Peoria Standard

Village of Swansea Board of Trustees met Oct. 5.

Here is the minutes provided by the board:

The Village of Swansea Board of Trustees Meeting Minutes was held at 1444 Boul Avenue, Swansea, IL 62226 from 7:08 – 7:41 PM

The meeting was held on line due to COVID-19 public health needs Meeting ID: 868 6773 5458 and password: 331616 at https://us04web.zoom.us/j/8711380985 or Zoom App on a mobile device.

Attendees: Board President Leopold, Trustees Lanter, McDonald, McGuire, Neumeyer, & Wells, Treasurer John Walter, Building and Zoning (B&Z) Director Dallas Alley, Police Department (PD) Chief Steven Johnson, Fire Department (FD) Chief Chris Tell, Director of Public Works Rick Tucker, Administrator Benjamin Schloesser, Clerk Lauren O'Neill.

The public was invited to attend.

Absent: Trustee Parker.

Motions: Trustees are presented with the individual that made the motion, followed by the person seconding the motion. Votes: Unless noted otherwise, votes are obtained by voice vote (roll call vote involves each voter stating their name and vote) and all votes are aye. Content of meeting is presented within the marks “***”.

I) Call to Order

II) Pledge Allegiance to The Flag

III) Roll Call

IV) Approval of Minutes – Motion to approve the outlined below minutes – Wells, Lanter

1. Board Minutes – September 21, 2020

2. Committee Minutes – September 21, 2020

3. Executive Session Minutes – September 21, 2020

V) Mayor’s Announcements/Correspondence – No Comments

VI) Village Attorney - No Comments / Village Administrator Comments included the following: 

Schloesser met with a FEMA representative last week and a State Representative for CURES. The Village of Swansea has not met the $3K FEMA reimbursement threshold.

State reimbursements allow for some overtime costs that are related to COVID to be reimbursed and the Village of Swansea may apply for offset related to as much as $80K to $90K of costs, with Swansea currently having about $50K to $60K of such COVIDrelated overtime costs. The annual audit has been completed and Swansea successfully passed all audit checks. The auditor is willing to provide a report at the next virtual meeting of the Board. There are no additional costs for the presentation, which is included in the contract. The presentation will be added to the next agenda.

The Village of Swansea was nominated by a Swansea resident(s) for recognition by the East West Gateway Counsel of Government for the Boul Avenue trail and park head trail. The Chris Brothers milling and paving Motor Fuel projects were noted. The Personnel handbook updates attorney review has been completed. Trustee Wells was thanked for his assistance working with the Swansea Personnel Manager and the

Administrator on the updates for the handbook. Wells will be provided with a digital copy for review and then the Personnel Committee co-Chairpersons will be provided a copy. When those final reviews are completed, the updated Personnel handbook will be provided to the full committee and the Board for approval. Bonnie Carmack has taken another job and will be leaving the employment of Swansea. The position has been advertised and interviews are currently scheduled for Wednesday and Thursday to allow for hiring an individual and providing that individual with the necessary training.

Alley spearheaded meetings with the Moose. When the Phase II project was not slated for senior citizens, but rather for families with moderate income, which was described as $35K - $45K for a family of 3, then the Moose was no longer in support of the project.

Alley reiterated that the project was not for low-income residents. The Moose changed their mind and no longer offered the property for sale. The Village looked at another plan that might allow the project to continue on Village of Swansea owned property. Some Trustees noted that Swansea needs more businesses. It was added that moderate-income residential communities are not needed at this time in Swansea. The PD Chief agreed that from a law enforcement standpoint he was not currently in favor of pursuing the residential development and would at the minimum need more information.

The FD and PD Chiefs reviewed calls to the existing property for seniors near the Moose were related to medical or fire response calls and not calls to report crimes. The SWIDA application process deadlines were moved up. The Village of Swansea will not be submitting an application at this time, and will hold off until at least next year. The FD is looking for potential funding for the replacement of air packs, and potential funding has been reviewed with various community leaders. Currently, the Swansea FD is taking air packs out of truck seats to provide for the temporary replacement needs. A new air pack costs about $6K, while the cost of renovated air packs is about $3K - $4K.

While replacement of the air packs is required and Swansea was denied funding on a recent FEMA grant, the issue is not of a safety level at this point that would require the Village to borrow the funds externally or from an internal budget line item(s).

VII) Public Comment - No Comments

VIII) Report of Committees

A) Personnel Committee – Comments

1. PD Promotion of Breanna Kemper-Damm to Sergeant – Motion by Well, McGuire.

B) Finance Committee Report – Comments

1. Approval of Bills totaling $283,009.15 with payment from the proper accounts (roll call vote) – Motion by Wells, McGuire

1. Draft Ord. / An Ordinance Amending The Annual Municipal Budget Of The Village Of Swansea, Il For Fiscal Year 2021, May 1, 2020 – April 30, 2021 Thereby Providing Additional Funds For Land Acquisition / The item will be on the next agenda.

2. Azavar Update – No Comment

C) Judiciary Committee – Comments

1. Ord. No. 1891 / An Ordinance Amending Chapter 152 Of The Swansea Municipal Code Regarding Floodplain Development Regulations / Motion to read by title only – Wells, Lanter / Motion to accept (roll call vote) – Wells, Neumeyer

D) Community & Economic Development – No Comments

E) Public Safety Committee – Comments

1. Discussion Fall Burn Schedule – Wells will provide some information and other information may be provided to the Trustees before the next meeting.

F) Public Works Committee – Comments

1. Road Closure Request – This was an information only item. The FD has the authority to approve and provides the information for the Trustees awareness only.

G) Cultural Committee – No Comments

H) Swansea Report Committee – Comments

1. Swansea Report October Articles – A picture and information related to the PD promotion was recommended to be included in the next issue. The PD Chief indicated that he would provide the picture and content tomorrow for the October issue of the Swansea Report.

IX) Old Business – The following was discussed. A crime happened at the site of the abandoned mobile home in the Fullerton Road area. The property currently belongs to the Village.

The PD Chief, Tucker, and Alley will look at the property and determine the costs for the cleanup. Tucker noted that currently he estimated that the costs for cleanup might be about $3500 - $4500. If the cost is $5K or less than $5K, then the cleanup effort could be pursued with the applicable staff level authority. If the cost is greater than the $5K level then the item will be on the agenda to obtain Board approval for the cleanup effort.

It was noted that the Village could not reasonably expect to be reimbursed for the cleanup of the property and that the transfer of the property to St. Clair County Transit could be expected to be delayed until the cleanup was completed. Prompt cleanup efforts are recommended to reduce the Village’s liability risks associated with the current property condition. Trustee McDonald indicated that he would provide local contact information for an entity or entities that might be able to rapidly provide an estimate and complete the cleanup work.

X) New Business – The Rotary Club indicated interest in establishing a butterfly sanctuary at Clinton Hills that would be established and maintained at no cost to the Village of Swansea. 

Additionally, it was noted that the area of land where the butterfly sanctuary is located would also reduce the land that Swansea would need to mow or otherwise maintain. Clinton Hills bathroom facilities have been opened when rentals have occurred or to accommodate the school track events. There have been requests for additional dates for school track events. It was reviewed that these events did not entail rentals in terms of providing fees to the Village. It was also noted that the event cleanup was provided by the applicable schools and that the Village of Swansea Street Department was not tasked with additional clean up requirements due to the events. It was requested that these and other items be put on the meeting agenda and included with sufficient detail to provide notice to the Board and the public.

XI) Announcements – No Comments

XII) Adjournment – Wells, Lanter

https://www.swanseail.org/ArchiveCenter/ViewFile/Item/1379