Grundy Reporter

Village of Coal City Village Board Met June 22.

Here is the minutes provided by the board:

At 7 p.m., Mayor Terry Halliday called to order the regular meeting of the Coal City Village Board in the boardroom of the Village Hall. Roll call-Trustees Ross Bradley, Dan Greggain, Dave Spesia, Tim Bradley and Sarah Beach. Absent was Trustee Dave Togliatti. Also in attendance were Matt Fritz, Village Administrator, Police Chief Tom Best, Darrell Olson, Maintenance Supervisor, and Attorney Dan Bolin.

All present recited the Pledge of Allegiance,

The minutes of the June 9, 2021 meeting were presented for approval. Greggain moved to approve the minutes as written, second by T. Bradley. Roll call-Ayes; Bradley, Greggain, Spesia, Bradley and Beach. Nays; none. Absent; Togliatti. Motion carried.

The warrant list was presented. Mr. Fritz asked that an addition be made to the warrant list for the approval of $12,034.21 to Huber Technologies for repairs at the sewer treatment plant. R. Bradley moved to approve the warrant list as presented with the addition of the $12,034.21 payment to Huber Technologies, second by Greggain. Roll call Ayes; Bradley, Greggain, Spesia, Bradley and Beach. Nays; none. Absent; Togliatti. Motion carried.

There was no Public Comment at this meeting.

The bid opening was held regarding the sale of the Village's property located at 160 W. Walnut. There was only one bid received. The bid was from Grundy Three Rivers Habitat for Humanity. The Board will address the sale at their next Board meeting on July 14th.

Ordinance 21-18 a redevelopment agreement for the property at 750 E. Division Street was presented. Mr. Fritz explained that the potential purchasers of the property are interested in rehabilitating the present structure and buildout three modern retail stores/businesses. This agreement will reimburse the developer up to $80,000 over a five-year period from the increment generated from the additional property tax and sales tax revenues expected. The parking will be located on the east side of the building and the Village will vacate an alley to improve the off-street parking. The developer will abide by the Village's Core Area Design Guidelines during renovation. In addition, the developer may apply for the Village's Façade Improvement benefits. T. Bradley moved to adopt Ordinance 21-18 providing a redevelopment agreement for 750 E. Division Street, second by Spesia. Roll call-Ayes; Bradley, Greggain, Spesia, Bradley and Beach. Nays; none. Absent; Togliatti. Motion carried.

The 2-year employment contract for Christopher Harseim as the new Police Chief was reviewed by the Board. The term of this contract is July 3, 2021 through May 10, 2023. A question arose for the vacation clause which would need legal review and opinion. Chief Tom Bests' last day as Chief is July 2, 2021. Greggain thanked Chief Best for his decades of service and congratulations on his retirement. Greggain moved to authorize Mayor Halliday to enter into an employment agreement concerning the terms of the employment of Christopher Harseim as Chief of Police pending review of the vacation clause by legal counsel, second by Spesia. Roll call-Ayes; Bradley, Greggain, Spesia, Bradley and Beach. Nays; none. Absent; Togliatti. Motion carried.

Mr. Fritz informed the Board that Nick Bulanda recently purchased the property located at 30 N. Broadway which sustained an extensive fire in 2020. The previous owner did not replace or repair the structure. Mr. Bulanda is interested in two scenarios for the usage of the property.

1. To tear down and rebuild on the current site with an estimated cost of $1.6- $2.1 million, or 2. Remodel and Repair the structure with an estimated cost of $250,000 resulting in the current non-conformities being partially eliminated.

Mr. Bulanda would like to rehabilitate the structure to accommodate three apartments on the second floor and approximately 2000 square feet of commercial space on the first floor. He is also asking permission to live in one of the apartments until the entire structure has been rehabilitated. Parking would be on the south side of the building, off the alley and off-street. Each unit would have central air conditioning and Mr. Bulanda may apply for the façade improvement program. In addition, Mr. Bulanda will follow the Village codes. Beach moved to approve Option 2 for the Rehabilitation of 30 N. Broadway to be economically feasible and may commence upon the issuance of a building permit from the Village's building department, second by Greggain. Roll call Ayes; Bradley, Greggain, Spesia, Bradley and Beach. Nays; none. Absent; Togliatti. Motion carried.

Mr. Fritz and Darrell Olson asked the Board for permission to purchase a track loader for the Village's maintenance department. The purchase price is $68,305 but Mr. Olson feels confident that he could get more for the old track loader than if used as a trade-in for the new purchase from Altorfer Cat. $50,000 was included in the FY22 budget for the purchase. R. Bradley moved to authorize the purchase of a track loader from Altorfer Cat for the provided estimate of $68,305.00, second by Spesia. Roll call-Ayes; Bradley, Greggain, Spesia, Bradley and Beach. Nays; none. Absent; Togliatti. Motion carried.

Mayor Halliday thanked Chief Best for his many years of service to the community and the great job he has done during his tenure. July 17th is his retirement party. Mayor Halliday congratulated Sgt. Harseim to his appointment to Chief of Police and approved the request for a Glock handgun and three magazines to Chief Best.

All the Board members wished Chief Best good luck, enjoy your retirement and thank you for all you have done over the years. The ad hoc committee that interviewed the candidates for the chief position was thanked for their service

Clerk Noffsinger reported that the annual audit is presently being conducted by Brian Zabel and Associates.

Chief Best thanked everyone for their comments and this Board for everything over his tenure with the Village. He also congratulated Chris Harseim on his appointment to Chief of Police.

Darrell Olson presented an update regarding the recent hiring at the maintenance department. He said there has been hired two full-time employees, one part-time employee and three Coal City Pride students from the high school summer program. There is still one part-time vacancy to be filled. Olson then stated that he has known Chief Best for a long time as they went to the same high school together. They have been through a lot in their years together and congratulated him on his retirement.

Mr. Fritz said that he and Chief Best have seen many issues during their tenure together including the Police Department feasibility study, the E-911 and consolidation, and two tornados. He stated that Chief Best always put the resident's first. He will be missed and thanked him for everything. This was Chief Bests last official Village Board meeting.

Greggain moved to adjourn the meeting, second by T. Bradley. Roll call-Ayes; Bradley, Greggain, Spesia, Bradley and Beach. Nays; none. Absent; Togliatti. Motion carried and the meeting was adjourned at 7:40 p.m.

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