Peoria Standard

Village Of Hopewell Board Of Trustees met July 18.

Here is the minutes as provided by the board:

The meeting was opened at 7:03 p.m. with the Pledge of Allegiance.

Attendees:

Treasurer Pam Hill, Clerk Sue Vik, Trustees: Steve Shaffer, Jim Casey, Chris Minch, Tanya Colby

Trace Stoller, Rick Brown

Village Employee: Paul Merdian

Consent Agenda:

Trustee Rick Brown questioned a line item on the Financial Report indicating that money from the Motor

Fuel Tax account was transferred to the General Fund. Treasurer Pam Hill explained that the MFT

account is a savings account with no checking account attached. She has to transfer funds to the

General Fund in order to write a check for any bill which should be paid with MFT funds. The board

discussed options for eliminating the transfer. In the future, the treasurer will pay MFT bills with MFT

funds directly by getting a cashier’s check from the bank.

A motion to approve the items on the consent agenda (June Minutes and June Financial Report) was

made by Steve Shaffer and seconded by Rick Brown. Motion passed.

Audience Participation:

Acting President Chris Minch presented a string of email correspondence from resident Chris Stickelmaier

of 51 Hopewell Drive regarding two German shepherds running loose in the village. Further discussion

on this issue will be held at the Zoning Enforcement Committee meeting on Wednesday, July 19. Mrs.

Stickelmaier has been invited to attend this meeting.

Bills in Excess of $1000:

Water Company:

Paul Merdian reported that there is one water company account overdue this month.

Paul also reported that he has experienced some problems with the remote water meter reading device.

He will know if those problems have been rectified when he reads meters at the end of July.

Jim Casey, chairman of the Water Systems Committee, gave a status update on the second round of

water meter replacements. Six residents have failed to respond to the initial contact letter to get in touch

with the plumber. Clerk Sue Vik will send follow-up reminder letters to those residents this week.

Zoning and Ordinances:

Chris Minch stated that the first public meeting of the Zoning and Ordinance Committee is set for July 19,

and the agenda has been posted.

Wes Mogler’s home at 381 Illini is complete and ready for a Certificate of Occupancy. Chris will contact

Wes to ask him to bring his CoO application to the July 19 Zoning and Ordinance Committee meeting for

approval.

Roads:

Steve Shaffer, chairman of the Roads Committee, reported that the rain is causing a delay in the spot

patching work planned for the summer. The work may be delayed into early August.

Steve stated that he, Paul Merdian and Don Chouinard have walked Blackhawk Drive to closely inspect

its condition. There is an approximately 100 yard stretch from Seneca Court westward that is in very poor

condition with cracks and potholes developing. He stated that the section needs to be removed; the base

course needs to be properly re-established; and then the section needs to be repaved with blacktop. It is

possible that doing chip and seal from Hiawatha Court to the end of Blackhawk Court might make that

area last a few more years.

Jim Casey stated that he had spoken with an engineering firm in Galesburg who could do engineering

work in Hopewell for a less expensive hourly rate than the Farnsworth Group. Steve will contact Klinger

and Associates from Galesburg to discuss the roads and any engineering services needed.

Steve presented the results of his research on the purchase of 2 way radios for the village maintenance

and snow plowing staff to use. A five unit ham radio set could be purchased for $375. The use of ham

radios would require licensing and training, so Steve will do additional research on other options.

Steve has discussed working with Rick Brown, as well as Don Chouinard and Paul Merdian, to do a width

survey of Illini Drive. They plan to take periodic measurements of the road width at various locations.

This will provide information on the road’s deterioration as grass and weeds encroach and cause the

driving lanes to narrow.

Old Business:

Acting President Minch updated the board on his board activities in the past month in his President’s

Report.

The IML Risk Management Insurance premium has been paid. Clerk Sue Vik requested and obtained all

new documentation from the IMLRMA. Chris met with the local representative July 18 to discuss the

coverage. Currently the village is underinsured in several areas and uninsured for some equipment. The

coverage will be adjusted to correct this and insure equipment and structures for replacement cost. The

village has a separate policy to cover the well pump, but IMLRMA also offers that coverage, so the

separate policy will probably be eliminated if it is cost effective to do so.

The village website has been updated to a modern format including the new village logo. The contact

form has been updated to allow residents more control over whom they can reach via email from the site.

An official Facebook page has been created which will allow the board to get news and information out to

residents. The official Facebook page will be linked to the village’s website. Comments are disabled on

the official Facebook page because its purpose is for news and information sharing. When the village

wants feedback on issues via Facebook, surveys will be posted. The current private neighborhood group

Facebook page has never been an official page will not receive official postings from the village board,

but will continue to exist.

Chris has discussed pricing with MediaCom to provide internet access to the village hall. The service

provided by Frontier is costly and has been slow and unreliable.

Chris has reviewed the village’s phone system needs and has identified a more efficient and cost

effective service. A flexible calling tree has been outlined which will eliminate the single answering

machine at the hall and the need for staff to come to the hall regularly to check messages. Callers will

access a touch tone menu which will forward calls to the intended recipient’s personal phone for faster

response during business hours. After hours, callers will only be able to leave messages.

The annual pre-pay contract for winter heating propane with Ag View FS has been signed and paid.

Trace Stoller reported that he followed up with Associated Bank about village credit or debit cards to

eliminate staff members use of their personal credit cards to purchase items for the village. The official

signors on the village account need to go to the bank with any employee who needs to have a village

debit card and fill out the appropriate paperwork. Then a debit card can be issued for that employee to

use to make purchases for the village.

Chris Minch has begun investigating the use of Illinois Epay to allow water customers to pay water bills on

online through the website.

Steve Shaffer inquired again about maintenance on the Indian sculpture. Chris stated that there is a way

to make a 3D mapping of the statue so that a replica could be produced in the future utilizing a more

weather and insect resistant material. Chris also suggested searching for a grant for the preservation of

the statue.

New Business:

Chris Minch stated that he would like to see the formation of a committee to look for grants for capital

improvements in the village.

Adjournment:

Rick Brown made a motion to adjourn the meeting at 8:41 p.m. Trace Stoller seconded. The meeting

was adjourned.

http://villageofhopewell.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/08/Hopewell-Board-Meeting-Minutes-07_18_2017.pdf