Grundy Reporter

Coal City Village Board met March 18.

Here is the minutes provided by the board:

At 7 p.m., Mayor Terry Halliday called to order the meeting of the Coal City Village Board in the boardroom of the Village Hall. Roll call Trustees Dave Togliatti (via phone), Ross Bradley (arrived at 7:08 p.m.), Dan Greggain (via phone), Dave Spesia, Tim Bradley and Sarah Beach. Also in attendance were Matt Fritz, village administrator, Police Chief Tom Best and attorney Mark Heinle (via phone),

The Pledge of Allegiance was recited.

There was no public comment.

A lengthy discussion was held regarding the Coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic. The discussion included:

ACTIONS & RESOURCES MADE AVAILABLE

Business info distribution

• Delinquent Water/sewer/garbage bills with no shut-off date applied

• Closing of Village Hall lobby as of today's date

IMMEDIATE RESIDENT/BUSINESS SUPPORT

• Sending each resident a $25 Grundy County Chamber Gift Certificate in the April water/sewer/garbage bill

• Recommending that this certificate is a matching dollar amount ($25) and suggest their use in Coal City businesses.

• $60,000 expenditure from the general fund

• Possibly crediting $25 on the water/sewer/garbage bills instead of gift certificates

• Pro-rating the water bills over the next two billing periods

• Straw vote shows the Board would rather send the $25 gift certificates as opposed to the $25 credit on their water/sewer/garbage bills

• Motion to appear on the next meeting agenda of the Board

DELAYING LIQUOR LICENSE COLLECTION :. A yearly liquor license is $600

• Delaying the collection date for liquor license renewal

• Waiving the liquor license fees for 2020 affecting the 8 businesses requiring the liquor licenses; documentation is still required The liquor license will be waived for this year, a letter will be sent to the license owners informing them of this decision

T. Bradley moved to waive the liquor license fees for 2020 for all license classifications, second by Spesia. Roll call-Ayes; Togliatti, Bradley, Greggain, Spesia, Bradley and Beach, Nays; none. Motion carried.

Trustee Beach asked if there would be any compensation for other small business owners in Coal City? Discussed was:

• Cash flow to businesses due to closing, closing early/adjusted hours

• Low interest loans through Small Business Association (SBA)

• Ratify the façade program to issue loans to small businesses

Work with local banks for businesses loans (Mr. Fritz will research and present findings at the next Board meeting)

RESPONSE STAFFING

• Village staff revision of hours in the Maintenance Department, Water & Sewer Department, Police Department and Village Hall Employees

• Action to be in effect until at least March 29th

• Village Hall is closed to the public

• If employee is able to work from home, encourage on-line training

WORK OF THE BOARD OF TRUSTEES MOVING FORWARD

• The next Village Board meeting is scheduled for March 25th with a limited attendance; details to be determined later

• The Budget Adoption will be at the April 22nd Village Board Meeting

Possible future committee meetings; Finance Committee, Water & Sewer Committee Meeting

Resolution 20-08 repealing the policy establishing a minimum fund balance with the General Fund was presented to the Board and discussed. The original ordinance 16 05 states that the General Fund reserve balance will be $1.2 million, adequate to cover

six-months of expenditures. This resolution would repeal the minimum fund balance for the possibility of emergency or unexpected expenditures. The Board emphasized that accountability is foremost and all payments will be approved by the Board. T. Bradley moved to adopt Resolution 20-08 repealing the policy establishing a minimum fund balance within the General Fund, which had been adopted within Ordinance 16-05, second by Spesia. Roll call-Ayes; Togliatti, R. Bradley, Greggain, Spesia, Bradley and Beach. Nays; none. Motion carried. '

Mr. Fritz said that Stewart Spreading has agreed to remove the sludge from the sanitary treatment facility. Only certain haulers are licensed to handle this service. Stewart Spreading are willing to hold their 2018 bid price for $0.098 per gallon along with $6,000 for tipping fees. 755,100 gallons of sludge were removed in 2018. R. Bradley moved to extend the Stewart Spreading bid of September 12, 2017 to remove sludge from the sanitary treatment facility for a total expenditure not to exceed $100,000, second by T. Bradley. Roll call-Ayes; Togliatti, Bradley, Greggain, Spesia, Bradley and Beach. Nays; none. Motion carried.

Mayor Halliday presented solid statistics regarding the COVID-19 virus. He asked that everyone be smart, be careful and adhere to the self-quarantine, keep this in perspective and support your local businesses at this time.

R. Bradley moved to adjourn the meeting, second by T. Bradley. Roll call-Ayes; Togliatti, Bradley, Greggain, Spesia, Bradley and Beach. Nays; none. Motion carried and the meeting was adjourned at 8:08 p.m.

Pamela m. noffangen. Pamela M. Noffsinger, Village Gletk

https://docs.google.com/document/d/1ERMuPU1diBb7-cmk2RD6O4-IYQ2YfZSysA43DWKPVIg/edit