SE Illinois News

Village of Smithton Committee of a Whole met Feb. 27.

Here are the minutes provided by the committee:

Mayor Smallwood called the meeting to order at 7:00 pm at Village Hall. Trustees Becherer, Rogers, Elbe, Mourey, Hopkins, and Reyling were in attendance. Also in attendance was Village Administrator Kari Speir, Supervisor Dean Klein, Clerk Annette Parker, and Tony Schenk from Gonzalez Companies.

MAIN STREET FUNDING AND PLANNING – Tony Schenk was here to discuss what funding would be available for Main Street improvements. Grants available are the CMAQ (Congestion Mitigation and Air Quality), STU/STP (Surface Transportation Program) and ITEP (Illinois Transportation Enhancement Programs). We are currently using a CMAQ and STP grant for the Main Street turn lane project. STP and CMAQ are yearly grants. ITEP grants are every 2 years. ITEP and CMAQ are both 80/20. The 3 grants mentioned are not the only grants out there, these are the grants that come in cycles. There are other grants that become available such as Federal grants that are specifically for streetscapes. Since State Rt. 159/Main Street goes through Smithton it falls under IDOT. Through STP funding we would work with IDOT for some assistance. As an example, using ITEP funds from Barker to Breckenridge the cost would be a 1.6 million dollar improvement and about 1.4 million dollars for CMAQ funds.

EMPLOYEE COMPENSATION PACKAGE – The proposal for the office staff is an additional $1 per hour and the 3% increase (which is currently being proposed by the FOP) and an increase in time off. The office is the lowest paid compared to surrounding municipalities even after factoring in insurance.

Street Department would like to take their trucks home and they are interested in paternity leave.

It was asked if the departments could come up with a list of things they would like in the employee compensation package.

PART-TIME/SEASONAL LABORERS – Dean presented the Board with a list of 6 employees he would like to hire for the part-time seasonal laborers. Two of the people would be employees coming back from last season. Mayor asked Dean to have one of his full-time employees responsible for the Park. This person is responsible for all aspects of the Park. Dean will clearly explain to them what their responsibilities are. The part time employees will answer to that person as well as Dean.

FOP CONTRACT – Trustee Elbe stated that he, Administrator Speir and Chief Neff met with the FOP. It was agreed upon over the 3 years: 3%, 2%, 2%, an additional sick day, longevity pay, and a change in the vacation schedule. The FOP will be holding a meeting to approve/disapprove the proposal then will come back to the board for their decision.

WATER/SEWER FEES – It was determined to increase the water and sewer fees by 5% effective May 1.

BUDGET – The Board reviewed and discussed the first draft of the budget. Everyone was asked to look over the budget and this will be discussed again at the next Committee meeting.

BALLFIELD LIGHTS – No new additional information at this time.

MOBILE HOME ORDINANCE – There was discussion regarding some of the language in the new mobile home ordinance. This will be discussed further at a future meeting.

VILLAGE HALL ROOF – It was stated that we will need cap flashing added when we do the roof bids.

SPONSORSHIPS – We received 2 requests for sponsorships. It was determined that we will not do the requested sponsorships.

Trustee Rogers made a motion which was seconded by Trustee Elbe to adjourn. All Trustees were in favor. The motion was granted. The meeting adjourned at 9:17 pm.

https://smithton-village.com/wp-content/uploads/Minutes-2-27-24.pdf