Tamaroa questions dissolution of CPWD
After a short discussion in which it was determined that three Trustees and the Village President comprise a quorum, the regular monthly meeting of the board was held.
Trustees Lisa Haycraft, Kim Woodside and Bill Place, along with Mayor Curtis Stube were present.
The board asked Attorney Matt Foster to look into demands from the Attorney General's office that the village make a $5,000 payment towards the Consolidated Public Water District's debt to the state.
The village did pay $5,000 to the Attorney General's office last year.
Place said that the village is under no obligation to pay the debt because CPWD did not uphold their end of the deal which was to purchase $45,000 worth of water meters before Tamaroa took over their customers.
Foster said the contract giving control of CPWD's customers and water lines said nothing about debt. He will contact CPWD's attorney and the Attorney General.
The board was told that CPWD had no cash assets when they took over service to their customers.
The board then discussed the proposition on the March 18 primary ballot asking voters if CPWD should be dissolved.
Foster said that as a public entity, CPWD may not be able to dissolve without assets to cover any ongoing expenses, such as the debt to the state, which was incurred when a water line was moved by IDOT. He will look into it.
In other business, the board:
• agreed to pay $200 for excavating work done by Angela Wright to correct an ongoing sewer problem which stemmed from a failure of the village's sewer equipment.
• heard from Village President Curtis Stube that an OSHA inspection found some infractions. He characterized the infractions as minor and said that they are being addressed. The infractions included no exit signs, no chaps as part of the protective gear for employees using the chainsaw, the mower discharge needs a cover, employees must be provided with Hepatitis shots if they work in any area with blood-born pathogens, such as a sewer system, some wiring needs to be placed in a conduit, the building requires an evacuation plan and MSDS papers must be on site for chemicals. Employee Brent Fisher said they purchased chaps Wednesday. Place will supply the MSDS papers to be hung at various sites. Stube said that once the signs go up and other minor repairs are made, the village must take a picture and submit it to OSHA to show compliance.
• agreed to donate $50 to Five Star Industries' Wishing Well fund.
• heard that the Easter Egg Hunt is scheduled for 1 p.m. on April 19 and the tractor pull will be June 15. Haycraft said there will not be a rain date this year. If it does not happen on June 15, it won't happen at all.
• heard from Kerry Schoenbacher that the Tamaroa Grade School Booster Club would like to expand the wall of fame near the gymnasium, which currently has one photo of Kyle Cassity on it. The club would choose one or two Tamaroa Grade School or High School graduates who went on to play college sports. The two they plan to honor this year are Courtney Crawford and Allen Valentine.
• passed an emergency management services resolution to provide aid in case of emergency and designating the Village President as the contact person.
• talked about a fallen metal light pole. Employee Tiffany Kujawa said she has spoken to the insurance company. The deductible is $250. There is some question as to whether the local electrician can provide a metal pole.
• discussed the open hours for establishments selling alcohol. George Lively, who was not present, had indicated to village officials that he would like to serve alcohol earlier than 10 a.m., which is when he currently begins serving. Foster consulted the village's ordinance book and said that establishments holding liquor licenses are prohibited from selling alcohol between 1 a.m. and 6 a.m. Monday through Saturday and between 1 a.m. and 1 p.m. on Sunday.
• heard from Place that the village needs to spend the money to add the new pump stations to the SCADA system which would report equipment failures like the power outage in January that caused several sewers to back up into homes.
• heard from employee Chuck Zoeckler that the grasshopper mower is working again. The generator is also in working order now. He is waiting for a price sheet for a maintenance contract from the service company.
• discussed a mobile home that has been moved into the village. There was some question as to whether it complies with the mobile home zoning ordinance. A committee of three trustees, the same three who were present, normally approves zoning of mobile homes. Foster said that if the home does not comply and the board has no objection to it being there, they can pass a variance. Place said that the committee had no objections.