Tamaroa Terminates Two Full-time Employees
</element><element id="paragraph-1" type="body"><![CDATA[The Tamaroa Board of Trustees Wednesday voted three to one to terminate their two full-time employees. Trustee Betty Roberts made the motion to terminate both employees. It was seconded by Trustee Kim Woodside. Roberts, Woodside and Trustee Fred Schultz voted yes. Trustee Lisa Haycraft voted no and Trustees Kirk Pestka and Scott Alvis abstained.
"This isn't a decision I made lightly," Roberts said. "But I don't think anything is going to change."
"We can't expect employees to do what the board won't do," Haycraft responded. "Lack of communication is the problem."
Earlier in the evening Haycraft presented the board with a list of projects they had approved, but not completed. The board agreed that they had not followed through on some things they way they should have.
Village Clerk Cheryl Pelker said that though the board takes action by voting to do something, they don't always specify who should handle the action item. The voted followed a lengthy executive session to discuss personnel.
Mayor Curtis Stube said he would notify employees Joyce Mazzarella and Butch Hunter and ask for their keys and cell phones.
Schultz said he would have the locks changed on village property. Former Mayor Bill Place said someone should also change the code on the alarm pad at Village Hall. The alarm company's name and contact information should be on the bill.
Before the vote Pelker was directed to post two job openings. She said the board had hired Caleb Brasche as a temporary, part-time employee.
The board discussed, but did not move to accept the five mowing bids that were received. The bids ranged from $110 per week to $1,525 per month.
In other business, the board:
discussed the possibility of purchasing a used F650 truck for $18,000, but ultimately decided to follow through with their earlier vote to buy a new dump truck. Mayor Stube said he would contact the truck company Thursday. It will take several months to get the new truck.
approved a change order for $5,512 for work done on Private Road 18 and Holts Prairie Road and payment of $12,926 to Contractor J.K. Trotter for work on the water project. Doug Pollex of Southern Engineering said the project is complete.
discussed how to handle complaints about weeds, mosquitoes, wildlife and other issues from neighboring properties. Eileen Koenegstein asked if the village had made progress on the properties she mentioned last month. Village Attorney Matt Foster said he is still trying to find the owner of the property. The taxes had been sold after non-payment. The companies that paid the taxes will not maintain the property. Foster told Byron Stricker that there are two ways to handle his complaint about a neighbor's pond. The first is to determine if it is a nuisance as defined by statute or secondly to condemn it. The board will need to make that determination.