Village of Bethalto Board of Trustees met Jan. 10.
Here are the minutes provided by the board:
The Village Board of Trustees met on the above date in the Council Chambers of Village Hall in a regular meeting called to order by Mayor Bost at 7:00 p.m. The meeting opened with the “Pledge of Allegiance”. Roll call was taken by Village Clerk Sue Lowrance. Present: Trustees Lowrance, Perkhiser, Tweedy, Keister and Mull. Trustee Dugger was absent. Also present: Police Chief Mike Dixon, Public Works Director Rod Cheatham, Village Attorney Ken Balsters, Fire Chief Brian Buhs, Deputy Fire Chief Dan Bartels, Zoning Administrator Randy Reddick, and Village Treasurer Joe Hughes.
Motion made by Tweedy, seconded by Lowrance, to approve Village Board meeting minutes of December 13, 2021 as printed. All members voted aye viva voce. Motion carried 5-0.
REPORTS FROM DEPARTMENTAL SUPERVISORS:
Fire Chief Brian Buhs presented his report for December, noting 133 calls. The call total for 2021 was 1399. The department has added 1 new volunteer, and paperwork is being finalized for the rescue truck purchase. Mayor Bost asked how this year compared to last year as far as total calls. Buhs didn’t have the 2020 numbers but will let Bost know. There were no further questions.
Police Chief Dixon presented the monthly activity report for December, with his department running 560 calls. Dixon reviewed the Christmas for All event, noting $17k raised and 100 children helped this year. Dixon was able to make a cash donation to a local family who lost everything in a house fire as well. Everyone who received assistance lives in the Bethalto School district. The department needs to hire one officer to replace now-retired Sgt. Cope; one other officer has announced he is leaving law enforcement as well. The department received no applications for lateral transfer. Dixon updated the board on some recent significant cases. The contract with Wood River for dispatching services is up for renewal in April and Dixon is working on some language changes before that comes due. Dixon reviewed the departmental annual report. There were no questions.
Public Works Director Cheatham presented his reports and reviewed activity by department. There were no questions.
Zoning Administrator Randy Reddick presented his monthly report, noting 71 permits issued. Yearly figures were reviewed and compared to 2020. Operations continue to be completed in a timely manner. There were no questions.
GUESTS/PUBLIC COMMENT:
There were no guests or public comments.
RESOLUTIONS
Resolution 2022-01 A Resolution of Support for the Rebuild Downtown and Main Street Capital Grant Application was presented. Being awarded this grant would allow the Village to continue with the updated light fixtures down Prairie Street to 140. The grant application is due by midnight tonight and will be submitted immediately after the meeting should this resolution be approved. Motion made by Mull, seconded by Tweedy, to approve Resolution 2022-01 A Resolution of Support for the Application for the Rebuild Downtown and Main Street Capital Grant. Trustees Lowrance, Perkhiser, Tweedy, Keister and Mull voted aye; nays none. Motion carried 5-0.
Resolution 2022-02 A Resolution of Support for Application for Madison County Building & Zoning Environmental Grant was presented. This grant can be utilized to retrofit HVAC systems in existing buildings and would be utilized to replace the outdated and very noisy system in the Village Hall Community Room. Motion made by Perkhiser, seconded by Keister, to approve Resolution 2022-02 A Resolution of Support for Application for Madison County Building & Zoning Environmental Grant. Trustees Lowrance, Perkhiser, Tweedy, Keister and Mull voted aye, nays none. Motion carried 5-0.
ORDINANCES
There were no ordinances presented for consideration.
REPORTS FROM THE MAYOR:
Village offices will be closed on January 17 for Martin Luther King, Jr. Day.
Mayor Bost presented a recommendation from the Plan Commission/Zoning Board of Appeals for a parking space variance request at Fitness & Fun, 1137 E. Airline Drive. The PC/ZBA voted 3-2 for granting the variance, with one absent and one vacancy on the board, but the proposal required 4 yes votes to pass. Therefore, the recommendation sent to the Village Board was to deny the request. Trustee Mull stated that he has been to that facility and doesn’t see an issue with expansion without additional parking. There was discussion on how to receive the committee’s recommendation; Attorney Balsters noted that the Village Board could acknowledge receipt of the PC/ZBA recommendation and then move to either grant or deny the variance. The Village Board has the final say in any zoning case, the PC/ZBA is an advisory board. Balsters further noted that 4 affirmative votes would be required at the Village Board level as well. Motion made by Mull, seconded by Perkhiser, to acknowledge receipt of the recommendation by the Plan Commission/Zoning Board of Appeals regarding the variance request for 1137 E. Airline Drive. Trustees Lowrance, Perkhiser, Tweedy, Keister and Mull voted aye, nays none. Motion carried 5-0. Motion made by Mull, seconded by Lowrance, to grant the parking space variance as requested for 1137 E. Airline Drive. Trustees Lowrance, Perkhiser, Tweedy, Keister and Mull voted aye, nays none. Motion carried 5-0.
MONTHLY TREASURER’S REPORT:
The December Treasurer’s Report was presented by Treasurer Joseph Hughes. Income and Expenses were reviewed, and the Village’s cash balance is down approximately $230k from the previous month. There were no questions. Motion made by Perkhiser, seconded by Mull, to approve the Treasurer’s Report for the month of December, 2021. Trustees Lowrance, Perkhiser, Tweedy, Keister and Mull voted aye, nays none. Motion carried 5-0.
COMMITTEE MEETING
Committee meetings will be held on January 24, 2021 at 6pm.
BILLS
GENERAL FUND
Motion by Lowrance, seconded by Tweedy, authorizing payment of bills in the amount of $77,079.30. Trustees Lowrance, Perkhiser, Tweedy, Keister, and Mull voted aye, nays none. Motion carried 5-0.
WATER & SEWER FUND
Motion by Lowrance, seconded by Mull, authorizing payment of bills in the amount of $289,969.74. Trustees Lowrance, Perkhiser, Tweedy, Keister and Mull voted aye, nays none. Motion carried 5-0.
ESDA FUND
Motion by Mull, seconded by Tweedy, authorizing payment of bills in the amount of $5,235.73. Trustees Lowrance, Perkhiser, Tweedy, Keister and Mull voted aye, nays none. Motion carried 5-0.
The next regularly scheduled meeting will be held on February 14, 2022 at 7:00pm in the Council Room of Village Hall.
Having no further business, motion made by Lowrance, seconded by Perkhiser, to adjourn the meeting. All trustees voted aye viva voce. Meeting adjourned at 7:29pm.
https://bethalto.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/02/VILLAGE-BOARD-MINUTES-011022.pdf
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