Village Board - Regular Meeting

i think so good evening everyone and welcome to the monday night july 20th of 2026 meeting of the mantino village board would you please rise for the pledge of allegiance i pledge allegiance to the flag of the united states of america and to the republic for which the visible with liberty and justice for all. And while we're standing, Father Thomas Bennett from the Manteno St. Joseph's Catholic Church, both of you are in vocation.

May I thank the authorities for inviting me to the opening prayer for today's meeting.

Almighty and ever-living God, as we open this meeting of the village board, let us take a moment to reflect on our shared purpose. We are here to serve our neighbors and to build a stronger, more vibrant community. Grant us the clarity to see the needs of all our residents, the patience to listen to differing viewpoints with respect, and the courage to make decisions that serve common good. May our decisions and discussions be productive. Our motto is pure and our actions always reflect a commitment to the well-being and prosperity of our community. We ask for the wisdom to lead with integrity, the empathy to understand the diverse voices of our village, and the foresight to plan for a bright future. May we work together in a spirit of harmony, collaboration, and mutual respect, keeping the best interests of our community at the heart of everything we do. that our decisions today bring peace, safety and progress to our village. Thank you for the privilege of serving this village. As we begin this meeting, we ask that you guide our thoughts, words and decisions. Help us to be good stewards of the resources and trust placed in our hands. Grant us the discernment to lead effectively and the dedication to serve every member of our community with fairness and respect. We pray through Christ our Lord. Amen.

Thank you, Father.

Thank you so much.

Roll call, please.

Can I vote yet or do I have to wait for you guys to approve me? I think I have to wait.

Yes, we're going to make a motion. Should we do the motion first? We have a majority here. Go ahead and finish the roll call.

Vaughn? Yes. Crockett? Yes. Geske? Here. Zimbleman?

Here. All right. CJ is online and this will be our first evening with one of our trustees coming online for the meeting. Uh, we do have a quorum present CJ. So all I need is a motion from the floor to accept CJ as part of the meeting. Motion by Barry. Second by Vaughn. Roll call.

Roll call. Barry. Yes. Vaughn.

Yes.

Crockett. Yes. Gatsky. Yes. Zimbleman.

Yes. Okay. You're here. You're in CJ.

Thank you.

All right. Reading the agenda. Is there anything on there that anyone needs to change? Seeing none, let's go on to the reading of the minutes. Any changes, corrections, or approval on three sets of minutes? We have minutes from a special meeting on May 20th, a special meeting on June 25th, and a regular meeting on July 6th. Any changes, corrections, or approval? Seeing none, I need a motion to approve all three of those. I'll make the motion. Second. Motion by Barry, second by Vaughn. All in favor? Aye. Okay, it passes. Public participation. Our first guest speaker tonight is Alexander Kanatka. And we ask that everybody try and keep it under three minutes, please.

Hello, Village Board and Mayor Lamoure. I've come here to give my two cents on issues surrounding Goshen from an environmental policy and politics perspective. I've been a resident of Manteno for 21 years and recently completing studies on environmental issues around the world in college. I wanted to share my opinion and a few options for making some good out of a bad situation. The main target I want to focus on is the environmental and economic impact of the Goshen plant. and what benefits it can bring to the town if careful procedures are used. As I understand it, the town is $1.6 million in debt and that the Goshen plant would bring over 2,000 jobs and thousands of dollars into our community, something that we desperately need. An obstacle to that is the environmental issues that come with the production of lithium ion phosphate batteries. One is the massive fires that may break out during production and the lack of infrastructure to deal with this issue. On May 28th, 2026, Trustee Mike Berry mentioned on the podcast The Real Story with Jean Ives and Amy Jacobson that the 30-year tax abatement with a cap of $2 million was established so that the Goshen plant can create necessary infrastructure to handle fire prevention within the facility and that it wouldn't be taxing on the fire brigade in Manteno. I've seen that Goshen has posted firefighter and environmental health and safety technician positions for the Manitino location, and that the latest Ordinance 2601, Private Fire Brigades, established that lithium ion storages and factories uh that exceed 15 cubic feet must provide interior structure level fire brigade services defined by 2024 nfpa 600 standard facility fire brigades which is part of that ordinance subsection e part four um what i really want to mention about this is that This is a fantastic step for the town to actually move towards the benefits of Goshen and what it could bring to the community. But I also want to highlight how Goshen has not really given the community and the boards much information. I looked on their websites. They don't cite anything on how they would recycle the batteries they've made, how they would dispose and use storage of the byproducts. An example I would use is their video, Safety at the Goshen Illinois Battery Manufacturing Plant. They said that they would get a certification that goes beyond EPA needs and nothing more and nothing less, which I found a bit interesting as they would never highlight what those EPA needs would be or what it would cover so what i would be recommending to the board into the town is when this plant is still being completed to publish osha epa and fire marshal reports uh to the public if you can do that um and to kind of get the ball back into mantino's court it's felt like over the past meetings that goshen has become its own separate entity fighting the town itself um that's your time i'm sorry your three minutes is up oh that's okay thank you thank you

next speaker is terry king hi everybody hi heparus and that how are you i am one of your lonely subjects and i am a park guard today i came to work and i saw teenagers playing with the bags i brought i was so excited then i look and i see the cement is gone And I say, who took out the cement? This is what's going to happen. So I'm going to forewarn you so the lawyer can handle this and maybe Public Works can make a sign. Kids, when you move that merry-go-round, wherever you move it, kids are now going to play football right there. Two little boys were playing while I was walking around. If anybody owns a white Jeep out there, they came this far from hitting it. When they have the regular games out there with six kids playing, you're gonna have people walking, getting hit with footballs, and cars are gonna get hit with footballs. I know it, I see it, they're kids. So either now you're gonna hire park guards to be there until winter comes and there's snow on the ground and they don't play, or you're gonna put out signs. That's what's gonna happen. It's gonna happen, don't think it won't. And whoever decided to do that, I hope your car is the first one that gets hit with a football. I mean, really, do you not see this? You're boys, right? They're boys. They're going to throw them. So I would suggest either making a warning sign or something because this is going to happen. Okay, now I got to get back to work. I'm on my 15-minute break.

Thank you, Chair. Our next speaker is Anne Gates.

Good evening. I want to revisit something from a while ago. This is my second Bible next to my regular Bible. Just to refocus us from all the circus going around to what really is important here. For the Morris Fire, it burned for six weeks, requiring rotating fire apparatus on site from several different departments. Evacuation mandated by the EPA was 16 square miles, conducted by firefighters, police, sheriffs, deputies, National Guard, and the only ones protected by PPE and SCBA were the firefighters, but even many of them suffered skin and breathing difficulties. EPA and Attorney General told residents to sue So now let's look at Goshen. Goshen sits on 600 acres of land. Imagine the vast territory that would have to be evacuated. If you thought the air quality the last few days was bad, that is nothing compared to what we would have to deal with. Not when, not if it goes up, but when something happens at Goshen. Think of the numbers of first responders that would be called in. I-55 shut down due to close proximity. Also, the proximity of three nuclear plants similar by explosion took place in Tianjin, China. The blast measured 3.2 on the Richter scale, destroyed homes in a six-mile radius of the blast. Thousands died. Morris had 800 to 100 tons of batteries and solar panels. Goshen would have that multiplied many times over, let alone the ESS units that contain an average of 10,584 cells with over 5,000 points of potential failure. Thermal runaway, the gases released by the chemicals burning are carbon monoxide, hydrogen cyanide, hydrophoric acid, cobalt, poisoning. The first three are skin permeable and produce permanent disabilities, death, birth defects, cancer, let alone damage to the environment. Tijan, they had to call in specialists in chemical warfare to deal with the aftermath of that blast. My husband and I drove around the town. I was floored. to see the number of solar panels that are on the schools. Do you know that a firefighter cannot vent a fire if there are solar panels present? What's the importance of that? When they vent a fire, it redirects the spread of the fire, it contains the amount of heat of the fire to protect the structure, as well as anybody that might be trapped inside, as well as the firefighters. It can direct the fire in different, they call it mushrooming, in different locations.

That's your time.

So I strongly encourage you to have them disconnected and removed before our children suffer from neglect. Thank you, Ann. Our next speaker is David Keichen.

Firstly, I'd like to say something that I don't often say is I agree with Mr. Geske. that Memorial Park needs work. I go to the cemetery a lot in memory of my son. Been to Memorial Park on the slow stroll during Independence Week, and for a few thousand dollars, that could be put back into shape. There's a fountain that doesn't work. There's landscape edging all in disarray. There's weeds growing between the bricks. You realize we, as a village, are denigrating the memory of the people that have put things in that park. During the slow stroll, also, in regards to Mr. Boudreau stating that he saw pictures of golf carts and bicycles on the paths at Legacy Park. The only pictures I've seen was from the Salo Stroll, and I just wanted to assure him that we were led bicycles and golf carts onto those paths by a policeman in a golf cart. We just followed the policeman onto the path. We weren't trying to wreck your paths. Another thing at the last meeting that I can remember attending, Mr. Boudreau likened the advice and consent of this current village board to the Senate in confirmation hearings and that we should look to that. I would like to ask Mr. Boudreaux, how many attorney generals were kept by an incoming president? Would you tell me how many have been kept?

We have kept some in the past, but again, I'd have to go through it.

President Reagan kept somebody for three months temporarily, and I think the next one that I came across was in the 1800s. And then could you name me an attorney's general that was appointed by the Senate? That's what you're trying to do here, is appoint a lawyer. You're not taking into consideration who has been nominated, who the mayor has put in charge. Enough said about that. Went to a couple movies lately, went and saw Young Washington. Highly recommend it, go see it. And then last night, I attended the Center for Law and Culture in partnership with Olivet Nazarene University, showed a movie called A Great Awakening.

That's your time. Thank you, David.

In the movie, Benjamin Franklin, no saint, brought prayer back into the making of the Constitution. I thank you, Ms. Mayor, for bringing the prayer back here.

Thank you, Mr. President. Thank you. Our next speaker is Lila Prindville.

Good evening, my name is Lila Printerville and I recently graduated from Antenna High School. I'm not here to take sides, I'm here as someone from the next generation who is paying attention to everything that's been going on in our town. My generation grew up with social media. We see everything that gets posted on Facebook and many of us sit and watch the board meetings along with many other people outside of the community. Unfortunately, What they often see isn't something to be proud of. If these were ordinary board meetings focused on serving the community, they probably wouldn't attract nearly as much attention. Instead, people tune in because of the arguments, the personal attacks, and the constant back and forth. My friends and I have talked about what's been happening in our town and how mishandled things have gotten. We're the generation deciding where we want to build our futures. As I think about going into college and eventually choosing where I want to live, I want to be excited about coming back to Mancino. Right now, that's difficult. One thing that stands out to people my age is that we're constantly being told by adults to be respectful, to solve problems without bullying, to listen to people we disagree with, and to treat others the way we want to be treated. These are important lessons, and I believe in them. But then we watch adults People elected to lead our community and even those in the crowd interrupt each other, make personal attacks, and let disagreements become personal. It's hard to understand that disconnect. Leadership isn't just about the decisions you make, it's also about the example you set. Whether you realize it or not, my generation is watching. We're learning what leadership looks like from people sitting at this table. We're watching how disagreements are handled, how people speak to each other, and whether respect is show even when opinions differ. I hope what we see is adults demonstrating how to work through conflict, not showing us that the loudest voice or the harshest comment wins. I know disagreements are part of government. No one expects everyone to agree on every issue. And honestly, I don't think we should either. Different opinions are important because they lead to better discussions and better questions. But there is a difference between debating ideas and attacking people. As elected officials, you set the tone for this community. Young people are watching, and so are potential families and businesses considering Mancino. I also understand that compromise isn't always easy, but that's part of leadership. You don't all have to agree, but it would be encouraging to see a willingness to meet in the middle when it's the best interest of the community. Even when a compromise isn't possible, showing each other respect goes a long way. My hope is that everyone on this board remembers why they ran for the office in the first place, to serve this community. You don't have to agree with each other, but you can choose to treat each other with respect, and that goes for members of the community as well. There should be no winners or losers, just neighbors working towards the same goal. If the next generation is going to be proud to call Manteno home and someday step into leadership ourselves, we need examples of people who can disagree without tearing each other down. Thank you.

Thank you, Lila.

You are a very wise young woman. I appreciate your comments. Our next speaker is Stacy Malone.

I almost just want to give up my spot because I'm not sure I can follow that. OK. Tonight I just wanted to talk about something much bigger than a couple of lawsuits, an attorney, or a meeting. I want to talk about trust. Over the last several months, many of us have spent countless hours reading village ordinances, Illinois statutes, court filings, FOIA responses, and board packets. Not because we wanted to, but because we felt we had to. The average resident should not have to become an expert in municipal law just to understand what their own government is doing. Yet here we are. Instead of talking about roads, parks, economic development, public safety, and planning for Manteno's future, we're talking about attorney appointments, lawsuits between elected officials, agenda disputes, emergency meetings, audits, and whether our own village government is following its own rules. That should concern every taxpayer, regardless of who they voted for. Every lawsuit costs money. Every unnecessary legal battle costs money. Every additional attorney costs money. Every delay costs money. And every dollar spent fighting each other is a dollar that isn't being spent serving the residents of Mantino. What concerns me even more is the lack of transparency that has surrounded so many of these issues. Residents have filed, have had to file FOIA requests to piece together timelines and communications. When records appear incomplete or questions remain unanswered, it doesn't build confidence, it damages it. And then there's our social media. Some pages claim to want transparency while blocking anybody who asks difficult questions. They post screenshots without context, opinions without supporting facts, and encourage outrage instead of discussion. They accuse others of spreading misinformation while refusing to allow their own claims to be challenged. That isn't transparency, that's narrative control. We should all want better than that. I don't expect everyone to agree with me. I don't expect everyone on this board to agree with each other. Healthy disagreement is part of democracy. But accountability should never depend on who holds office. If a mayor exceeds her authority, it should be questioned. If a trustee exceeds theirs, it should be questioned. If attorneys or appointed officials fail to follow the law, it should be questioned. The standard should be the same for everyone. Mantino has accomplished incredible things over the years because people with different opinions found ways to work together. We cannot allow political vendettas, personal grievances, or Facebook drama to become the defining legacy of this administration. The courts will decide the legal disputes. The residents, however, will decide whether their leaders earned their trust. I hope that moving forward, every decision made in this village is guided by one simple question. Is this truly in the best interest of the people of Manteno? Because that's who you, all of you, were elected to serve. Thank you.

Thank you.

Our next speaker is Emily Herman.

Peggy. I was not feeling well to type my own speech today, so I will be reading Forgiveness by Matthew West. It's the hardest thing to give away and the last thing on your mind today. It always goes to those who don't deserve. It's the opposite of how you feel when the pain they caused is just too real and it takes everything you have to say the word. Forgiveness. It flies in the face of all your pride. It moves away the mad inside. It always angers own worst enemy. Even when the jury and the judge say you've got a right to hold a grudge, it's the whisper in your ear saying, set it free. Forgiveness. Show me how to love the unlovable. Show me how to reach the unreachable. Help me now to do the impossible. Forgiveness. It'll clear the bitterness away. It could even set a prisoner free. There is no end to what its power can do. So let it go and be amazed by what you see through eyes of grace. The prisoner that it really frees is you. Forgiveness. Show me how to love the unlovable. Show me how to reach the unreachable. Help me now to do the impossible. Forgiveness. I want to finally set it free. Show me how to see what your mercy sees. Help me now to give what you gave to me, forgiveness. Thank you.

Thank you very much. Our final speaker tonight is Bob Forsythe.

You know, if we go back, The biggest problem we have right now is the divide. And you know who brought that divide to us? The Economic Alliance Group of Kankakee County. To listen to them for anything further is a giant mistake. They brought us Goshen that's divided this town completely. It's never been this way. Things never got questioned before. People live their lives. NEVER ASKED QUESTIONS. TRUSTEES NEVER ASKED QUESTIONS. THEY JUST VOTED YES AND MOVED FORWARD. GOSHIN CAME INTO TOWN, AND RESIDENTS LISTENED. I'VE BEEN TO ECONOMIC ALLIANCE BOARD MEETINGS. WHEN TIM NUGENT WAS THERE, NOW WE HAVE ANGELA MORI. THEY'RE NOT OUT FOR THE BEST OF KANKEE COUNTY. LOOK WHAT'S HAPPENED IN THE COUNTY. BUSINESSES HAVE LEFT. THEY HAVEN'T BROUGHT ANYTHING REALLY BACK IN HERE EXCEPT FOR GOSHIN. And what has Goshen brought to us? Headaches. You guys have made, you guys have admitted that mistakes have been made. And it's also been said that Joe could be gone if the CCOM lawsuit was dropped. So why don't we drop, why don't you guys drop, you know, let Joe go, But CCO is not gonna drop the suit because what happened before. But to make that comment that Joe could go if the suit was dropped, find that odd. And I don't understand why the importance to keep Joe. When you look back at everything that's happened so far has been under Joe's watch and it hasn't been helping us. Zoning got changed, no questions asked. As for paying the auditors, and you come up with the money to deduct it, well, who authorized the treasurer to go back and change all the accounts? Was it the mayor? Was it the trustees? Or did she do it on her own? Those records, I mean, accounts are public record. Everybody knows it. So when we go back and we look, the divide came with Goshen. You guys never ask questions. If you guys would have done your due diligence back then, we would not be here today in this division that we have.

Thank you. all right now we're going to go to the reports of the village officials and i'm going to start with a letter and please be patient with me because it is lengthy but i'm going to get through it as quickly as i can i'm hoping to answer a lot of your questions i want to acknowledge the concerns of our citizens and as village president apologize for the embarrassment and frustration caused by the recent conflicts within village government i hear you I understand that my responsibility and the responsibility of every person sitting at this table is to represent the residents of Mantino and focus on the issues that matter most to them. I recognize that the disagreements and conflicts within village government have created frustration, confusion, and division among our citizens. That division is not what our community deserves. And we must do better by providing respectful leadership, clear communication, and responsible representation. What occurred at the previous meeting was unacceptable and did not reflect the professionalism expected of those elected to serve this community. Today, I ask each person at this table to remember our purpose. to act in the best interest of the residents we represent, not for personal interests or the interests of any individual. When we remain focused on serving the villagers, making decisions based on what is right for Mantino, and treating one another with respect, there is no place for the unprofessional conduct or actions that occurred at that last village board meeting. On being transparent, In the interest of transparency and clarity, I want to explain the facts and reasoning behind some of my decisions and actions as Village President. In the most recent election, the voters of Manteno chose new leadership and a new direction for our community. They elected me as village president and also elected four out of five candidates who shared a vision for greater transparency, accountability, and putting residents first. The message from voters was clear. They wanted change. They did not want to continue doing things the same way they had been done in the past. As village president, my responsibility is to represent the interests of all Manteno residents and to follow through on the priorities that they voted for. The changes we are making are intentional and focused on creating a government that serves the entire Manteno community, not a select group or special interests. The current conflict is, in large part, about resistance to those changes. Unfortunately, as I have worked to represent the will of Manteno voters, I have faced repeated obstacles from four trustees and individuals who remain connected to the previous village administration. When the village president is prevented from carrying out the priorities that voters elected them to accomplish, there is still a responsibility to lead and move the community forward. Illinois law provides the village president with specific executive authority, and my actions have been based on that responsibility. The residents of Manteno do not want ongoing conflict. They want their government to work together, follow proper procedures, and focus on the issues that matter to them. However, they also expect their elected leaders to lead, make decisions, and honor the direction they chose through their vote. That is why I relied on the authority provided under Illinois law to ensure village government can continue operating and serving the public. Today, the question is whether we will continue moving forward in a professional and productive way, or whether we will repeat the conflict and disruption seen at the previous meeting. Protecting one individual's employment position at the expense of chaos that takes away public trust, professionalism, and the ability of village government to function does not represent the greater good for Manteno citizens. It represents a special interest at the expense of the villagers who are being deprioritized to give favor to an individual. That is not the representation that villagers voted for. Why did I believe replacing the former village attorney was in the best interest of Manteno residents? There were several reasons I felt the village needed different legal counsel, and here are a few. Fact number one, as a former village trustee, I witnessed the former village attorney advise the board to throw out a legally earned bid, ultimately resulting in another job going to a family member of the former mayor. Fact number two, under the legal advice of the former village attorney, the village approved a heavy industrial company in Manteno that I believe was misaligned with our own ordinances. That poor decision has resulted in a lawsuit. And one of the village attorney's responsibilities is to ensure the village allows its law and protects its interests. and to dispel misinformation that has been shared by many. I am not and I did not found the CCOM. I have never had a leadership position with CCOM, but I was and I am a concerned citizen of Manteno who ran and was elected for mayor in response to such concerns. As mayor, I know that the communist Chinese company, Goshen, has realized our fears by disregarding our U.S. requirements and expectations. And this could have been curtailed by strong legal contracts written by our village attorney. And for those making disrespectful accusations about racism, I am not referring to individuals. I am referring to the unique threats of communist-owned businesses. in our village who may be apt to prioritize their communist laws and values above our U.S. laws, regulations, and expectations. And now it is a fact that in our own village of Manteno, this lack of prioritization of our U.S. laws and regulations has been happening and is a realized threat. And this threat was foreseeable, yet apparently disregarded by our previous village attorney and our previous village board who continue to protect Goshen. It is a fact that our local unions recently walked off the job because Goshen had its own Chinese employees cheating and sneaking by doing the union's work off hours. And I did talk to a union rep about that. And it is a fact that Goshen, month after month, continues to leave Manteno unsafe without fulfilling its requirements to employ a fire brigade to keep us safe. Our village fire department is upset as they are not equipped to handle such thing as a chemical fire threat that Goshen presents. And we have current trustees who continue to support Goshen's efforts to extend meeting their safety requirements. So as mayor, when I look for our village contracts with Goshen to hold them accountable for not fulfilling its fire brigade requirements, my findings show that the village attorney had not created written agreements to hold Goshen responsible. It is literally the village attorney's job to advise the village and create legal agreements and contracts to ensure the village's interests are protected. and I have yet to find any such village contracts with Goshen to require them to keep us safe. I found that astounding. Because of these concerns and others, I made the decision that Manteno residents would be better served with stronger legal representation. My decision to hire the law firm of the Veselys was made with the understanding that we needed legal counsel capable of navigating the conflict, resistance to change,

and difficult circumstances that we have experienced during recent village board meetings.

This decision was not made to create conflict. It was made to better serve the citizens of Manteno. Throughout this process, I have remained focused on leading. I have not raised my voice, called names, or attempted to disrespect or embarrass my colleagues. I sit in this chair and try to do the job voters elected me to do. And I do not support or promote the poor or disrespectful treatment of others, asking citizens, including my own supporters, to refrain from engaging in the bully-type behaviors that we've witnessed at this meeting and online. This is not an easy fix, but if we as leaders can model the behavior that we ask of our citizens, we all will benefit. The residents of Manteno have witnessed the challenges and disagreements taking place in this room. As village president, my responsibility is to ensure our government can function, follow Illinois law, and serve the public effectively. Because of the ongoing conflict and disruption, I have taken the necessary steps to help restore order and allow village government to move forward including seeking a temporary restraining order. We expect a judge to determine the appropriate legal representation for the village tomorrow morning. We will be at the Kankakee County Courthouse at nine o'clock. I look forward to that decision so we can move past this stalemate, reduce unnecessary conflict and legal expenses, and return our focus to serving the citizens of Manteno. regarding the June 25th emergency meeting. I want to be more transparent and offer the facts related to the illegal emergency meeting that I did not attend on June 25. I repeatedly heard the four trustees and others spread patently false information about me and this event. And as I was the only person who was present throughout the obstruction that led to this illegal meeting, I want to share the facts versus the speculation. FACT, I DID INTEND TO CALL AN EMERGENCY VILLAGE MEETING, BUT I DID NOT CALL THE MEETING, AS I DID NOT SUBMIT THE REQUIREMENTS TO CREATE THIS MEETING BECAUSE OF OBSTRUCTION BY A VILLAGE EMPLOYEE AND HER HUSBAND, A VILLAGE TRUSTEE WHO LOST TO ME IN THE MAYOR RACE. WHY DID I WANT TO CALL AN EMERGENCY MEETING? Due to the calendar creating a longer meeting break between June 15th and July 6th, I thought the villagers would be better served by an extra meeting giving us an opportunity to promote the village's many upcoming 4th of July activities. I wanted to discuss my reasoning for replacing the village attorney, and I wanted to allow the village to be able to conduct its usual business without such a long break. Calling an emergency meeting was the technical and logistical way of accomplishing this. Fact, I asked a paid administrative assistant in Village Hall to conduct basic village business and post my agenda for an emergency meeting. She refused me. producing a 1974 law requiring me to submit any agenda for this rare emergency meeting to the village clerk in person. And because the village clerk was out of town, we both knew I would not be able to meet the in-person requirement. So she refused to post my agenda. After her refusal, the village attorney was called on the phone and he clarified that the requirement in the law, 52 years later, allowed electronic submissions to the clerk. Fact, when I brought my signed agenda back to this assistant to have it emailed to the clerk and then posted, she again denied me as she informed me that she had now had her husband's agenda in lieu of mine. I told her that that was unacceptable and she thereafter called her trustee husband for help. He ultimately told her that his agenda was supported by four trustees and it was to be posted, not mine. However, the trustees agenda was never sent to the clerk per the standard that his wife required of me. Fact, the trustees wife twice refused my administrative request so I could conduct my mayoral duties And instead she followed direction from her husband who obstructed my efforts to promote his own aim without following the same law his wife had demanded of me. Fact, the signed copy of my agenda that the trustees have waived at meetings was acquired from my interaction with the trustee's wife and it never was sent to the clerk. per the law because she had obstructed me first. And so my signed paper was a meaningless prop to mislead the public. Why the technicalities matter? I do not believe engaging technicality conflicts are useful for the citizens of Manteno, but if technicalities are used to obstruct me as mayor, they need to apply to everyone on the village board, spouses included. And this situation highlights the reason that nepotism by our previous village government continues to serve individuals instead of the citizens of Manteno. The fact that I was obstructed to serve in my duties as mayor by one employee who was a spouse of a village trustee is one example of the poor decision-making from the previous board, and that is what got me elected. The nepotism and the poor decision-making of the former village government was on full display with no trustee pushback when the former mayor fired village staff members and replaced them with the mayor's own wife and a trustee's wife. I could continue to talk about facts of such self-serving decisions of former village officials that put personal interests above the interests of the citizens of Manteno. And in addition to Goshen, it's worth reminding everyone that the sales of our water and sewer to ACWA were more questionable than appear to have even greater benefits to a few at the exorbitant expense to every citizen of Manteno who will pay permanent water bills to a for-profit business that has recently asked for permission for a $26 million price increase. We had great village-owned water before ACWA at water sewer costs of a fraction of the cost of our current monthly bills, ACWA bills. When the former village board, including some of the trustees who are on the board now, voted in favor of these permanently inflated water bills, no citizens, to my knowledge, were complaining about Manteno's water system. Yet, after ignoring many villagers who showed up at a village meeting to express their displeasure with aqua water, and I was there, one person did show up to speak in favor of aqua water, and that was the former mayor's brother. And lo and behold, your Manteno trustees voted in alignment with that one family member who spoke on behalf of aqua. Since the sale of our water in 2007 and sewer in 2018 to ACWA, the village trustees chose to spend the majority of over $25 million that it received from ACWA before my tenure as mayor. And much of the money from the ACWA sale was approved by the former village board for spending on several projects with questionable bids, many given to the mayor's family members thereafter. Nevertheless, we can be grateful for many of the things that aqua water money has bought us, like village signs, lovely parks, and a few years of tax relief. But those things did not come free, and with much of the money from the sale already spent before I was elected, the benefits will subside. Yet every villager is now permanently saddled with a for-profit company services at alarming monthly costs that will continue to rise. When you get your monthly water bill, you can thank the decisions of the previous board and some of your current trustees. Yet you can take comfort in the fact that the villagers have since voted in new leadership who has made it their mission to be more thoughtful, less self-serving, and aim to make decisions that prioritize the greater good of Manteno citizens without special interests. As I close, I want to thank you for taking the time to listen, I know this has been a lengthy address, but I believe transparency requires having honest conversations about the issues facing our community. I promise to lead with transparency, and today is an example of that commitment. I have tried to focus on the facts, not speculation, and my goal is not to create more conflict, but to provide clarity. I also want to be clear about the future of Manteno. Our residents love this community because of what makes it special. Our small town character, our sense of community, and the quality of life we have built together. We welcome and are working toward progress. We welcome improvements, but progress does not always mean growth in size. We do not have to become a bigger community to become a better community. Thoughtful progress means making decisions that protect what residents love about Manteno while creating opportunities that benefit everyone. I want the residents of Manteno to know that I hear you. I take the decision you made for new leadership and a new direction seriously. I will continue working to remove obstacles, restore effective government, and make decisions that protect the character of our community while moving Manteno forward in a thoughtful and responsible way. And I ask that everyone on the board join me in considering what is best for the citizens of Manteno. before engaging in disagreements at a level that is unworthy of the people we serve. Thank you. All right, I do have a few announcements for tonight. We had a request for a block party on Whitetail Drive, and we granted that request. I want to announce that the Manteno Historical Society has named two citizens of the year. One of them is Franklin Weber and the other is Ken Wenzel. And I'm very sad to announce to you that Franklin Weber, who's in his 90s, has not been feeling well and he did pass away today. So please keep his family in your prayers and I hope everybody will try and come to the banquet that's going to be held on August the 23rd. It's a Sunday. It's going to be at the Sportsman's Club and I talked to one of Franklin's grandsons and he said the family is still gonna try and go to the event so contact Jeff Jarvis at eight one five nine three three two oh five five to get tickets to attend that event under old business tonight I'm vetoing the kank our appointment that was made at the last meeting under new business we have issued a liquor license to the lush vine on Main Street and that's one of our new businesses We also have a new business on Route 50 called Vintage Sunflower, and it's a very nice store with a lot of vintage items and more. So I highly recommend you go there. And there's also a new business over on Division Street. I believe it's called Serenity, and it's for women who have had breast cancer to find the products and the items that would help them. So check out all those new businesses. I also want to announce that Wednesday night I attended the Kankae County Mayor's Association meeting. and we have one every two months and they voted me chairman. So somebody has confidence in me. That's all I have for tonight. I'm gonna pass this on to the village administrator.

Thank you, I have nothing this evening.

All right. Finance Committee, Mike Berry.

Thank you, Mayor. Old business on the agenda, none. New business on the agenda, payment of the bills, $204,896.36. Bills authorized and paid between board cycles, $0. The next Finance Committee meeting will be Monday, August 17th, 5 p.m. in the Village Boardroom. Thank you.

Planning and Zoning. Trustee Boudreau.

Thank you. We got no old and new business. Our next planning and zoning committee meeting will be at 7 a.m. on August 12th in the Village Boardroom. Our next planning commission meeting will be on Tuesday, August 11th at 6 p.m. here in the Village Boardroom. Likely just continuing on with our discussion on Village Gross, which if you missed it, you can listen to on our YouTube. We're recording those now. And we talked about that tonight at our finance meeting too. Thank you.

Thank you.

Public Safety and Health, Trustee Vonn. Okay, old business on agenda, I have none. New business, there's nothing. Public Safety Committee report, Joshua Spangler, but you are not Joshua.

Change of plans. Jeremy Roth.

Okay, thanks, Jeremy.

Good evening, Mayor and Board. Over the past year, one of the concerns we heard most often from residents involves a safe operation of electric bikes and scooters. As these devices become more popular, we've also seen an increase in complaints about speeding, unsafe riding, and young riders who may not fully understand the rules of the road. To help address those concerns through education rather than enforcement alone, the Manteno Police Department has partnered to make an online e-bike safety course available to our residents. The course is designed for both parents and young riders and covers topics such as safe riding practices, Illinois laws, proper equipment, and how to safely share the road with motorists and pedestrians. The cost is just $11.99, making it an affordable way for the families to learn together. If you're thinking about buying your child an e-bike or scooter, this is an excellent course to take before you purchase one and before they start riding. Our goal is to educate first, prevent injuries, and help everyone enjoy these devices safely. We strongly encourage any family considering purchasing an e-bike or who already owns one to take advantage of this training. A small investment in education today can help prevent serious injuries and make our streets safer for everyone. Additionally, additional information is available on the flyer and through the Manteno Police Department Facebook page and website, as well as the Village of Manteno website. Thank you.

Thank you. Thank you, Jeremy. um chief we discussed the costs for this um would the board be opposed that we um do away with that we pay for yeah waive the costs yeah for 11.99 how many participants you think we'd have a hundred probably i hope we get a hundred or two how many did we have last time that we had a safety program

are in person one would maybe 2530 kids, but this is an online thing that anybody get on plus I want the parents to participate as well. So they know what what their kids can and can't do. So I'm hoping we get a good turnout. So 1199 is affordable. But you know, I know we've talked about in the past, maybe it comes with a certificate of completion. They brought that in somehow reimbursing them, the village residents anyway. It's really open to anybody. Anybody could take it. But we're focusing on our village residents.

So if 100 people take it, it's going to cost us $1,200. I don't think they're asking. That's not asking a lot. What are the trustees think?

I'm fine with them.

Okay. Safety is key here, folks. Okay. Do we need to vote on that? Okay. All right. We give it, we give the okay. Chief.

Okay. Chief. Okay, thank you. That's all I have. My next safety meeting is August 17th at 5 p.m. Thank you. Thank you. Public Works and Utilities, Trustee Crockett.

Thank you. I don't have any items on the agenda this evening. There is a Public Works Committee meeting scheduled for the 28th at 7 a.m. here in the Village Boardroom. And Jim, I'll turn to you for any updates or input that you might have.

Yeah, County Highway 9, within the last two weeks, they've added some of the construction lanes, so there's been some progress on that project. MFT is in full force. There's a good chance they'll be almost complete this week with patching and paving, maybe just some landscape work to do next week, so that's going well. Still waiting for comment for connection over the pavilion. We did start doing some of the additional work over in the square, removing the sidewalk, removing the fence, getting ready for the turf company. They should be coming late next week or the following week. Doing a lot of landscaping, a lot of work around town, and that's about what's going on.

I know we had talked about doing some weed control. I think you said that you were out this past week spraying some of the curbs and some areas that need some attention. You and I talked a little bit about some additional fertilizing. And you brought up some good points that maybe you could address as well.

Yeah, doing a lot of weed curb spraying, as you said. We're going to try to get some fertilizer down on some of the parks and Police Department, Village Hall, Memorial, all that area. Just kind of waiting for a little better weather, 90 degrees, and we've had a couple shots of rain, but not enough. Sure. We'll get that done.

Thanks for the updates, Jim. That's all I have for this evening.

Thank you, Trustee Crackett. Properties and Recreation, Trustee Geske.

Thank you. First item under Old Business. This is going to deal with Goshen. After our last meeting that we had here, myself, Trustee Berry, BNF Technical, Joe Kankar, and Chris LaRock had met to discuss try to draft together some requirements to put in writing about Goshen's responsibilities with the fire brigade. I'd like to in during that meeting we had brought in a person outside Mike I'm gonna ask you to kind of verify this about mr. Hansen and I believe he's here today mr. Hansen if you are if you could come up to the podium I had asked mr. Hansen to attend this meeting to kind of be our litmus test if you will to some of the things that are going on and just to give a little background Mr. Hansen and I, we're not friends. I don't, I mean, we're friends now, but yes, but, but you coach football with Mike. Um, you're equal, equal down the middle.

Can you give the public a little bit of, I kind of wrote something up here, uh, just so that people understand, uh, my background and, uh, this, I was just, uh, looking at the fact that, um, My own background, Ben Hanson, I've been here since 2003, 23 years in this town. We made it our home. I've coached basketball, football, baseball. I've been on the Wildcats board. I'm a resident. No questions asked. I retired from the Frankfort Fire Protection District as a lieutenant in 23. Since then, I've been teaching EMT and fire at the Career Center. Um, I have a vested stake in our village and the firefighters that I've trained, um, that will be protecting it. Okay. Um, after watching the meetings, uh, I contacted both of you, um, to see if any of my knowledge could be of service to help. Um, in the fire service, I'll tell you right now, um, One of the things that they teach is you don't walk into the chief's office whining about something if you don't have a solution. So that's where I come from with this. I want it to be some kind of help, if nothing else. And just so you guys understand, I don't have a dog in the fight here. There's people on both sides of this room that I've told to pound sand at one point or another. So that that should just tell you who I am about the most honest person you're going to meet. All right. Um, that being said, when I offered my assistance, I was asked if I would like to sit in on the fire brigade meeting with the fire protection engineering company. Um, our village trustees and Goshen, I happily said yes. Uh, when the meeting started, they clarified their plan was to hire six firefighters per shift to protect the plant. Uh, these firefighters would have to be Illinois state fire marshal office certified to the basic operations firefighter level. Now, just to explain that because I know there's people that, you know, they don't understand it and you know, I think I can make this a little easier for you. Uh, from Chicago to the smallest town in Illinois, this is a certification that all firefighters are supposed to have. Um, they want one of the six, of those to be, um, fire officer one educated. Okay. To that level, that level just as a reference. Okay. Uh, fire officer one would be a lieutenant that would be like company officer. Okay. Fire officer two would be a captain. Fire officer three would be achieved.

All right.

I'm just making sure cause I know, you know, um, They also want one of the firefighters to hold the incident safety officer certification. Incident safety officer, that is the person who trains the firefighters to be able to look for safety concerns during the fire incidents. An example would be a crack in the wall. that they see from the outside, they're not doing the firefighting. They're kind of standing back watching and when they're watching, they look for a crack in the wall to see if there's an imminent wall, um, building collapse or any kind of hazardous material that would have to be mitigated prior to continuing the firefighting effort. Okay. Um, this minimum Manning, uh, that, both the village and Goshen agreed upon. I, I, I assume you guys agreed that we are demanding of them.

Yes. Okay.

They haven't agreed upon anything yet. They're not in a, they haven't agreed upon it.

Okay. Well, that's what they had asked for, or you guys had?

We put the outline together, a letter of what exactly we expect for them to accommodate, and I'll go into that.

Well, when I look at that, if they follow that traditional 24 on, 48 off firefighter shift, you'd be looking at a staffing of 18 firefighters, 24 hours a day, 365 days a year. As a firefighter, I look at that plan and in my humble opinion, I feel comfortable with that. Very comfortable with that. When you consider the fact that our fire department here currently anybody know how many people are on shift every day? I've been told six, right? Is that correct? Okay, so that's putting in one city block as many firefighters as the entire town has. And I believe this town covers between 50 and 70 square miles. So when I look at that, that knocks a lot of concerns out of my head. Um, that quick response scenario along with the, uh, plants owned fire protection systems in place, uh, should be an optimal response. The trustees from both sides of the room, you guys drew up the ordinance. Um, and I'm not going to go any further with my opinion or anything like that, because I do believe that there are some things that could be... we don't want to go there, right? Mike?

Is there anything that you think that we neglected to cover in the agreement that we were putting forth to Goshen?

No, that covered the basic part of it, and that was... part of the biggest concern I mean obviously I came to help and one of the things that I did was throw down to both of you what I thought would be a set of plans that you guys could run forward with or present but as far as what they presented that day As a person who's done this for 30 years, I have no problem with that. Thank you. I'm willing to take any questions if anybody's got any.

Anyone have a question for Mr. Hansen before I go forward? So just to answer some questions. Oh, go ahead. I'm sorry. I do have a question.

So there's a quarry, right? That's fairly close by.

Speak into the microphone, please. There's a quarry that is very close by. And when that, they do their little booms that everybody talks about, does it shift the battery of any way that would actually impact, I guess, the safety?

So I can't talk to you. No, that's okay. I can't tell you. Please use the mic. I'm not gonna sit here and tell you that that's totally safe and everything.

Ben, please use the mic, use the microphone.

It's not my area of expertise, okay? What I can tell you is, I'm trying to think of how do I say this politely.

Just say it.

No, no, no. I have to. There are a lot of misconceptions about the batteries and the way the chemistry works and that sort of thing. And I can tell you firsthand, I'm not worried about this. At all. I would be the first one to say if there was, I thought there was something. In my personal opinion, you know, they talk about thermal runaway, right? And the problem with the argument with thermal runaway, in my opinion, is that the battery has to be under load. Those batteries are being manufactured. They're not under load. So the second you pick up your phone and get on it, you're putting your battery under load. But if it's not doing anything, it's not under load. So that's one of them. I know there was people, and you had talked about being kind and everything else. There were people on Facebook saying that a fire in there could change the weather Come on. Really, I mean. We're getting rained on from Canada and that's would. So I I'm telling you guys it's realistically. I don't look at that now. There's other things that you know people can bring up runoff things like that. Absolutely runoff shirt, but here's the thing about that.

nobody cares when the crops are getting sprayed and I'm just so that's as far as I wanted to thank you thank you so just for for the public's information at the conclusion of that meeting We set the outline of what the village expects of Goshen that would be in compliant with what the occupancy permit that they've been granted through BNF technical to operate currently and I brought 25 copies, didn't realize we're gonna have as many people here as we do, but no need to fill out a FOIA. If you want it, I have them here for you. You're more than welcome to a copy, and if you want one and they're gone, tomorrow, anyone at our Village Hall will gladly make it, or I'll go print it off myself for you. But it outlines the following. that Goshen really doesn't, it's not a negotiation anymore. Mike and I have spent time and time at meetings. You've heard us talk about it. No more negotiating. This is what their occupancy permit is based upon. They've got to either agree to this terms or not by July 31st. That's in 11 days. So we're not extending timeframes for them. We're not doing anything that people are accusing us of. We're holding their feet to the fire. And unfortunately, there was never anything put in writing beforehand. It's in writing now. now we give it to them part of this agreement is that it has to also be in force fully staffed and operational with the fire brigade by the end of august 31st if that does not happen then i believe speaking from all the trustees because we've all talked about this stuff we're in complete agreement that we will take action against goshen because we expect compliance we expect them to do what they said they were going to do when this all started so this copy of it here i'm sorry so what action are you going to take if they don't comply with what we want we will pull their occupancy permit and they're shutting the place down if they don't have an accuracy permit they cannot operate so they've got those two things and any trustee mayor anyone here disagree with what we've said because we kind of work mike and i worked as a committee to do this and it was not just us running rogue it was through conversations with everyone here does everyone feel good with this am i saying anything that is just not true i think

everyone feel compliant with that what one other question i have joel's is i'd like to check that start date of that fire brigade ordinance because it's is it 90 days that they have to have that in effect okay because we've received two letters from the fire department stating that they're not compliant we will receive one last week and receive this one this week So I understand this letter went on to them, but if there's any grounds for us to stand on with this, to find them, to let them know that we're not screwing around with this, I think that's something we should look into.

How many fines have they?

They haven't, but we've also, we gave them the occupancy permit and this was never in writing. And that was the big push of we needed to get it in writing so this way we have something to stand by. Why was it in writing? i i can't answer that question to you i think that a little bit our fire department we counted on them and they didn't do it and i'm not pointing fingers because we can be pointing the fingers at the fire department we could be pointing the fingers at everyone sitting in this room right here each and every one of us trustees because truthfully i mean we got notified by the fire department last december and since from december until now nothing mike and i attended countless meetings and we felt like we were getting nowhere so it's not a negotiation it's a it's this is a dictatorship of what we're telling them from the board we're telling them this is what you have to adhere to if they don't face the consequences mike could you read those letters from the police it was just stating that he had the last letter he had was set on the 13th

is just saying that they only had four brigade members assigned to 12-hour shifts and then they had two brigade members they didn't have the fully staffed thing and i think with disagreement just to be clear is i mean we can't go back and correct what was done in the past i mean everybody should take whatever it is what it is going forward is now there's an agreement put into place with anybody that comes into our town and like we had a discussion earlier is that if somebody wants to come into our town they're going to do it the way we want to do it and if they don't like it then there's other towns because at the end of the day i'm not going to jeopardize 9 500 people plus the fire department plus our police staff plus everybody else and their families because this company doesn't want to play by the rules mike one of those letters was dated today Yeah, yeah, the 20th. Once again, it's stated that they only have two fire brigade members. They did an unannounced inspection, and at the time, they didn't have that. They say they're in the process of hiring five additional fire brigade members. At the end of the day, this is the agreement. If they don't sign it by July 31st, well then, sorry, you're done. It's real simple. And you know what, at the end of the day, what they're gonna do around is they're gonna turn around and sue us. So when they sue us, then we're gonna defend a lawsuit to help them stay here, and then we're gonna defend a lawsuit against them. So that'll be something that will run down that road again. But I just want all the residents to know, both sides, is that Joel and I did work a lot of hours on this, and there was a lot of BS that we had to deal with on their end of it, and we're done playing around. I don't care who it is. So, I mean, there was a lot of hard work that was put into this, and we can't go in the past and write what was wrong, but going forward, this is a huge thing.

Joel, is the agreement based on the recommendation of OSHA?

OSHA requirements are taken into consideration. That's why there is the six firefighters required to be on staff because you've got two in, two out, the supervisor and the lookout guy. Okay.

So I know that was something that we discussed at a previous meeting that that was our, and kind of our base benchmark standard.

And Mike and I also put in there that, and we talked about this with BNF Technical and with Chris that, We aren't just taking people at their word, or I guess I'm just saying we're not taking Goshen at their word. We want surprise inspections once staffed to make sure that they don't have six people during the day when normal business hours are, and then Saturday afternoon when no one's working at Village Hall they don't have people.

And another thing too that this agreement does do is if there was something that was major that would happen there, that we could go back and try and recoup some of the costs associated with it. But this does give us the opportunity from the village to go in there at two o'clock in the morning and see what they got.

And if for some reason they had a person call off, we've taken into account that they need to phone that into the dispatch. This way there's a record kept. So there was a lot of thought and a lot of hard work put into this to ensure that our village is safe. Quite honestly, we disagree on a lot of things, maybe on most things, but this is one thing that we all are agreeing on, and we've all taken the oath to make sure that our people are safe in town. Just one thing, Joel, if you don't mind, I just want to...

What you were just talking about is it says any manpower shortage of Goshen needs to know at least six hours in advance to call KCOM, which is the main dispatch. And it says another paragraph in here is Goshen shall immediately cease with production and manufacturing operations in the event its manpower shortage falls below the four firefighters in absence of an incident commander.

if they don't follow those rules and we find out about it then that's another grounds to pull their occupancy permits right this is this was all designed to ensure that it was done and there's no to the best of our knowledge loopholes in it so all right enough on that anyone wants a copy of it i've got 25 copies here um under new business We talked about during the Finance Committee meeting, and we also talked about several other times, public comments, hear about a lot of things that we've given away the farm for Goshen. You know, all the tax incentives that Goshen's got. And so I'm going to... we can't act upon it today but i would like to propose to the rest of the board and the public that we offer the same incentive to every resident in mantino that goshen got so this property tax freeze exactly like they have it i think we should do for our village residents exactly and i suggest or propose that we put it on a referendum for the next election because it's not up to us to decide it's up to the people of mantino if they want it and what i will say is this helps put it in perspective a little bit right goshen the property that goshen had was being taxed at nine hundred thousand dollars the year before they took it over the year after they are being taxed at two million dollars so that is in one year approximately 120 percent increase in their taxes so if we think it's such a great deal we gave away the farm to them i think we should put on the referendum for everyone else to get the exact same tax benefit that you can all vote on as people of the town, that if you agree to 120% tax increase in one year, you get 30 years froze. so george george this is so again this is a proposal that i would like to mike bring up at further committee means but i would like to see us put it on the referendum because if as we said earlier if it it's got to be good for everyone right we brought in a business they got such a great deal i want our residents to have the same great deal if they want it and that's all i have uh other than under uh our meeting our next meeting is scheduled for august 12th at 7 a.m that's it thank you thank you general government trustee zimbalman i have no old business on the agenda no new business on the on the agenda the next meeting is july 28th at 7 a.m in the village boardroom thank you all right we have three things to consider here actually four

Would the board agree to do this with a consent agenda? Can I have a motion to do a consent agenda and vote for everything all at once, or do you want to do them all separately?

I want to see, I want to do separately. Which one?

C. Okay. And the rest of them on consent? Yes. Okay.

Should we do the C first?

Okay. Let's just do the consent agenda. a consent agendas for ordinance 2609 and ordinance amending title three business regulations, chapter nine liquor section three dash nine dash 14 limitation of the village of Manteno municipal code. You want to explain that Chris?

Yeah. So this is a, uh, again, granting the, uh, a gaming license for the gentleman who operates the, uh, golf simulator business over on Spruce street. It's been in the village now, I believe for at least a year. Um, we asked him to wait six months before we gave him the liquor license and then come back again six months later if he wanted gaming. So he is asking for gaming at this point.

All right. And B is consideration regarding a motion to approve an employee sharing agreement between the village of Mantino and the Mantino community chamber of commerce. Can you explain that?

Yeah, we, we have a unique position in the village that, uh, we have, uh, a person who works both for the chamber and for the village. Um, this agreement, uh, allows that to continue. We've been doing this now for, I think at least 10 years. Um, this is the third person to hold that position, but it's been a great asset. Um, The chamber really can't afford to have a full-time employee on their own. And it would also stretch the village to have that. So we share the expenses. Everything that that position costs the village is reimbursed 50% by the chamber. So we truly share the cost of that position.

All right. Thank you. And the final consideration will be a motion to approve payment of the bills in the amount of $204,896.36. including TIF number three at zero. Are there any questions about any of them? Then I need a motion that we can have a consent agenda for those three items. Make the motion. Motion by Vaughn. I'll second. I'll second. Second by Barry, actually. Roll call? Roll call. Oh, wait a minute. We have to do a roll call on this too, right?

Roll call. Vaughn? Yes. Barry? Yes. Boudreaux? Yes. Yes. Crockett. Yes. Yes.

Yes. That was the motion to approve the consent agenda. Now I need a motion to approve it. I'll make that motion motion by Boudreau. So I can second by a guest key.

Yes. Yes. Barry. Yes. Bon. Yes. Crockett. Yes. Zimbalman.

Yes. All right, motion carries. Now, separate consideration regarding a motion to approve a PSA with H.R. Green for Main Street Tree Removal and Replacement Design and Construction Engineering. Is there a motion?

So moved.

Motion by Geske. I'll second.

Yeah, I want to have a discussion on this real quick I like to talk to Bruce Hill because as I looked at this that seventeen thousand five hundred dollars is for nineteen trees So, I mean that's an additional nine hundred dollars a tree for him to draw up So, I mean, I'd like to have a discussion to find out, you know what size what what he's thinking and then the ornamental trees because like I said the ornamental trees in those spaces Would fit nicely I just, you know, I just want to have a discussion with them.

With the ornamental trees, Mike, again, because you know more than this, would they be able to hold, again, the big thing was the trees obviously won't look nice, but also for the Christmas lights, would they be able to hold lights or are they going to be too weak?

I put Christmas tree lights on my ornamental trees. So, I mean, depending on the size-wise we got on them, I mean, if we're going to be doing this in the springtime, we could tag that stuff in the fall. and then have real nice stuff come springtime.

Chris, can we, instead of it being for 19 trees, can we have them do the proposal to do all the trees but break it into three different bids? Have companies bid it in three different phases? We're not financially prepared to do all the trees downtown and Main Street, but...

i would think drawing it up is the same scope right whether it's for 19 trees i think if it was like i said if i would have looked at that it was for all the 120 trees that need to be fixed or replaced then that's a different story but yeah i think some of the expense would be you know for all the trees some of the expense obviously the design and the drafting of the locations and all that the more you add there will be some more expense there but we can certainly ask him to break it up any way you guys want it to be done

Yeah, because, I mean, if we've got to pay $17,500 for 19 trees, then in a year from now, we've got to replace 25 trees. That's going to be $20,000. I get it. And then it's going to be $25,000. We're going to spend $100,000 for him to draw up some stuff.

Why don't we table this and do it at the next meeting?

Would that be enough time for you, Mike, to talk to Bruce? Yeah, I'll call him tomorrow.

I'll call him tomorrow. Okay. Do we need a motion to table that? Yeah, I need a motion to table it. Or do we have to withdraw our motion? Motion to table it.

second yes yes second was it mike no okay todd crack it all right we're going to table that okay motion to vote yes yes crack it yes barry yes udro yes vaughn yes zimbleman yes thank you all right comments how about payment of bills Oh, the payment of the bills.

Who would like to start with?

You know, I had a question. Joe, how many employees do they have over at Goshen? What are they up to now? I don't know that answer. I'm sorry. Anybody know? Mike, do you know? I mean, I think the last time they said anything was like 375.

375.

The last time I heard it, it was like 390 employees. so very close to what mike heard three did you say 390 yeah 390. okay who would like do we know what they guaranteed to have by 2026 at the end of the year didn't they have to like hit thresholds i think it was 490 490 or 473. but that was supposed to be local jobs too annette would you like to be the first one to comment i have nothing joel

Okay, um... couple things first meeting times we've talked about it's been brought up several times about our committee meetings and i'd like to point out that plan commission meeting cj correct me if i'm wrong last week you had a your plan commission meeting that the agenda was really for the development of our of our town and doing comprehensive planning stuff And I just want to take note that, correct me if I'm wrong, CJ, there were five people other than elected officials that participated at the public meeting at 7 o'clock in the afternoon?

I think five, maybe six public participants.

So the difference between what happens at 7 a.m. and 7 p.m. meetings isn't all that great. It's not a big difference. Next... I wanna talk about public comments and tonight's, all the meetings, or all the comments that have been made, wow. Like, to look in the audience and see high schoolers, college kids, I saw some grammar school kids here that are concerned about our town. Thank you. That's a good thing that you guys have concern and are up here to be involved. That's not a bad thing. And not that you're supporting one person or the other. You just see that what's going on isn't right. And so that leads me to the next one of the mayor's letter. Wow, Mayor. Wow. So much for all cooperating and singing kumbaya and not slamming one another. the lack of facts, the lack of factual content that you had in your letter is unbelievable. It's exactly like that of your lynch mob that are on social media that are sitting in the background. I will say that the comments of your agenda being refused to be posted, Not accurate, not accurate. And in fact, your agenda versus the agenda that was posted, the only thing different was that we added an item to that agenda to be posted. And any meeting called, any elected official can add something onto the agenda. And the only part that is accurate is that I said make sure it is posted 48 hours ahead of time so this way the Open Meetings Act is not violated. That being said, I'm not gonna get into all the mudslinging because I'm gonna attempt to take the high road on this. But there are plenty of people here who have not taken the high road. and if they would like to discuss any of the allegations smiley we'll gladly go over that with you and address those one by one joel mayor is in charge of the agenda

mayor i beg to differ we are all in charge of the agenda we can talk about whatever we would like to we're elected officials brian miller to speak on this right according to the village code the only thing the um i could pull the provision the village administrator is supposed to assist the compilation of the agenda uh with to the the mayor and the clerk that's the only thing as far as the code is states regarding compilation of agenda. It also says, in the absence of any rule specifically, Robert's Rules of Order prevails. In Robert's Rules of Order, the Chair compiles the agenda.

um i guess i'll i'll move on to the next item of mr miller i'll just remind you that we don't acknowledge you as our attorney i'm not it's nothing personal we're not taking your bills into consideration we will have court hearings that are going tomorrow thanks to the suit i would advise you to actually follow the code that will be um well i thank you for your advice but it's not taken um your Tomorrow will start because us elected officials will be retaining counsel to file an appearance tomorrow at 9 o'clock in the courthouse. And thank you to taxpayers for allowing us to waste more of your money to defend another suit brought against us.

Trustee, you actually don't have the legal authority to hire counsel in a...

legal matter like this you have high authority to hire legislative counsel okay so that being said um thank you guys and that's all i have thank you mr crackett uh no comments this evening mrs vaughn i thought your letter and speech was right on thank you

Thank you. First off, I just want to appreciate you guys allowing me to attend virtually. As a lot of you know, my dad suffered a stroke a few months back. He is still on the road to recovery. My mom was out of town seeing some of the kids she watched, so I was here as a caretaker. uh and it's been a gift kind of to be here for the last couple days and again this was an ordinance that the mayor vetoed and was overridden and i respect those that voted against it too let me still be here with them i appreciate that uh just two quick notes uh it's been great seeing everybody at events obviously it's been very hot outside uh but it's been great seeing people at the parks and especially these hot days i just want to highlight that we have some great amenities in town we have pj's ice cream we have dairy queen if you're of 21 years of age or older we have some bars that have some great liquids too so please spend mantino whenever you can because our small businesses are what make our town thrive and it's been great with that Just one quick comment as a political science major and a civics teacher, and we love to throw around the word mandates for any election, whatever we have. So when we look at our town size, we have 93 roughly 100 people in our town. I'm going to take off 2,000 of those are probably kids under 18. So we roughly have about 7,300 residents that are 18 or older that could vote in elections. This last election that was won by the mayor, by me, by Mike Berry, by Peggy Vaughn, the mayor got 1,549 votes. If we take the voters out and we just do that by the population size, that's only 21% of the town voted for the mayor. Peggy Vaughn also got about roughly 21%. Me and Mike roughly got about 18%. So when we talk about mandate, it's all a perspective of numbers. If we look at the perspective of voters, which was only 38% of our town turned out to vote, then here you get to 50% of voters. But if we look at the town, which is who we all represent, none of us have even a quarter of the town that have elected us personally so i think that's just something to keep in mind that we represent the entire town all 9 300 people all 7 300 probably roughly voters um in our town of people so if we like to throw the word around mandate i don't think 20 a mandate for anything um at all um so i think we all including myself including joel including that including todd we can all be better at being more apparent because again we represent the entire town not just the ones that voted for us whether we say we do i think we can see more speaks in our actions and i think one action that can show the entire time they're working together is this goshen agreement All of us trustees are backing the same agreement. And we know Goshen is a very controversial item in our town, but we have all agreed to back that. I would point to our special meeting or sorry, executive meeting that we had about this. We can see that all of us have talked about it. For everything else that's going on, it's a lot of noise. Lawsuits, as has been mentioned, cost our taxpayers dollars. Dollars that we could be spending on our parks, events, police, other issues are now being spent in court. I will go with whatever the court says. I feel very confident in Judge Parker's. I feel very confident in what she will decide. What I would ask of all of our elected officials, including the head of our town, is to think about the perception. Words are one thing. And you started out your letter very great. Respect and leadership. And then you decided to just lambast the previous administration. i i don't know why i wish you would leave former disputes behind um and move forward as you can see in the audience tonight we have the next generation of mantina ones here and i think we need to look towards the future and put all the past disputes behind us again keep listening to our town we're neighbors Let go of the past. I don't care what has been said. I don't pay attention on Facebook. Let go of it. So stop the lawsuit. Stop the slander. Let's move forward and keep going with the progress as we've seen with the Scotian agreement, as we've seen now with the trees. We did a consent agenda, I think, for the first time in our almost a year and a half. So we are moving forward. We just have to show it in more actions. Thank you.

Thank you. Mike.

Thank you. I appreciate everybody's comments tonight from both from Ms. Prenderville and the gentleman in the back. I mean, it takes a lot. I know it takes a lot to get up and talk in front of people and that comes from the heart and that's what it means. And at the end of the day, like I said earlier, we can't right wrongs that happened in the past, but we can move forward and we can't change things that happened in the past, but we can move forward and we don't have to agree on everything. But I'm a type of person, you don't have to agree with me, but explain to me why you don't agree with me. That's all I ask. Everybody has their own opinion, and that's great. That's what makes the world go around. You just have to understand, too, is that the effect that social media has not only on you guys, it's on the families. So, you know, before we go online and we start bashing people both sides, you know, I have a 12-year-old son, and he hears a lot of that. And I do laugh and I did chuckle that the nice meme that they put out on me and the mayor, it was a good picture of me. So whoever did it, but the last time I checked, I'll never be a puppet because I'm a big dude and whoever could try and pick me up. I'd love to see it. So thank you. Appreciate it.

I just want to thank everybody who continues to support the entire board by coming to the meetings and from watching our meetings and caring deeply about Mantino. This is the town we all love. So let's have a fresh start and let's just move forward. And like you said, God leave things in the past. So thank you everybody. I need a motion to adjourn. Motion by Annette Zimbelman to adjourn. Is there a second? Second by Mike. All in favor? Aye. Meeting is adjourned.