Galesburg Reporter

New Lenox Township Board of Town Trustees met Dec. 13.

Here is the minutes provided by the board:

I. CALL TO ORDER 

The New Lenox Town Board of Trustees Meeting was called to order on December 13, 2018, at 7:00 p.m. by Supervisor Hickey. 

II. ROLL CALL 

PRESENT: 

Michael Hickey Supervisor Sue Smith Clerk Martin Boban Trustee Kathy Hilton Trustee Barbara Kaupas Trustee Larry Wennlund Trustee 

Also Present: 

Attorney Wennlund Ron Sly Highway Commissioner Bonnie Hernandez Assessor 

Absent: 

None 

III. APPROVAL OF MINUTES 

Motion by Trustee Wennlund, seconded by Trustee Boban, to approve the October 11, 2018, minutes of the Regular Meeting and the Executive minutes of October 11, 2018 as presented. No further discussion; all in favor none opposed; motion carried. 

Motion by Trustee Boban seconded by Trustee Hilton to approve the minutes of the 

Regular Meeting held on November 08, 2018 as presented and the Executive Amended minutes of November 08, 2018 No further discussion; Trustee Kaupas and Trustee Wennlund abstained all others in favor; motion carried. 

IV. SPECIAL GUEST/PUBLIC COMMENTS 

Supervisor Hickey asked if there were any question or comments from the floor; there was none. 

V. BOARD ISSUES-ACTION ITEMS 

A. 2018-FY Township Levy Ordinance #2018-04 

Motion made by Trustee Wennlund, seconded by Trustee Boban to approve and adopt the Levy Ordinance #2018-04 as presented in the amount of $1,283,320. 

Discussion ensued; On a roll-call vote Trustee Boban aye, Trustee Kaupas aye, Trustee Wennlund aye, Trustee Hilton aye and Supervisor Hickey aye; 5 ayes 0 nays; motion carried. 

B. Certification of the #2018-04 Road District Levy 

Motion made by Trustee Wennlund, seconded by Trustee Boban to approve the Certification Ordinance #2018-04 of the Road District Levy as presented in the amount of $2,794,000.00. No further discussion; On a roll-call vote Trustee Boban aye, Trustee Kaupas aye, Trustee Wennlund aye, Trustee Hilton aye and Supervisor Hickey aye; 5 ayes 0 nays; motion carried. 

C. 2019 Supervisor’s Office Holiday Schedule 

Motion made by Trustee Boban, seconded by Trustee Kaupas to approve the 2019 Supervisor’s Holiday Schedule as presented. Discussion ensued; all in favor none opposed; motion carried. 

D. 2019 Supervisor’s Office Staff Compensation 

Motion made by Trustee Hilton, seconded by Trustee Boban to approve the compensation increase of .50 for the Supervisor of Transportation, .40 for full time staff and .20 for part time staff per hour. Discussion ensued; on a roll call vote Trustee Boban aye; Trustee Kaupas abstained; Trustee Wennlund aye; Trustee Hilton aye and Supervisor Hickey aye; Motion carried 

E. 2019 Cemetery Fees Changes 

Motion made by Trustee Wennlund, seconded by Trustee Kaupas to approve the new scheduled fees for Marshall Cemetery & Maplewood Cemetery as presented. Discussion ensued; all in favor; none opposed; motion carried. 

F. Senior Housing Elevator Door Upgrades 

Supervisor Hickey presented to the Trustees a letter received from Schindler Elevator Corporation explaining that the existing VFQKS 16 Door Operator is obsolete. To prevent any extended downtime of your elevators, they recommend installing the IDD Door Operator Kit which will replace the obsolete door controller and motor. Cost to install Two (2) IDD Door Operator is $ 15,642.00 plus applicable taxes. Motion made by Trustee Kaupas, seconded by Trustee Wennlund to do just the main passenger elevator at this time. Discussion ensued; On a roll call vote; Trustee Hilton aye, Trustee Boban aye, Trustee Kaupas aye, Trustee Wennlund aye and Supervisor Hickey aye; Motion carried 

VI. REPORTS FROM TOWNSHIP OFFICIALS 

A. Supervisor 

1. Supervisor Hickey shared with the board that he received a letter about our  Transmitter Tower Communication which suggest that we replace them at a cost of $9,136.00. Discussion ensued; this will be brought back at a future meeting. 

2. Supervisor Hickey had a request from a tenant to mount a television on the wall, Supervisor Hickey expressed his concern that tenant’s deposits do not match rent, he is concerned that when a tenant vacates the unit and if they do not pay last month’s rent there would not be enough in the deposit to cover it. Discussion ensued. This will be brought back at a future meeting on how to bring deposits current to rent. 

3. Bathroom have not had the bars mounted yet due to some difficulties they are having with the low flow toilets, recently they have been rodded three times, plumber is looking at options to correct this. Discussion ensued. 

4. Supervisor Hickey wished everyone a Merry Christmas. 

B. Trustees 

1. Trustee Boban 

a. Trustee Boban attended two classes in Springfield at the Township Officials  of Illinois Conference he expressed the “main theme” in both classes was the importance of Township Government and the Services that Townships provide. Trustee Boban stated that he shared with the T.O.I officials that they need to get the message out to the public, he would like to see them be the Leader of the message; to educate the people of the important role of Township Government and the Services they provide to the residents. 

b. Trustee Boban shared that the used electronics collection is steady, and he  anticipates with the holiday usage will increase. 

c. Clothing/Shoes Recycling Drop off Containers have had no issues with  unrecyclable items being dropped off, usage is low right now, once the people get word that the containers are here he believes that usage will increase. 

d. Informational Guidelines outlining “Safe Work Practices for Township Employees” is still being added to. He has provided our Attorney Cass Wennlund with a copy to review. 

e. Township Christmas Tree provided by Trustee Boban is up and lit he  encourages people if they’d like to put an ornament on the tree to do so. He also expressed if anyone knows of any organization or groups that would like to decorate it, that would also be welcomed. 

2. Trustee Kaupas 

a. Trustee Kaupas shared “Operation Santa” was a huge success, they visited many of our seniors and the seniors had fun and very much appreciated the visit. She also thanked Ed Selvas for helping make the day such a great success. 

b. Trustee Kaupas shared the she attended the TRIAD Holiday gathering at the  VFW along with Supervisor Hickey and Trustee Hilton and it was a very nice time. 

3. Trustee Wennlund 

a. Trustee Wennlund at the bequest of Supervisor Hickey sat on the Intergovernmental Board for the Fire Protection Referendum Committee. He expressed that everyone contributed to make the referendum a successful one. He stated that after 5 defeats on the referendum everyone pulled together, and he was extremely impressed by the cooperation of all the governmental bodies involved working together to make this much need referendum a success. The residents of New Lenox are safer with the passage of this referendum he is very thankful to all that made it a success. 

4. Trustee Hilton 

a. Trustee Hilton also expressed that Operation Santa was a great success she  thanked everyone that helped to make it a successful day. She stated they ran a tight schedule it was an enjoyable experience and the Clients appreciated it. She further stated her appreciation to staff members for their extraordinary level of service they provided. 

C. CLERK 

a. Clerk Smith asked for a motion from the board to approve the destruction of Audio recording of Executive sessions for the following dates: September 14, 2006 October 12, 2006 February 08, 2006 Tape dated 2007-2008 October 11, 2007 November 08, 2007 Tape dated 2009-2012 April 2012 Motion made by Trustee Boban, seconded by Trustee Kaupas for the destruction approval of the above dates. No further discussion; all in favor; non-opposed; motion carried. 

b. Clerk Smith reported that she has been working closely with staff and the  Secretary of State Archives Division. Since June, we have worked diligently on taking inventorying of records and recording that inventory. There is a tremendous amount of paperwork that we continue to go through. Clerk Smith shared that she has prepared and submitted a list of records to the Secretary of States archives division. Currently we are waiting on approval of destruction or retention of documents we’ve recorded. Once we get the approval of destruction or retention we will move forward with it. This is a huge undertaking, Clerk Smith thanked staff for their help. 

c. Clerk Smith asked if the board had any interest in the Clerk perusing early voting at the Township, she asked for some historical information, after hearing the information the Clerk decided this topic would move to the back burner. 

D. HIGHWAY COMMISSIONER 

Highway Commissioner Sly reported that they are ready and waiting for the snow. 

E. ASSESSOR 

Assessor Hernandez reported that they have installed the new office program and that there are some minor things they are working out, she is happy with the program so far especially that its integrated with the County and she will have real time data. She also asked that a manual light switch be installed in her office, currently she is unable to manually turn off lights if needed. Assessor Hernandez submitted to the Board her office budget. 

VII. REPORT FROM ATTORNEY 

None 

VIII. APPROVAL OF BILLS 

Motion made by Trustee Wennlund, seconded by Trustee Kaupas, to accept all bills and late bills as presented and approve for payment $274,566.89 from the Township General Fund, $4,541.25 from the Maplewood Cemetery Fund, $285.00 from the Marshall Cemetery Fund, $7,089.21 from the Senior Housing Fund, $0.00 from the General Assistance Fund, $97,689.74 from the Road District Road & Bridges Fund and $0.00 from the Equipment & Building Fund. 

On a roll-call vote Trustee Boban aye, Trustee Kaupas aye, Trustee Wennlund aye, Trustee Hilton aye and Supervisor Hickey aye; 5 ayes 0 nays; motion carried. 

IX. OTHER BUSINESS 

None 

X. ADJOURNMENT 

Motion made by Trustee Wennlund seconded by Trustee Kaupas, to adjourn the meeting at 8:18 p.m. No further discussion; all in favor; non-opposed; motion carried. Meeting adjourned at 8:18 p.m.