting for action.

Chief Sutton asked the Superintendent of Water, Mr. Chris Chandler, to come forward to speak about the recent water main break. Mr. Chandler explained that there was a sizeable water main break which was found. It was beyond the Public Work’s ability to repair so an outside company was hired to perform the work. The water main has been repaired, and the system is working well.

Trustee Goett made a motion to adjourn, and Trustee Wisenburg seconded the motion. The Board voted 5-0 to adjourn at 6:29 pm.

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