McHenry Times

Holiday Hills Village Board met Dec. 17.

Here is the minutes provided by the board:

Call to Order President French called the meeting to order at 7:01 p.m.

Roll Call Board members present: President Lou French; Trustees Kathy Andrews, Terri Beaudoin, John Chesler, Lisa Maier, Rich Young

Board member absent: Cheryl Thompson Staff present: Treasurer Melanie Gatza, Police Chief James Walton, Clerk / Collector Lisa Phelps

Pledge of Allegiance

President’s Report (Lou French) Announce Best Decorated House winners: President French stated that the winners will be announced within 48-72 hours.

Discuss raises for village employees: Raises were discussed and while a formal vote was not taken, the general feeling of the board is that raises are warranted for some village employees. A vote will be taken at the next meeting.

Discuss nature park property: At a prior meeting President French stated that he thought the village would be able to make monthly payments to the Fox Waterway Agency for the purchase of some unbuildable peninsula lots to be made into a nature preserve. He stated tonight that making monthly payments is not a feasible option. He said that negotiations are still occurring and he reiterated that the purchase of the property will not be a burden on village taxpayers. He stated that there will be a special meeting concerning this topic in the future for any and all village residents.

Discuss possibility of making S. Vaupell Dr. one way: President French discussed the dangerous intersection of S. Vaupell Dr., Sunset Dr., and River Rd. He said it would be safer to make S. Vaupell Dr. a northbound road only. He said that necessary signs for this change would cost approximately $155- $200. A consensus vote was taken to approve this change and a formal vote for the change and for the purchase of signs will be taken at the next board meeting.

Discuss and schedule election lottery: President French stated that three candidates filed petitions to run for Village Trustee within the first hour so a lottery must be held to determine ballot order. Also, two more candidates filed within the last hour so a separate lottery must be held for those candidates. The first lottery was scheduled for immediately following tonight’s meeting since all candidates were present to agree to this. The second lottery will be held on Saturday, 12/22/2018 at 1 p.m.

Clerk’s Report (Lisa Phelps) Request approval of following Board Meeting minutes submitted by Maura Kirchner (Clerk’s Aide): November 19, 2018 Motion: Young Second: Andrews Ayes: Andrews, Beaudoin, Chesler, Maier, Young Nays: none Abstain: none Absent: Thompson Motion carried

Approve 2019 meeting schedule: Request to approve meeting schedule for 2019. Motion: Andrews Second: Young Ayes: Andrews, Beaudoin, Chesler, Maier, Young Nays: none Abstain: none Absent: Thompson Motion carried

Treasurer’s Report (Melanie Gatza) Approve financial report: Treasurer Gatza gave a brief report stating that there is approximately $86,000 in general funds. She said the village is operating even with last year. Request motion to approve financial report. Motion: Andrews Second: Beaudoin Ayes: Andrews, Beaudoin, Chesler, Maier, Young Nays: none Abstain: none Absent: Thompson Motion carried

Approve warrant: Request motion to approve warrant. Motion: Chesler Second: Andrews Ayes: Andrews, Beaudoin, Chesler, Maier, Young Nays: none Abstain: none Absent: Thompson Motion carried

Building Inspector’s Report (Chris Carlsen and Chris Johnson) No report Absent

Village Maintenance Report (Doreen Dzialo) No report Absent

Police Department Report (Chief James Walton) No report

Standing Committees Buildings and Grounds (John Chesler) President French asked Trustee Chesler to fix the toilet at the Village Hall (leaking) and Trustee Chesler said that he would.

Community Relations (Cheryl Thompson) Absent Note: Due to Trustee Thompson’s absence, President French gave the report. Report on Christmas party: President French stated that the Village Christmas party was a success. He thanked Trustee Beaudoin, her husband (Santa Claus), and Trustee Thompson. He reported that Mr. Beaudoin and Trustee Thompson (elf) went to a gender reveal party as Santa Claus and his elf for some village residents to announce the gender of the residents’ baby.

Environmental (Lisa Maier) Report most recent Griswold Lake test results: Trustee Maier stated that chloride and sodium are down slightly. She said that this was to be expected due to the fact that the water was tested during the fall when road salt has not been used for several months. She said that otherwise results are similar to the last test. She said that she would have copies of the results for the board at the next meeting. She stated that it appeared to her that concrete runoff was entering the creek that spills into Griswold Lake when the curbs were being created. She said she would go to the site and check more closely and take some pictures.

Finance (Teresa Beaudoin) Trustee Beaudoin reported that she received a copy of insurance coverage from Comcast.

Planning and Development (Rich Young) No report

Village Codes (Kathy Andrews) Discuss implementing ordinance giving village resident more rights regarding contracts with contractors or companies: Trustee Andrews turned this item over to President French to explain the desire for this ordinance. President French explained that some contractors have been attempting to sell services to residents and having them sign contracts for said services immediately by telling residents that the price is only good if they sign on the spot. The contract that Trustee Andrews saw stated that if the job was not done, the resident is responsible for 33% of the contract price. President French said that he and Trustee Andrews would like to give residents 30 days to back out of a contract for good or services. Trustee Chesler and Trustee Maier expressed concern as to the legality of such an ordinance. President French said that Attorney Jim Kelly told him that contractors have certain responsibilities and that if they do not do their due diligence their contracts can be declared void. President French asked for a consensus to have Attorney Kelly draw up this ordinance. Consensus was all ayes with the exception of Trustee Thompson who was absent. A vote to adopt the ordinance will be held at a future meeting.

Public Comment Some Le Villa Vaupell residents had been present and President French was expecting Public Comments from them but they left after the President’s Report. More discussion as to the necessity of the change of Vaupell Dr. followed between Village Officials and the residents who were in attendance.

Old Business No Old Business

New Business President French brought up for discussion the possibility of changing the Village Clerk’s position from an elected position to an appointed position. He said that it makes more sense given the high turnover for Village Clerk over the past several years. The board agreed that this is a good idea and discussion followed as to when to schedule a special board meeting to vote on this. It was decided that the meeting would be held on 12/20/2018 at 1 p.m. at the Village Hall. President French stated that he would contact Attorney Kelly to draw up the resolution.

Public Comment (cont) A resident asked as to when the village website would be updated. President French stated that he had asked the person who handles it to update personnel and that he would call her tomorrow. President French stated that meeting minutes would be uploaded as well.

A resident asked if the board had intended to release a newsletter. The resident volunteered to produce a newsletter and to email it to President French. President French thanked the resident. Trustee Young stated that newsletters were discontinued because they were cost prohibitive and President French added that village personnel did not have proper experience with formatting a newsletter. President French said that the village could provide personnel and postage for the first newsletter but that subsequent newsletters could be done in the form of email blasts.

A resident asked if she could leave comments on the website and President French said that she could and that she could call him. Her concern was regarding the fact that she might be out of town during the meeting regarding the proposed purchase of peninsula property.

Executive Session Motion requested by President French to enter Executive Session to discuss personnel at 7:35 p.m. Motion: Andrews Second: Young Ayes: Andrews, Beaudoin, Chesler, Maier, Young Nays: none Abstain: none Absent: Thompson Motion carried

Returned to Regular Session at 7:37 p.m.

President French reported that raises for some village personnel were discussed and will be voted on at a subsequent meeting. He also said that Chief Walton agreed not to have his own police vehicle in order to save taxpayers’ money for the proposed raises. Chief Walton stated that he is happy to forgo having his own vehicle so his department could get raises. He said that he has had his own vehicle for several years in the past and that it is an unnecessary expense. President French stated that the entire Police Department, including the information technologist and the records clerk, will receive a $.50 per hour raise. He said that Director Dzialo will receive the same amount. A consensus was taken and the board all agreed to this.

President French stated that a raise for the Building Inspector Johnson will be discussed at a later date after an informal study has been conducted as to how much income is being generated by building permits.

The lottery was conducted to determine the first three ballot positions. The order is as follows:

1. Randall Sweet 

2. Lisa Maier 

3. Teresa Beaudoin

Adjournment 

Motion: Andrews 

Second: Maier 

Ayes: Anderson, Beaudoin, Chesler, Maier, Young 

Nays: none 

Abstain: none 

Absent: Thompson

Motion carried

Meeting adjourned at 7:51 p.m.

https://drive.google.com/file/d/1dvBxKuPyrJvCCqbnYWMhE7Nq9UBOdv22/view