Grundy Reporter

Village of Diamond Village Board met July 12.

Here are the minutes provided by the board:

The scheduled meeting of the Diamond Village Board was held at 6:00 p.m. with Mayor Teresa Kernc presiding. Upon roll call Commissioners present were Mark Adair, Dean Johnson, Jeff Kasher, and Dave Warner.

Approval of 06-14-2022 Minutes

Commissioner Kasher noted the agenda has the incorrect date for the approval of minutes. Correction to reflect June 14, 2022, minutes not June 28, 2022 minutes. MOTION was made by Commissioner Warner, SECOND by Commissioner Kasher to approve the 06/14/2022 regular meeting minutes and place on file. All Ayes: Motion Carried.

Approval of June 28, 2022, and July 12, 2022, Bill Lists

MOTION was made by Commissioner Johnson, SECOND by Commissioner Adair to approve the June 28, 2022, and July 12, 2022, bill lists and place on file. All Ayes: Motion Carried.

Approval of the June 2022 Treasurer’s Report

MOTION was made by Commissioner Kasher, SECOND by Commissioner Johnson to approve the June 2022 Treasurer’s Report and place it on file. All Ayes: Motion Carried.

Public Comment

None

New Business

Fall Fun Fest-Environmental Recycling and Disposal

Village Clerk Lori Holmes stated Jay Ipema from Environmental Recycling and Disposal Company will be donating 2 standard, 1 handicapped porta toilets along with a hand washing station for the Fall Fun Fest scheduled on September 10, 2022.

Quadient DS40 Folder Inserter Quote

Village Clerk Lori Holmes stated the current maintenance contract has increased 25% each year over the past 3 years and the current cost renewal is $2,000 for 1 year. The village owns the current machine which is 8 +years old. Village Treasurer Wendy Herbert reached out to Quadient for the cost of an all-inclusive lease rate and purchasing rates. Comparing the options, it would be the cost effective for the village to choose an all-inclusive lease agreement. Leasing options/terms were discussed, then MOTION was made by Commissioner Warner, SECOND by Commissioner Kasher to proceed with the 63 months all-inclusive lease option at a cost of $115.20 per month. All Ayes: Motion Carried.

Discuss Village Hall Hours

Mayor Kernc stated when the pandemic started because of the safety and health issues, there was flex schedule. Kernc stated the village hall is on a work schedule which are 7:30am-3:30pm and working through lunch break. Public Works employees are working from 7:00am-3:30pm with ½ hr. unpaid lunch. Kernc stated since we are all living through COVID, she feels it is appropriate to return to a regular schedule for the village hall, or if the board would like the village hall staff continue to work the current hours they have been working. Kernc would like to have the village hall staff take a ½ hour unpaid lunch as well. After the hours are decided on, Kernc would like those hours of operation posted on the website for both Public Works and Village Hall. Kernc stated eating through lunch is something the Public Works Dept. cannot do. Kernc is concerned if either department work through lunch and want to go home early, then there would be no staff working the scheduled work hours. Kernc asked the board for feedback and what they would like to see for the village hall staff. Feedback from Village Clerk Lori Holmes and Zoning Administrator Cindy Haywood was presented. After an in-depth discussion, decision was made by the board for the village hall staff work schedule hours to be 7:30am-4:00pm with a ½ hour unpaid lunch. The work hours will be placed into the employee handbook. The schedule will be in effect starting August 1, 2022. The subject of work hours was continued for the Public Works Dept. Public Works Supervisor Jim Dunning stated if the department completes a water leak repair or other emergency issues, there are times they must work through their lunch to complete the issues. At the end of the day, Dunning will give the option to the employees if they wish to leave ½ hour early since they worked through lunch or they can stay until 3:30pm of which they would be paid overtime for the ½ hr. Mayor Kernc stated if this is allowed, then there would be no workers available until 3:30pm. Kernc stated, leaving early not an option. They would receive overtime for working through lunch. The subject of flexing work hours due to extreme heat was discussed. Commissioner Kasher stated there are companies when there is a high heat index, they flex their work schedule and start 1 hour earlier and leave 1 hours early, due to excessive heat. Discussion of this subject was discussed. Decision was made if the heat index is one hundred or more degrees, the Public Works Department is allowed to work from 6:00am-2:30pm. All changes which were discussed and decided on, will be reflected in the employee handbook.

Discuss and Approve UTV Purchase

Mayor Kernc asked Public Works Supervisor Jim Dunning to obtain quotes for purchasing a UTV which having an additional UTV would be very beneficial to the Public Works Dept. Dunning presented quotes for 2 different UTV’s dealers. The discussion of purchasing a UTV had taken place many months prior. Dunning presented the options and costs with his recommendation. Commissioner Kasher stated he is opposed to purchasing a piece of equipment at the cost presented. Kasher would rather see the money go toward purchasing a new pick up to upgrade one of our older trucks. Dunning would like to purchase this type of vehicle because it does come in handy with work around town. The current gator is used every day for trash pickup throughout town, bring dirt to an area where the pickup cannot go, fill in dig sites, etc. Kernc stated the oldest pickup truck has only 50,000 miles. It has some surface rust but overall, that is the only issue. Kasher would like to see the purchase of used gator. After further discussion, decision was made that Kasher would search for a good used gator for purchasing.

Old Business

Grundy and Will County Sheriff’s Monthly Update

Will County Sheriff’s reports nothing out of the ordinary for service calls. Kernc stated Grundy County Sheriff’s reflected numerous domestic and juvenile service calls.

Legal Counsel

No Report

Engineer Updates

No Report

Public Works Department Updates

Public Works Supervisor Jim Dunning was asked to do a presentation at IPWMAN. Dunning’s update for the Public Works Department reports a possible sewer service line damage by Surf Air. Initial investigation shows they bored through the line and pulled out of the line. A picture from the camera lined was distributed. Further inspection will be completed tomorrow. Mayor Kernc and Commissioner Kasher stated restoration by Surf Air is atrocious. Dunning continued his report: Public Works need to complete work in Diamond Ridge before paving is completed, there is a water leak repair which needs to be completed by the end of the week. An alarm was received on Sunday evening. A possible power surge or power spike blew out the pc card which communicates to the SCADA alarm system. Due to the inoperable SCADA, it would not allow Pump to run, level wasn’t working, which in turn, flooded the basement at the sewer plant. (1 foot of sewer back up). Upon arrival at the plant, they were able to manually operate the pumps to get things under control. A VFD was also blown out from the spike and/or surge. The VFD which was blown was an old one. So, to replace that VFD and one of the other older drives, will cost approximately $2,200.00. The current pumps are not pumping at the megawatts which they should be. 2 of the pumps are the original pumps manufactured in 1995. Cost of each pump is over $16,000. If we purchase 3 pumps, we will receive approximately $6,000.00 discount. The expected time to receive the pumps is 4-6 weeks. Commissioner Warner stated this is the opportunity to be proactive, since they are not pumping at the megawatts they are required to and replace all pumps before they are inoperable. Looking forward, Dunning would like to purchase a fluke to test the pumps monthly instead of waiting for their yearly maintenance inspection.

Clerk Updates

No Report

Commissioner Comments

Commissioner Adair

No Report

Commissioner Johnson

No Report however he inquired about property which Blue Arrow Motors was located. The property is leased therefore due to the passing of the owner of Blue Arrows, D’Orazio is now leasing the lot.

Commissioner Kasher

No Report

Commissioner Warner

Commissioner Warner suggested to Commissioner Adair regarding the purchase of concrete corn boards for the village hall park. Warner was traveling to another town and saw these for the public to utilize and thought he would suggest something like that for the village hall park.

Mayor Kernc

No Report

Adjournment to Closed Session: Possible Litigation

MOTION was made by Commissioner Warner, SECOND BY Commissioner Johnson to enter closed session at 7:32pm. All Ayes: Motion Carried.

MOTION was made by Commissioner Kasher, SECOND by Commissioner Adair to enter open session with no action taken at 7:50 p.m. All Ayes: Motion Carried.

Adjournment

MOTION was made to adjourn at 7:51 p.m. by Commissioner Kasher, SECOND by Commissioner Adair. All Ayes: Motion Carried.

https://www.villageofdiamond.org/wp-content/uploads/2022/07/07-12-22-1.pdf