Village Board - Regular Meeting

Barry, yes. Budro here. Vaughn here. Crockett here. Gi here. Zimbleman. Marilmore. Yes. Present. We have a the agenda. I'm sorry. We have a quorum. Yes, we do. The reading of the agenda. Are there any additions or deletions to the agenda tonight? Uh, I'd like to remove the um the uh seat orders 2538. Okay.

Well, we can't can't actually you can it's on the agenda. You can't actually remove it. I I don't know why we have this stuff at the beginning, but if it doesn't pass and you just if nobody wants to make a motion, you can just pass on it. [snorts] Just it's similar to why you can't add things to the agenda. There's an open meetings active, but it does say deletion. So, we should just delete. I don't I don't put that or from the Yeah, you could just not We shouldn't have that line anymore. You're saying I don't know why we have it out. Okay. [snorts] Okay. Um, the reading of the minutes. Are there any changes, corrections, or do I have a motion for approval?

I think we need to just make a couple corrections. I think Alen has already made those. Read them out. He's got to push to the next meeting. Just to make a couple just clarif. [snorts] Do you want to say what they are? Yes, I can say what they are. um on the change on the should have been on February 2nd. I don't have my computer open here, but February 17, I think,

right? Was on February 17th meeting, it should have on the second one down instead of Janu, it should have read February 2nd. And [snorts] instead of officer, it the spelling was wrong. Skully, it's sounds that way, but it's it's skelly. S K E L L Y. and Don well Don Lesner L E S H N E R on N

the L E S H E R I'm sorry. Yeah, I don't have that on there either. And there was one other one. Um on the second page it mentioned that Mayor Lammore went with someone to visit Harbor House. It was Don Leer who went Don Leer went with it. That's right. Okay. And instead of TIFF, it was there was a D there. T instead of TIFF. So, we should vote on this at No, no, no. You can just you can vote on it as corrected. Okay. And I have a motion to accept those minutes.

There's a on the very top under attendees, you've got a typo on skelly as well, right? I know there was one in the body of it, but up in the top portion, there's another one up there. Yes, I'll make that motion with corrections. Motion by Woodro. Second. Second by Von. Do all in favor? All in favor? I would abstain. I wasn't at the last meeting. Okay. Thank you. Yeah. All right. We are now at public participation and the first speaker tonight is Mr. Wheeler, Andy Wheeler.

Thank you, mayor and trustees and everybody in the room. I appreciate the opportunity. Um, tonight I had just a couple of things uh regarding the emergency fire response team or fire brigade and the new progress. Um per Chief Peterson, we all agree that uh and that he authorized me to say this to you tonight that we are all doing what we're doing is working and it will scale throughout the phase building. So the things that I have reported on are the baseline things that we've agreed on. Then we can talk about the process a little bit updates on phase two. Um so many points of the agreement have been reached uh with the township fire protection district in Negoti. Uh we agreed to establish and fund the internal emergency fire response team led on led by on shift response team of certified fire EMS staff uh credentials validated by the man township fire protection district. Uh the scope is obviously the IT facility. Uh we have uh we'll have trained and we actually currently have trained and certified EMT and fire professionals on site and on call 247 available for incipient fire and EMT services. uh the EMT resources. Goan agrees to utilize internal employees to [cough] fit emergency needs and has engaged with a third party to help determine what call line would dictate an increased EMT resource and on-site physicians assistant. Uh that's a data point that we're all concerned with making sure we pay correctly. Uh so other agreed bond items were the coverage now and during construction. I mentioned the six firefighters and EMS leads. We will have 12 on the fire response team with a full second shift. Um, and that was an agreed upon. Uh, the fire brigade response team coverage for overtime. Anytime we run

overtime, there will be one member or the members of this team will stay with the overtime. It's not going to they're not going to go home while you're running, so to speak. Uh we we agreed to have an overall policy on scheduling and co coverage uh with revisions as needed per the agreement. Uh the team certifications in the the current state of what we have have been or been sent to the fire protection district something that will evolve into a training schedule. So they're looking at their training, identifying the gaps, and they'll be kind of like the the training officers for us, and that'll come later when we work out how to compensate them for that time because obviously taxpayers should pay for us being trained. But I figured if we have your or their blessing, should I say, with the certifications, that's going right to the to the source of that that need. So um let's see here. your firewatch um to the fire response. Okay. Per plan as we scale, but anytime we're running obviously we'll have the full team there as we do the buildouts. That's fire watch because we have construction in the facility as well. Uh we have a meet and greet set with the brigade and the fire protection district for training, exchanged response plans, discussion, and we're moving toward a drilling and testing phase as well. uh the BDA which you may remember is a communication system is the primary and initial focus so we don't build out and then have to install the communications later we'll do it as we go through the whole building from now on so I did want to spend just a moment to talk about theou process first thing is is the initiation and negotiations parties look at the need and the collaboration and we define the scope which is where we're at uh and clarify the mutual expectations and goals and then we draft draft an agreement. So, as we start to put all these together, you draft the agreement.

[clears throat] Excuse me. It's uh being assembled purposefully as we go through this process. Um and updates and agreed upon details reported regularly just like tonight. So, as we we we could talk to the village folks, we can come here uh you know when we have our monthly meeting or come here and tell you all. Um but then the legal councils will both take once we get anou together. Um and then the execution will be authorized representative sign it and it's monitored for compliance and reviewed and updated and all of that kind of stuff. So um the other updates I apologize I'm going a bit long but the obviously we're moving some dirt. You might have seen things. Uh we're digging out the retention pond and also creating a parking area and a trailer city for the construction teams like you saw in front of CSL. a place to drop trailers while they're um you know using those because we're full of equipment. We got boxes and everything is everywhere. We're busting those open, assembling the lines as we speak. Um well, I can look at the time, but I I know we got people over there opening boxes. Um and then we let's see here. Phase two is is the cell production line project. It's roughly twothirds of the facility's layout. So we've built out and have occupancy on the first third which is just assembly. Now the cell production comes. That's that whole 2/3 to the west uh in the building and then uh set to begin in the fall of 26. So it's going to be a pretty quick timeline to have one line up and running and then it will intersect with the currently running module and pack lines phase one. Uh so local employ employment levels are going to balloon at that point once we need to hire that four shift operation uh cell production area. That's where it really never shuts down. It just keeps running except for PM human farm. Uh let's see here. I'm also proud to announce

Andy in fairness to the rest of the speakers. Can we wrap it up here shortly? Yeah. Yeah. I got two items. One, we [clears throat] had uh 40 uh roughly 40 Hopkins Park and Penrook residents that just completed the bridge program. about half of them got job offers and and most of those are going to China for the cell production school as train the trainers. They'll come back and we're going to reduce the amount of people that go because they're going to be training people here on site and then some of the subs are looking to hire out of that pool as well. Know that uh when we're ready to hop for those new cell lines uh it's largely clean room environments and we'll be holding large community recruitment events. More to come on that and thank you all. have a

Andy real quick before phase two starts we will have that memorandum of understanding with the fire department completed and executed I don't know that we would have it executed but it would it's we're drafting it as that's let me ask another question

that's answer that's why I explain the process you get everything on the table then you draft it so we're actually putting together the components right now and then it will be drafted. I just don't know how long it's going to take for them to back feed information, talk to their people and cut. I can't commit to that. But I can tell you that we've got a vast majority of it done. So I'm putting it on paper right now to be finalized with the last few things. So I can give you a better timet when that happens. Sorry. Well, my concern is as Joe knows is we were there two months ago and this has gone nowhere. And then my second question is

actually Who's who's monitoring who's monitoring the facility when the first shift of of people is done in the fire brigade goes home? Uh that's all on fire watch. Okay. Who's the firewatch? Those are the trained security folks that are So it's your security guards. Correct. Correct. So if there's happen to be a fire in the evening time after shift, who are they going to call? Who are they going to call? The the fire department. The alarms go off. Okay. But they call our fire department. Correct. The the alarms go off automatically. Well, you didn't answer my question. Do they call our fire department? They do not call your fire department. They're going to call your fire brigade first. They the alarms call everybody at the same time. Well, you don't have fire brigade there at that time. Correct.

We will. We have We have fire watch right now on eight hour shifts. Correct. And sometimes with an extra four, but you don't have anybody for the other 16 hours of the day other than security. Security. And we have about I'd say probably 10 hours coverage during the day. and we only run for the eight hours. Okay. So, but my question was is that you don't have anybody there when no one's working the facility? No, that's the worthy two or three million dollars of equipment takes over. You know, I have a question. Do [clears throat] you have anybody that inspects your containers coming into the plant? What's in the containers? I mean, is there anybody that

There's bills of lighting. So, when you you open those up, then you check them. I I know that. But I mean, is there anybody physically checking the containers that come into the plant? Is there do you have When when they're set down, we accept the shipment and then when they're laid out, then we bust open the containers and compare it to the billing. So, you can't inspect every truck that comes in. You do as you take it in the facility and place it. So, the answer is no. [snorts] I'm sorry. So, the answer is no. No, we do inspect what's inside of there, but not as soon as it comes through the gate. So, you let it sit there for a while before it's inspected.

Yeah, we have to check it in because we have we're laying things out in order. Not everything shows up in order. So, they're containers versus machines, uh, materials to build the conveyor that just my question, if there was anything nefarious in there, how would you know it? I mean, it's just a question. How how how would you know that? I'm sorry, that's not a question. It [snorts] is a question. It's gone through two major portions. What I'm saying is if there was something in one of those containers that was coming into that plant, how would you know what's in there? I mean, is there any way to

I would say that the ports of entry in Lwood and in Long Beach would have a pretty good idea what's in there. M that's their job is to inspect that stuff when it comes into the United States. But you don't I mean we do actually when it comes into the facility. Yes, we I I I can't let there be an impression we don't know what's going on. [clears throat] I thought I was coming to public comment. No, that was just a question I had that it's it's somewhat I would say a legitimate question if you're suspicious of something, but it's not a legitimate question if you're building a factory. Does anybody else have any other questions? Okay. No, that Thank you. Thank you for answering those.

Okay. You're welcome. Have a good night. The next speaker is Ann Gates. [clears throat]

Oh, good evening. Yeah, I talked to the chief

few few meetings ago. Mr. Wheeler introduced Mr. Patinsky that they flew in from Washington whom he explained was an integral head of CPHAS in Trump's first term. But after Mr. Trump was no longer in office, Mr. Patinsky became a part of the law firm of Morgan and Lewis and council for Gan. And in the succeeding years and still is council for Gan on their payroll. So why should we trust him? We shouldn't. In a Senate committee hearing from September 2025, Senator Smith and others were questioning a gentleman President Trump wants to assign to restructure CPHAS. Senator Rickettts found that the front end the uh no disclosure agreements made it possible for China's CCP purchase land through LLC and multiple shell companies everything from manufacturing to industrial facilities. April Haynes testified to the counter intelligence committee that China poses a threat to our country through the purchasing of land adjacent to and close to military and sensitive technology locations. transactions that should have been flagged by CPHAS as a national security threat by the previous administration working in concert with both local and state politicians made non-disclosure agreements that were passed passed through and not passed to CPHAS or they would have been flagged as the national threat through the American Land Protection Act.

of the United States of America. The non-disclosure agreements will be flagged immediately in Trump's restructuring of CPHAS and will cover the gaps left by the last administration. Three months ago, 60 Minutes did an expose on the intel and military of China's CCP and their intent through land purchases to hold data centers, solar fields that pose a long range threat. And David Fe of the National Security Council said CCP prefers to be in close to military, nuclear, and governmental facilities. Gee, what do you know? They're 20 miles away from three nuclear facilities and four military where they're located right over there. Isn't that a coincidence? He explains that some of the solar panels contain data collection capabilities as well as a kill switch. Can I continue important?

One more minute.

Okay. So, having said all that, we were misled by Mr. Patinsky that he has no vested interest because clearly he's on the payroll. He presented this as a green field. It's not a green field. It was swayed so that we would not speak up and say, "Hey, what's going on here?" That threatens our water. It threatens our air. It threatens our land. It threatens the cost of our home. Life insurance. Have you checked it out? health insurance rates are going up because they know what that poses and so do we. [snorts] Um later on this evening you will be taking a vote on whether a trustee should be allowed to zoom in for a vote. You are doing again robbing the public of their voice because a trustee is a selected voted in seat. Am I not right?

Yes.

They're voted. So if you can't fill the job and you can't be here, then you should do the right thing and step down. Why wasn't the same thing offered to the gentleman, Mr. Phillips, that was also sick? That wasn't offered to him. But you're willing to change the rules now so that you can have her sit in on a Zoom and maintain her place on the committee for a vote that is not representing the people of this town or this county or this state in a fair way. And last but not least, Mr. Crasel, I think is how you pronounce his name. He showed us a number of photographs and then they did a real nice expose before we went to court on TV. lots of commercials about how wonderful go is and this is one of the pictures that they posed. So I took the picture of it off my TV and I went and I took it and I had it enlarged. Isn't it interesting that over half of the faces

in this photograph that's enlarged are all redacted and it's time. Okay. So why would you redact? Either they're illegal here without a working permit.

Thank you. or they're on a watch list. Our next speaker is Francine [applause] Fatima. [clears throat] Francine Fatima. Good evening. on Friday the 28th of February, there was a very good um forum and that involved three of the Republican candidates running for governor. That's going to be on March 17th. Um, it's a primary election and the three candidates that came were Sheriff Mendrich, Rick Heedron, or however you pronounce it, and my favorite, Ted Pakowski, [cough] one of my people. The only advice though that I'm offering tonight is for everyone to go vote. It's so very important. I don't think we all realize the importance of it, but take a look at the national and international news and you see what Iran is all about. Scary stuff. Um, I really didn't have anything as it's as quite obvious.

I'm just very hopeful that with the election coming up, the primary, it's very important, but that people just come out because this country is worth saving. Thank you. Thank you, Francine. [applause] Our next speaker is Jake Smith.

[clears throat] Good evening. I'm Jake Smith, a 28-year-old Mantino resident, mental health, suicide awareness prevention advocate. I started doing a yearly walk in the year 2020 to raise awareness for mental health and suicide because it's a silent killer in our community. But in addition to also raising just awareness, I am raising money and which I spoke about two weeks ago at the previous meeting. And so I'm proposing raising or yeah raising money for a um memorial

fountain. Yeah. Memorial fountain um plaque to basically serve as a monumental symbol. Um, and I think the best idea is to put something like a message as opposed to names because you run into the issue of people not wanting names on there, people asking, "Why is this name not on there? Why is that name not on there?" But this one is. I think a message of sort of encouragement and about grieving and followed by the suicide hotline number would be the best way to go to make it more all-incclusive because unfortunately even after adding names the names unfortunately just keep piling up. And so right now my goal is 5,000 because that's what it says on the website for those things. Um I'll up that goal if I need to. But right now I'm happy to share that so far in just under two weeks I've raised $1,295 which is 26% of the [applause]

Jacob. When you get all your plans when you get all your plans firmed up, why don't you come to a committee meeting and present that? I think the trustes can all approve it. I can't make the morning meetings. Okay. Um Well, then we have evening meetings, too. Maybe one of the five o'clock meetings for sure. There'll be two of them in what, two weeks? Two weeks from tonight. Cool. Thank you. Thank you. [applause] Our next speaker is George Riker.

[snorts]

throw everybody for a loop tonight. Uh, I don't like what's going on in this town. Everybody knows I don't like what's going on in this town. I never will be in favor of Goan over there. And I really do not like what Goan is doing to this community as far as the citizens of Mantino. They divided this town. I really I know I come across pretty harsh sometimes, but I am really a good person. Believe it or not, uh Joel, I am. [laughter] And uh I just wanted to [clears throat] uh make a public apology to Annette Zimbleman. And I'm not going to go into detail, but I understand she has some health issues. And I do not hate that woman, okay? And she is in my prayers to get well. I mean, maybe she still hates me. A lot of women do hate me, [laughter] but I do not hate that woman. Just so I want everybody to know. I'm hoping she's watching and she understands. I mean, I don't know her well enough to hate her. You know, I just jumped on the bandwagon because of Goan. You know, they divided this town. You know, I mean, I've talked with Joel in the past and we've had some good conversations and, you know, I would like to be friends with everybody in this town, but this this stupid plant coming here just ruined this town is what happened. And uh I just wanted to wish her to get well soon.

Thank you. Thank you. [applause] Next speaker is Bob Foresight.

Yeah. This morning or this afternoon, we had the first speaker, Andy Wheeler. [clears throat] I I really hope you guys question what he does. He sold us down the drain in 2022, and he has continued to lie and cheat and everything else. He started at the county board. We seen him. We saw how he acted up there. We saw what he did. And now he's here trying to sell it again. But just last week, there's a House committee meeting. It's a 36page report about the Chinese Communist Party in Latin America. And you guys can go look it up. And it talks about the security risk to the Western Hemisphere. So you guys might want to look into this and try to figure this all out before they get any farther. He talked about his fire brigade. What year is his firet truck? Do you guys know what year the truck is?

Is it up to current technology or is it a antique fire truck? I don't think we know the year exactly, but he did buy a secondhand truck. So, was that truck up to current technology standards of today? I mean, I just find it hard to believe that we just take Andy Wheeler for his for his word, which is usually usually worthless, but I mean, I don't get it. But thank you, Bob. [applause] Um, the next speaker just wrote initials. DC. Yeah, that's me. Oh, it's Dolly. Hey. Can't believe we even have to discuss this. However, here I am.

What is your name? Dolly Carson's. Yeah, first.

Thanks. Yeah, my comments are about the attendance or the lack thereof of board members at the village meetings. There are several reasons why the village board should not be voting on remote attendance at meetings. Village laws and ordinance exist to serve the people, not to be changed for the personal convenience of individual trustees or a political party. The proposed change appears intended to accommodate an appointed trustee who is not elected by the residents rather was appointed by the previous administration. Trustees accepted their positions with the understanding that in-person attendance is mandatory and it is a core responsibility. If they are unable to f fulfill their duties, then they should reconsider their role and step down. Trustees work for and are are accountable for the pe to the people of Mantino, not to one another. It is not the place of trustees to offer forgiveness or favors to a trustee who fails to do their job by not showing up at meetings, no matter what the reason. Altering an ordinance to benefit someone who was appointed raises concerns also about political conflicts of interest. Remote attendance reduces transparency and robs both the board and the public from verbal and visual interaction, effectively turning participation into remote voting rather than open deliberation. It then becomes a tool solely for the purpose of influ influencing policy through a remote vote. If remote voting becomes acceptable, then why bother even having public meetings? You know, you could just do it by via Zoom. Also, if trustees are allowed to participate remotely, the same opportunity should logically be extended to the residents who can't attend in person. Anything less risks inconsistent or unequal treatment. Yeah. How can the public trust the sincerity of a remote vote? Remote vote voting raises questions about transparency. said, "Since the public can't see the trustes environment or level of engagement during a vote, a

remote vote disallows the public's ability to see if a trustee is under the influence of outside coercion or any other influences. So, the integrity of the voting process is too important to allow for remote participation. Taxpayers should not have to bear the additional costs for technology or accommodations made solely for an unelected trustee. Trustees are expected to serve the public, not the other way around. Residents expect their representatives to be physically present, engaged, and accountable. The people of Mantino did not vote for the equivalent of an absentee voter who seems to only show up to push specific agendas. My opinion, Mantino residents want a true representative who understands the importance of being there in person like they agreed to when they took this ever important job. You trustees are not being represent. you're not representing your constituents by even bringing this to a vote. That's why I said why are we even doing this? It just seems that trust some trustees are just wanting to protect their themselves and their agenda. And one other minor thing is also it would be helpful to the public if we could understand when [clears throat] this proposal was discussed, who requested it, and who drafted it. Thank you. Thank you. [applause] The next speaker is Emily Herman. [applause] Hi, I'm Emily Herman. Um, I have basically the same thing to say that I did last time. Um, but due to technical difficulties, I've been encouraged to come back and say everything again. That's fine. Things happen.

Is this better? Okay. Hi. Um, I'm so happy to be back up here again to raise awareness for adolescent young adult cancers uh following my little setback in November. I'm here to share some exciting news that wouldn't have been possible without the continued support and encouragement of the village board and members of the community, a few of whom are sitting with me tonight. I didn't know when moving here almost 3 years ago how much this town prioritizes nurturing community projects, small businesses, and opportunities for citizens to support one another. This is very much needed in today's world and sadly rare. Emphasizing service and volunteerism is especially encouraging to my generation and younger, giving us a good foundation on how to care for one another and open our eyes to issues going on in today's world that don't get talked about enough. Here comes my exciting news. Ever since starting my project Cute and Acute in 2024, I've created well over a 100 care packages and envelopes, walked and ran over 200 miles during chemo for leukemia awareness, and reached over 3.5 million people online to raise awareness for various issues that affect the adolescent and young adult cancer community. It's about time that I take it to the next step and make it an official 501c3. A cancer organization called Nick's Wish out of Rockford, Illinois, has granted my wish of making this possible. I look forward to continuing to work with the community to raise awareness, provide encouragement to fellow fighters, and attempt to make this town a little more accessible for those navigating a health crisis. There are some issues that need addressing in the future as the problem as a problem we are seeing more and more of with citizens disregarding laws surrounding handicap parking spaces, continuing to keep medical fundraising events easy to apply for, and raising awareness to control harmful chemical pollution from factories in this town. I have learned a lot from the community participation portion of these meetings

and have made note of these issues as they affect who I advocate for along with myself going through cancer. Um, once again, thank you for the thank you for the continued encouragement not only for my project, but all of the others in town, too. Continuing these positive steps will keep allowing us to move in the right direction on how we care for for our neighbors. I would just like to say something that I've added after seeing um what has been going on tonight. Um it does not matter what people believe in um in this town. I will raise awareness for everyone going through cancer. I will make a care package for anyone going through cancer. Um nothing will divide my take on that. Thank you.

Thank you. [applause] The final speaker tonight is David Bergdoll. Good evening. Last week, [clears throat] middle of the week, I was surprised. I popped on Facebook and I saw an announcement that Jacob Knox is resigning as chairman and CEO of the Chamber of Commerce. from his position at the village as uh director of community marketing. Um I was kind of surprised then I thought back realized that's an incredibly stressful job. I was the last chamber president who didn't have any paid staff help and realized [clears throat] if I thought the job was pretty awful, can't be that much better 30 years later. Um, he's done a great job. But one of the questions I get a lot because of my background is whether his position as half chamber half a village is in some ways a conflict of interest. And probably 80% of the time the village and the chamber of commerce would basically take the same position on most issues. But as we've seen in the last couple of years, I think Mr. Dax has been put in some very difficult situations because the chamber has been dealing with things perhaps more because the village has

asked them the chamber to do that than what chamber membership may want. It is my thought that given his resignation, it is time for you to set up a meeting with the Chamber of Commerce and see if it is time to sever the relationship between the chamber and the village for this position. There are now two, if I'm not mistaken, there at least were two people working in the office. And if it's time to make one of them full-time chamber and the other one full-time village rather than having them split time between the two. Um, again, there are a number of issues out there where it's very, you could tell that Jacob could not be very comfortable because the chambers position probably should not have been the same position as the village and having the dual role put him in a position of some difficulty and just having to go with the village line. Um, again, as the last person who did the job without any paid staff, I learned a lot about the community.

And I believe at this point, he's learned a lot about the community. I think going forward you may be better severing that relationship rather than putting the next person in the position of having to deal with is this better for the chamber or for the village. Thank you, David. [applause] Okay, so that is the end of public participation. We're going to move on to um the village president's report. And tonight we have the honor of having Jenny um how do you say your last name, Jenny? Shane Wet. Shane Wed here from the Harbor House to give a a short presentation. Thank you, Jenny.

Thank you.

Good evening everyone. Thank you so much for the opportunity to come and talk to you a little bit about Harbor House. Thank you. So our past, present, and future. So many of you hopefully have heard of us. Hopefully this isn't the first time you've heard our name. We've been in the community for over 45 years. started as a group of volunteers that used our use their home their own homes as h as the safe houses and their home phone numbers as the hotline. Fast forward 45 years and now we're an organization that has four facilities and we're at a very exciting point in our story. So I want to tell you about that and tell you about a request that we have for the village of Mantino. Uh and Mayor Lammore, I'm going to ask for your some of your thoughts as you've been able to be involved in this a little bit more than others. Harbor House exists to serve survivors of domestic violence. We offer free and confidential services ranging from our 20 ranging from our 24-hour hotline in chat line, counseling for adults and children, support with the court system to emergency shelters and more. Again, free and confidential. We exist because of the community, because of community support, because of advocates who've come alongside to believe that nobody should go through the worst experience of your life alone. Because domestic violence doesn't just impact a family, it impacts an entire community. More than 10 million women and men are impacted across the country. More than 15 million children. Domestic violence also has a safety aspect. More than 68% of mass shootings have a domestic violence connection. So when we think of domestic violence, it's not just a family matter. It's not just a behind closed doors matter. It is a matter that impacts all of us, including the village of Mantino. Uh, one of our strong advocates, uh, and also a co-founder of the Keny County Domestic Violence Task Force is is Chief Swinford, and I asked him to pull some statistics about domestic violence within Mantino specifically because we know it's the number one violent crime in the county. And that's not unique to

here.

It is. Yes. [clears throat] Um, so far this year, obviously since January 1st, uh, Mantino Police has responded to 18 domestic violence related calls, given we're just into March, that's quite a few. Last year, we responded to 184. So, some simple math tells you about every other day we're responding to a domestic violence call, which is by far our most common type of call we go to. Um, and you know, when I talk about domestic violence and compared to other types of crimes, you know, we're fortunate that we live in a very nice community that doesn't suffer from shootings regularly, um, homicides, armed robberies occasionally, but not regular like other communities have to deal [music] with. Domestic violence affects every community evenly. So whether you're Chicago, Kanka Key, Clifton, or Mantino, it's all it's the same across the board. Uh so it's a high priority for us. Um we do the best we can. However, we need expert help and Harbor House is that expert help for us. Uh it's one of the most complicated, dangerous calls we go to. Uh it's complicated for the victim to navigate the system, to understand what she's going through, understand what the police are doing, understand the court process. We can't supply that for them. you know, we're we're there to supply immediate safety, make an arrest if it's appropriate. Uh, from that point, we have to hand it off to experts, and we need those experts in the community to help these victims, of which we have many, unfortunately. Uh, so I support Harbor House. I've been working with Harbor House for pretty much most of my career, at least 30 years. Uh, and, uh, I don't know what we'd do without them. They're our only shelter in the community. Uh and unfortunately that is woefully undercapable. Uh they turned down a lot of uh our victims unfortunately because they have to. Uh so I support them fully. Chief just touched on the exact reason

why I'm here that we have to turn down victims willfully because we don't have space. Last fiscal year, Harbor House had to deny requests for shelter 730 times [clears throat] due to space limitations. It's in the case for support that you have in your folders. And I want to repeat that 730 times we had to say no to somebody seeking a safe night's sleep because they thought they were going to die that day before. We don't hang up the phone. We do safety planning. We do everything we can, but we need more space. We have advocates that are sharing offices, our legal advocates and others that are sharing offices. Only 30% of our clients out of 600 clients utilize our residential services. The 70% utilize our walk-in services like legal advocacy and counseling. They need more space, not sharing offices. We answer more than 3,500 hotline calls from the community. Like I mentioned, we serve 600 survivors and we provide about 10,000 nights of shelter right now and we need to do more. Mayor Lammore, you had a chance to see our home. You had a chance to walk through our shelter and to see some of those limitations firsthand. What were some of your thoughts about that if you don't mind? There are several things that really touched me. The tiny amount of space that a family gets when they arrive at their shelter, and thank God for the shelter. Where would they go,

but they have a very small room. There's one bedroom and it's got two stacked up bunk beds. And I was there a bed at the end also. Just the two sets of bunk beds. That was it. And then a small couch. So there's just enough space to walk between those bunk beds and the whole family's going to sleep in there. And I was also very impressed by your pantry. They have a pantry with a lot of food items and it's like a scaled down version of our Mantino food pantry. Every item is marked with the date that it expires and those are brought to the front of the shelf so that they're used first, but the people who come and stay with you can go into that pantry and plan their meals and take it back to their tiny little apartment that has like a kitchenette the size of what you'd see in a hotel.

There's no kitchen table. I didn't see a table with chairs around it. I saw very small little table easy to miss. I just saw a small couch. It's so little. It's smaller than any hotel room I've ever been in, but they were so organized with the food and they're so, you know, generous. They have everything that you would need. Not that there's an abundance, but you need more donations.

And also, there was a closet down the hall that impressed me because when she when Jenny opened it up and I saw what was in there, it was filled with brand new toys. so that any of the children who came in after a night of trauma could find a toy that would comfort them and make them feel special like they had something of their very own. Those three things were the things that touched me. And then finally when I was getting ready to leave, I think Jenny showed [music] us the hot button. So to make that place secure in case anybody tries to come and break in and get somebody out of there, there's a hot button that she can push. And you said the police would be there in what, three minutes? Very quickly. very quickly.

Yeah. So, I was impressed with that because that has to make that would make me feel safe if I was in there. So, I thank you for everything you and your people do because it's so needed in today's world and we want county to be safe for everybody. Thank you.

Thank you, mayor. Thank you for all of that support and for helping us to identify what that crisis is. But I've got good news. We've also worked towards the solution which Mayor Lammore has gotten to see the detailed plans and Chief Swinford some of those plans around what we're working towards as a community. We are currently doing construction on a new 12,000qt² facility that houses an expanded emergency shelter as well as additional confidential program spaces. You're saying you're wondering why are you doing construction? Because it seems like you're here for a little bit of a fundraising vibe. And you're not wrong. This project is $4.5 million and we're starting the construction now because we got a $2 million DCEO grant. And if you know anything about state and federal funds, they have their own timelines. And so out of that $4.5 million project, $2 million is being funded by that grant, which actually the city of Canka Key received that grant on our behalf and is managing the liability and all administration of it. We also are committing out of our own reserves 500,000 towards that 4.5 million because we knew we aren't going to ask anybody else to do something that we're not willing to do first. We want to lead by example and invest in our own work. The last 2 million coming out of a capital campaign. So we have been approaching different communities uh such as Village of Mantino. We've approached different churches. We just hosted an ecumenical breakfast two weeks ago, I think that was, and had about 70 different faith leaders from our community, including Mantino present to involve their congregations. We've been quietly fundraising behind the scenes. And I'm pleased to tell you, we're at over $1.5 million raised.

We're almost there. The end is in sight, but also it's not done yet. There's still that gap that we need to fill. And so we do want to ask the village of Mantino to be involved in this. We've had five other uh communities within Cane County commit funds towards this totaling about $80,000 so far. And we're going to continue approaching all of the other communities. I have other presentations even scheduled this week at other city council meetings. And so our request for the village of Mantino is based on your population. So based on best practices with our fundraising consultant, we were asking each community to commit $4 per resident of their community because we serve every single community in Cani and Irakcoy counties. And so based on uh the number that I got from the Google, that's $36,4840. I want to tell you a story. Rewind 46 years. very first fundraiser that we did at Harbor House was we asked all the churches to donate 10 cents per parishioner because that represented the cost of a call a co the cost of a hotline call through a pay phone to us for a night of safety and churches got behind that and got involved. Now $4 is a little more expensive than 10 cents. I also think the cost of economy is a little bit more expensive now than it was 45 plus years ago. But we ask for you to consider that donation or whatever feels comfortable to you. We will be grateful for all of the support. Some communities have done that. Some communities have done more. Some communities have done less. We're grateful for everything because it's all of us coming together that's going to make this happen. I want to close with a thought that's been guiding this process for us. Defining moment, lasting impact. It's the name of our campaign. You'll see that throughout the folders that you have in front of you. This moment in our story in Harbor's 45 plus years is very much a defining moment. It's a defining moment for us as an organization. We've never had an opportunity like this and we wanted to make sure we were going to

do it right. So, we got the right people and the right seats on the bus to make sure that we could bring this to fruition is a defining moment in Harbor's story. But it's not just us. It's a defining moment in survivors of domestic violence story. We all know a survivor of domestic violence, one in three women and one in four men. It's happening to the people sitting next to you in church. It's happening potentially to the people sitting next to you in this room right now. This is a defining moment for them that when they pick up the phone or when police officers respond to their house and they need a safe place to go, they will be met with the yes, your bed is ready for you. Your family can sleep safely tonight and can get that toy. That's that that child's safe place. That's a moment of joy. So, it's a defining moment for survivors of domestic violence, but more importantly, it's also a defining moment for our community. This has been a crisis. It's been an epidemic that has plagued us in fiscal year 21. Kiki County was ranked the third highest for domestic violence homicides in the state of Illinois. By population, I would guess we're what, 18th, 17th, but we had the third most domestic violence homicides in Illinois. Thanks to the domestic violence task force and fatality review that Chief Swinford was very instrumental in getting that started. I believe it was in 2024, we didn't experience any deaths due to domestic violence because our community is leaning in. Our community saying there's no room for this and we will be safer. And that includes by providing expanded emergency shelter and additional confidential office spaces. So this project is a defining moment for our community as well. And all of this will yield lasting impact. I know this is a lot to consider and you have a lot of other priorities as well. So thank you first and foremost for your civic leadership, for the role that you bring to the community. Thank you also for your consideration in investing in Harbor House. And Mayor Lammore, is there anything else you'd like me to touch on or any other questions? No, but Jenny, I will bring this to our next finance committee meeting and the trustees will discuss what we can do.

And if anyone in the public would like to help, please contact me or any of our trustees because we'll take donations from the public and we'll make sure that Jenny gets them. So, thank you very much for coming. Thank you.

Thank you. [applause] All right, we're still on the village president's report, but I have a couple things I just am going to say before I close it up. The forensic audit is getting very close. So, look for something to happen in the next two weeks. We'll let you know and there will be a meeting to discuss all the results. Um, I know that Chris Lorac, our administrator, is going to give a report tonight on some hiring that we're going to be doing and I'll be asking him to do that in just a few minutes. Um, something that's happening at the schools this week is read across America and civic leaders in Mantino. I know members of the Chamber of Commerce, I was also notified or asked if I would like to read a book to one of the elementary school classes. And so, a lot of us are going in this week to do that. And I think it's a really good thing. And I'm going to make my book funny. I picked one at the library today. So, I'm not going to be one of those boring speakers. And I can talk in different voices. So, I think the kids will get a kick out of it. I'm really looking forward to it. Um, that's all I have. And so, [clears throat] Chris Lorac, would you like to give your report?

Yeah. So, as mentioned earlier, Jacob Knox turned in his resignation last week as the marketing and community relations director and chamber president, CEO. Uh, we want to thank Jacob for all the work he's done over the last three years. He's done an outstanding job for both the village and the chamber. Uh, we'll definitely miss having him around Village Hall. He always had a smile on his face and had a positive attitude. Um, and he will definitely be missed. So, we wish him the best of luck in his next position. So, we are taking applications for that position right now. We'll be taking those through March 16th. Um, they can be found on our website, the application, or they can be picked up at village hall. This is a dual position working for the village and the chamber of commerce. We're also accepting applications for seasonal full-time public works positions. Uh we're looking to fill three of those. It's a full-time job from April until November. You have to be at least 18 years of of age to apply. And this is a union position. Uh and also we will be taking those applications uh through April 16th as well. So anybody interested, you can reach out to village hall or go on the website and download the application. What about crossing guards?

Um that that's a continuing Oh, Al left. Um yeah, they I think they always kind of leave that open just in case uh you know they they need to fill any of the positions. I'm not sure that we have any shortages right now, but uh we're always willing to take names in case we have to fill something. So all of these applications are available at the village hall. Just go over and talk to one of the secretaries and you can fill one out, but do it do it before the 16th. Correct. Thank you. Committee reports. Finance Trustee Barry.

Thank you, mayor. Uh, old business on the agenda, none. New business on the agenda, payment of the bills, $114,3642. [music] Bills authorized and pay between board cycle $50,524.35. The next finance committee meeting report uh the next finance committee meeting will be uh Monday, March 16th at 5 PM in the village boardroom. Thank you. Planning and zoning trustee Woodro.

Thank you, Mayor. Uh we have no old or new business on the agenda. Um our next planning and zoning committee meeting will be Wednesday, March 11th at 7 a.m. in the village boardroom. Our next planning commission meeting for Tuesday, March 10th is canled. However, I will make at least for the April one, I thought I had already done this, but I'll make sure it's on the agenda. Uh having a discussion at least by the planning commission on growth in town, ideas, stuff like that. We kind of started having that in our committee meetings, but I'd like to throw that to them too just to kind of again spark more ideas uh with it to what are they looking for? What would it look like? All that kind of stuff because it probably would anything we would want to do would start through them anyway uh with ideas. Uh again, I've been meeting with some people around town. Uh I started meeting with uh had a kind of an impromptu meeting with a couple schoolboard members just again just a broad discussion on openness, what do they want, stuff like that. So, we're kind of again just getting into this process, but I think it's kind of we're making uh good steps initially of kind of what as a town what we want to see if if we do uh with it. And that's all I have. Thank you, mayor.

Thank you. So, that planning commission meeting has been cancelled. Yes. Okay. Thank you. Public safety and health trust von. Okay. Old business, I have none. New business, I have none on the agenda. The public safety committee report is going to be given by Jeremy Marzik. Morazzic. Marzic. Is that close? [laughter] Thank you.

Officer Jeremy Morazzic. I got some read for you guys today in light of recent events. So, all the bad things we see on the news every night, occasionally we are asked if we prepared for a major event. The Mantino Police Department takes emergency preparedness very seriously. While I can't discuss sensitive operational details in a public setting, I can assure the board and our residents that we train regularly for a wide range of critical incidents, including active threats, shootings, large-scale accidents, and natural disasters. Our officers participate in scenario-based training, inter agency exercises, and ongoing professional development to ensure readiness. In addition to our PL internal planning, we maintain updated emergency response protocols and work closely with our fire departments, EMA, school officials, and other local partners to coordinate response efforts. Importantly, we are part of the Illinois law enforcement alarm system, ILAS, which allows us to rapidly request assistance from law enforcement agencies [snorts] across the region and the state if major incident exceeds our local resources. No single department handles a large scale event alone. And though mutual aid agreements and established partnerships, we have access to significant personnel, equipment, and specialized resources when needed. Our goal is to remain proactive, prepared, and ready to protect our community. Any questions?

All right. Thank you. Thank you, Jeremy. All right. If anybody sees anything, say something, you know, report it and that's the way we can help keep our community safe. And our next public safety and health committee meeting is March 16th at 5:00 pm in the village boardroom. Thank you. Thank you. Public works and utilities. Trustee Crackett.

Uh, thank you. I don't have anything on the agenda this evening, but we do have a public works committee meeting scheduled for March 24th, 7 a.m. here in the village [snorts] boardroom. Um, Jim, do you have any projects that you'd like to discuss? Uh, we started doing the foundation work over there at the square for the pavilion. Uh, spring cleanup stuff going on. Um, pretty standard stuff. Nothing uh nothing beyond that right I think we're looking into possibly starting up the shed for the soccer program out at Heritage as well. So, storm sewer projects are going well.

Uh, both the projects have wrapped up other than some of the uh landscaping. Uh, they got all the connections made up. Uh, we talked about that last week. So, um, there's a good chance that, uh, that's going to be done here with warm temperatures. Got all the snow plows put away. Don't need any more snow for the rest of the year, right? It's going to there's 70° and 14 inches of snow still in the schedule or the the forecast for the next two weeks. So, you know, we're still in a holding pattern. So, wishful thinking, right? Yeah. That's all I have for this evening. Thank you. Properties and recreation. Trusty Gesky.

Thank you, mayor. Um, no action items on the agenda this evening. Our next park and w committee meeting scheduled for March 11th at 7 a.m. right here at the village boardroom. Uh during our last committee meeting, we discussed quite a few things. We discussed some potentials for um Rooter Park, possibly doing some improvements there. Um we also discussed Heritage Park and I think we were going to talk about that this evening. Um but it's not on the agenda about the park equipment replacement. We were going to few board members were going to take a look at it and we're going to reconvene. So maybe we'll just put that on the next park committee meeting to address that again. Um other than that, I think we discussed Jim the baseball uh dugouts that we approved last year um over at Heritage. Are we going to be starting that work here pretty soon as well?

Yep. That's also on the list. Okay. And that's all I have. Did you want to give Annette Simpleman's report, too? Uh, she has no action items on the agenda. [clears throat] Our next committee meeting scheduled for March 24th at 7 a.m.

Thank you. All right. Before we go on to new business, I kind of skipped over something that was on my agenda, and it's board participation. And I just want to say that sometimes things come up in our lives and we just have to miss a meeting. But unfortunately, we've had several meetings lately where we didn't even have a quorum. And two of those were committee meetings. And it's kind of disappointing. Well, for one thing, we're still having 7 a.m. meetings, and that's difficult for people to attend. We have trustees who can't possibly go either [clears throat] because they have to be at work earlier than that, and they can't they're far away or they have to leave early because they have a job to go to. So, I still would like to encourage us to look again at trying to change the time of some of those morning meetings. I know you I know some of you just really don't want to have an evening meeting, but at least if we did it maybe like we do for two committees before a board meeting, we can meet at 5:00 and get those committee meetings taken care of. It might be a little easier than going to a 7:00 meeting.

I think the problem that you run into is more of us have conflicts in the evening than we do in the morning and participation would be even less. And that's why on the agenda this evening, the participation via Zoom, and I know that people have alleged that it's just for a net, it's not. It it allows for any village board member to participate via Zoom in any of the meetings. So,

um, and I I'll use Mike as an example. Mike can't make the morning meetings, right? I mean, that's he's working. He may be on drive time. He would be able to participate in those meetings. Um Todd, you you missed a couple meetings because of work obligations. Yes. This would allow you if you're out of state for work obligations that you would still be able and we'd still have a quorum and still be able to function. CJ, you you coach golf, there's times that especially in the fall that you're going to be out that you can't be at an evening meeting. It would allow for you to still participate.

So that's why that's on the agenda this evening. It's not the Annette Zimbleman um ordinance. It's the village board ordinance that we're going to be talking about later, but it's to allow for everyone to participate because I agree with you. We want everyone's participation. We're all here. And I think that if all of us can participate, we're we're going to have less arguments, right? There there's a lot of times that's misinformation. I don't know if Zoom meetings are the answer, but there will be more discussion about this when this comes up for a vote.

And I just want to say that we all live different lives and some of us are very [clears throat] connected to other things going on in our lives. And some of us can't come in the morning, some find it difficult to come at night, and some have things in both morning and evening. So, we have to re-evaluate what we're doing here because we're here to serve the people and we need to give that short amount of time to some discussion. And I always think that when you're discussing things in a room together is so much better than when you're on a computer looking through Zoom. So that's my personal opinion. But anyway, I just want to say that has been an issue lately and it's partially because we have someone who can't be here, but it's also because other people take off and they do have some valid reasons for that. So if there's any way that we can fix that, I would like us to try and work on it. All right. Um, new business consideration regarding a motion to approve an estimate for a change order from LT, I'm sorry, a change order from LT Turf Pros in the amount of $46,650 for turf at the square on second. Is there a motion to approve?

I'll make that motion. Motion by seconded by uh Crockett. Crackett. Is there any discussion? Um, you want to talk about that, Jimmy, about the the difference in price what we had before and then speaking to the guy, you know?

Yep. Uh, we ended up meeting up with the contractor and they were able to reduce the price about $1,800. Uh, this includes extra turf that was uh going in that center location. Uh, removing the sidewalk, so adding more turf and uh subgrade in that location. And then uh the fall protection padding underneath the zip line. Uh that area is kind of failed and looking to update that. Make it all turf. So it'll be a nice clean look. So just to clarify, the $35,000 for the turf was already paid for. So that was incorrect the last time, right? When it was $87,000, correct? Okay.

The turf was paid for before, but the labor of installing it was not. This this $46,000 is a change order because we are adding a replacement of that fall zone and we're also changing the scope of the the location of where we were, but the turf was already paid for. So, that's the difference. Correct. Okay. Yeah. The product we purchased a year ago. Uh we still haven't paid for the labor for that original install. And then this is the change order for but the the overall bill will still be $80,000. But there's a change in it. We've already You're saying we've already designated that pay. Like we're going to pay them no matter what. Whether we do it or not, we're paying them that. This is just to change. Correct.

This is change order to correct. That's right. Do the repairs. So there's a motion on the floor. Should we do a roll call? Yes. Yes. Yes. Yes. Yes. Yes. Yes. Motion carries. I don't have to vote. You don't have to put my vote down.

All right. [clears throat] Ordinance 25-37, an ordinance amending title 3, Business Regulations, Chapter 25, Short-Term Rental Operators of the Village of Mantino Municipal Code. [clears throat] Is there a motion to approve? So moved. Motion by GKY, seconded by Crackett. Any questions? What were the I I saw the changes, so everybody's good with the changes then? Correct. Yeah, we clarified like no no fee and then just kind of clean up some more language for them on their side. Okay, perfect. Roll call. Yes. Yes. [snorts]

Yes. Yes. The motion motion carries. Motion carries. Ordinance 2538, an ordinance amending title one administrative chapter 6 board of trustees of the village of Mantino Municipal Code by adding section 10 remote attendance. Can I recommend this be put on the next committee meeting because I don't know if we have discussed that. That way we can kind of discuss it out fuller before we take a vote on that. It's great. I don't even know what the next one is. I don't know if it's I think it might be mine. Yeah, probably mine 311. So, we can put we can just push it to mine if that's okay. We'll discuss it and then we can always bring it back up.

Yeah, but here's the thing. If we do that, Mike can't be at your meeting. Well, we can we can do general discussion at the finance too beforehand. I mean, we we can talk it through whoever's there and then more general discussion. I mean, this is the thing that probably would solve the issue, but I feel like we should discuss it probably before. This has not been discussed at all. That's what I'm saying. Like, correct. No, I correct. Yes. Was this written by our our lawyer? Yeah. Who asked you to put it on the agenda?

Well, I when Well, I didn't put it on the agenda at all. I said when I learned that um and I was sick and the vac in the and the people not showing up to meetings, I said, "You guys should have a remote attendance policy." I've had one from multiple municipalities because it's state law. Chris, who put this on who put this on our agenda? I did. Joel did. I I asked for it to be put on. Okay. Well, we need to have discussion before we vote for something. Can we Can we move that to the 16th? Can we do that on Is there a possibility you guys could be here on the 16th? We can put on both. We can put on both. Put it Put it on Yeah. Put on the finance committee meeting and then we can put it on the village board

agenda that day, too. if we decide to move forward, we can. Or if not, but I I think that I think the county does it and I'm pretty sure that even during COVID, we did that or participated. I think it was I think it was statewide. Everybody did it during CO. Um the the difference once CO ended, they set up a new system for it where the the quorum actually has to be physically present. Right.

If the quorum is physically present, then you can allow uh a person who is has a illness, is away on work, has a family emergency to attend uh meeting remotely. It has to be contemporaneous. So, you got to be able to hear, see, talk with them.

I think the count I know the county does it, but they're the only ones I know of that do it locally. None of the other municipalities do it. So, so Joe, one of the issues that Dian asked about was our committee meetings of whether or not and I'll use the example Annette, myself, Peggy, and CJ were having in the committee meeting CJ had to leave so we lost a quorum. Would this allow that meeting to still continue if CJ left and was on Zoom? No, you have to have a quorum present. Have to have a physical quorum here. Present. Okay. in the meeting for to allow somebody else. Okay. Right. Okay. So, in that instance, you would have had to adjourn the meeting, right? Okay. Which we did. Yeah.

Okay. Which we have. I just trying to find a way to accommodate everyone's schedule and to allow everyone to participate. Joe, how do you want to word this for the Well, if everybody's in agreement just to the committee meeting, then we just do that. Do it on the Yeah, put it on the finance committee. You want to do it on the five o'clock? That's five. Put on the five and the six. This way we can discuss it at the five and then we could it'll be on the agenda because we have to put on the agenda in order to take action on it. All right. Can we move on now to ordinance 2539 authorizing the sale of personal property surplus municipal equipment? Chris, you want to tell us what that is? [clears throat]

Yeah. So, this is some of the uh computers that the police department u they've been replaced due to the update of uh some of the software that no longer worked on those computers. So, this is just to surplus those computers. And for anybody who's listening out there that wants that's interested in purchasing these, where will they be sold? Um I know you online auctions like Better G and some other ones. I'm not sure which. which service we're going to use here yet, but uh we have been using Bittery. Are those computers and I'm just asking this like they're still good, correct? Yeah. So, they're good for Does any school or anything else like

need computers for kids that don't have computers? I don't know. They're tablets. They're heavy duty ruggedized tablets. They're just uh the software doesn't meet the state's requirements, so we can't use them. But uh yeah, they could be used in general. How many do we have, Chief? Does it say in there? I was thinking five. Yeah, he did give us a list, but I don't have the list in front of me. Four or five tablets? Yeah. Well, did they use them in school? Uh, we're pretty hard with Chromebooks, and I know we just bought some more. I mean, but you can ask, but I don't I think we're we're built for Chromebooks, I think, is our way so far. Do we have a motion to authorize the sale? Yes. I'll second. Barry makes a motion. Blue seconds.

Yes. Yes. Yes. Yes. Yes. Yes. Thank you. Motion carries. Resolution 25-09, a resolution of the village of Mantino transferring $600,000 from its general fund to its special projects fund.

Did I skip something? Yeah, we can come back to that though, can't we? I'll come back to it. I'm very sorry. Um, I'll make that motion, mayor. Motion by Gesty. Is there a second? I'll second. Second by. Any discussion on that? So, the I I asked Chris to give us some estimates on some of the stuff from 2024 or 2022, I think it was, and it [snorts] was like $380,000.

Yeah. So, the the estimate we got from the state of Illinois was about 280, but it did not include everything that we would be responsible for. Some of it, the decorative lighting on Division Street would have to be removed and uh reinstalled. Our uh license plate reader cameras would be our responsibility to take those down and put those back up again. So, it probably ended up somewhere in the neighborhood of $350,000 back in 2024 when we got that estimate. And is there any timeline of when that bridge is supposed to go go in? The latest we heard was that it uh from uh one of the engineers working on the project is it's likely four years out now

and understand by the moving this money to a special um project fund. It's not that we're spending it's not that we're committing to spending 600,000 on the bridge. It's just making sure the money is there in an account. Kind of like if we were planning our own budget of our household and we knew we need a new roof and it was coming up, we would be putting the money in the savings account. That's really all we're doing here. So this way that money is there for when that time comes up that we can meet that requirement. Are we able to move that money back if we don't if it takes longer or we need it? Yes, it's not. It's it's going into a line item that's designated for that, but it's not a restricted fund. It's not a restrictive fun. No,

we can move it back out if you need to. We can bring it back if we need it. And and that's the reason why I was trying to I proposed to be more conservative at the million dollars just there. You can always move it back if you need it. We're making money off of this, making something. All it is is it's just coming out of your general fund. So this way as our department heads are making their wish list and like, hey, we've got to have that money for this cuz it's coming. And I mean, if it's four years down the road, maybe none of us are on the board at that time, that other board may not know that it's coming, right? Like up until I brought it up. I don't know that, Mike. I don't know. Did you know that we were going to have that expense or

that's that's why I brought it up and that's why I was suggesting the million, but we said as a board that we're comfortable at 600. So, is that interesting count, Chris, that it would go into? Yes. There's there's no real change. It's just a y movement of the account that's tagged that says this is for the later count. I feel comfortable with if you could we can move it back. Okay. There's a motion on the floor made by guesty and was it seconded by All right. You want to do a roll call? Yes. Yes. Yes. Yes. Yes.

Motion carries. All right. Back to resolution 25-08. A resolution authorizing the sale of surplus real property commonly known as 409 South Oak Street, Mantino, Canake County, Illinois. Can I have a motion to approve? I have a question about that real quick. So on how do we when we go to sell this thing, Chris, do we I know that we got a got an appraisal on it for what 180,000. Yes. So, how does that work then with the bidding process? Does the bidding start at 180,000 or where does it start?

No, it's it's a sealed bid. We didn't put a a qualifier in there. Um, so the the we'll open the sealed bids, whatever we get and it'll be up to the board to decide whether they want to accept those bids or not. We don't have to sell it. So, we got like a bid for $100,000. That's the highest bid we can say no. Right. It'll be your discretion. Correct. Yeah. I'll actually say if you got it has to be the bid has to be at least 80% of the appraised value for you to take it. Okay. So if it's at 100, don't even worry about it. Yeah. But you can always reject everything. Is there a motion? I'll make that motion. I'll second. Motion by Barry. Second by yes.

Yes. Yes. Yes. Yes. Motion carries. All right. And finally, consideration regarding a motion to approve payment of bills in the amount of $114,3642 including tiff number three at $0. Can I make that motion? Motion by second by Von. Yes. Yes. Yes. Yes. Yes. Motion carries. comments. Joel, would you like to start?

Sure. Um, first thing I'd like to thank Jacob Knox for his tenure. He's done a great job for us. He's going to be missed. Um, big shoes to fill. Um, I don't really know how our summer projects or summer events are going to go on. Um, hopefully we find someone to fill his shoes quickly because I know there's a lot of work involved with that. So, um, next item I have is congratulations to Mantino girls basketball. Um, that's why I wasn't at the last meeting. I was here for finance committee meeting but left cuz my daughter was playing. Talked with the mayor. There wasn't much on the agenda. Um, something to note, the senior girls um really they they had regional championship that they won. um played in the sectional championship and played a a real tough game and lost in the final seconds to Pontiac who is playing this evening. Um but this is the winningest team in school's history. So quite an accomplishment. There's been a lot of records broken and um really exciting season and uh big shoes for the next class to follow. So, um, last thing that I'll bring up and and this will be a hot button, I'm sure, but, um, this evening, Mr. Wheeler talked and, um, I thought we were pretty clear about where we stood with the memorandum of understanding. He's not here tonight to hear me say that. He he left, but um, I I don't know. And I paused my microphone and asked Trusty Crockett if if we were unclear at any way, shape, or form. And and uh I don't think we were. So anything before phase two starts, I I want to see that

memorandum of understanding in writing with the safety brigade and no more he said, she said, or we're working on this. Um sorry, it just got it got a little too far down the road last time. before [clears throat] phase two starts. I would like to see that any way possible. We're I think we we were pretty clear. So, that's how I where I stand on that. That's all I have. Thank you, Todd Crackett.

Yes. Uh again, just uh best wishes to uh Jacob. Uh that's going to be a big hole to fill. Um Jacob had the right personality, the right dedication for that job and uh I think we all like Jacob. He was a nice uh nice person to work with. I'm sure he's going to be missed in the the village hall as well. Um I know he did a lot of things here for our community and for the village and uh best wishes to him moving on to a new position and um he's definitely going to be missed and I hope we can find a good replacement uh for him because uh that position is definitely a a needed one and a valuable uh position here in the village for both the village and the chamber of commerce. So, um, it's going to take the right person to, uh, to fill that seat. So, best of luck, Jacob.

Thank you, Todd. Peggy Von, I have nothing. CJ Woodro,

steals my sun always. Yes. I also would like to congratulate the girls basketball team. Uh, obviously as their I taught almost all of them and I I'm usually their main announcer, too. So, uh, very proud of these girls for making my life interest in the games. And again, just pride for the town to win another regional. Again, before this group of girls came through, we had two and the last one was before 1990. And now we have another two in this class. So, just again, uh, awesome stuff was there. As winter sports end, as you might have seen if you drove by the baseball, softball two spring sports are starting, baseball, softball, track and field, girls soccer, and boys volleyball are going to kick off in two weeks. So once sports end, the next one begins and we're kind of kind of go with that. We've already kind of all set it. Jacob again set the standard really high. We love the events that we have. So hopefully another person with some high energy um on there. Uh I'll just kind of go quickly through. I feel like we talked all the way through most of the kind of stuff with the two. And I'm on the exact same page. Uh me and Mike have been talking a lot about that too with goan. We I again I thought it was very clear uh of what we want. And again, Satan again, we are not moving forward until it is in writing. This is no, he again, he said, she said, well, this is this how things are done. Well, not here. We're going to make sure it's done and kind of in writing to make sure uh with that on it. And that's all I have. Thank you, mayor.

Thank you, Mike Barry. Um, congratulations to the girls basketball team. That's awesome. Uh, congrats. I look forward to Jacob Knox. Uh, did a great job. Jacob's a great man. Um hopefully everything works out for him in the future. If not, we'd definitely like to have him back. Uh and I like I said, I think we're all on the same page with the go thing. Um I just I'm not going to go any further because I think I'd say bad words, but I'll just keep it like that. So, thank you.

Thank you. And I just want to say Jacob said he would not leave us in the lurch. He's going to take all my phone calls. he's going going to come down and help us as much as he can and he'll be here for the transition when we do choose a new a new employee to take his place. So, thank you to everybody for coming tonight and for those who are watching and uh that's all I need now is a motion to adjourn. I'll make that motion. Second. Motion by Budro, second by Crockett. All in favor? I I I Thank you.