May 15, 2017 Meeting Notes
Peotone Township Regular Meeting
Supervisor Cann called the May meeting of Peotone Township to order at 7:00 P.M. on May 15, 2017.
Kent Heisner led the Pledge of Allegiance.
The Roll Call indicated all were present.
The minutes of the April 17, 2017 meeting were presented. A motion to accept the minutes as presented was made by Trustee Morgan and was seconded by Trustee Schubbe. On a roll call vote, the following members voted “yes”: Morgan, Schubbe, Swartz, Heisner and Cann. Motion carried unanimously.
The following visitors were in attendance: Residents Catherine McIlwee and Virginia Gates-Hamann. Catherine had no comments. Virginia brought to the Board’s attention that she presented a FOIA request to Assessor Pat Latham for copies of 196 property cards and computation pages. Virginia stated that Pat informed her that the first 50 pages would be no charge and that subsequent copies would be at $0.15 per page. Virginia picked up the FOIA copies on April 28, 2017 and left a check made out to Peotone Township with Assessor Latham for the cost of the pages in excess of 50. Virginia reported that she did not receive what she had requested. Specifically, 111 pages received were duplicates, 8 pages received were not requested, 2 property cards requested were not complete, 18 property cards requested were missing and requested computation pages were missing. Virginia had asked earlier that her check be held until the over charge & discrepancies were cleared up. Supervisor Cann mentioned that checks to the Township can’t be held and that it was already deposited. There was a spirited dialogue between Virginia and Pat regarding the above points as well as why copies weren’t double sided to reduce the cost to Virginia. Since the Township Board has no jurisdiction in this FOIA situation, it was left to Assessor Latham and Virginia to work out a satisfactory resolution or take action through the Illinois States Attorney’s office.
The Town Fund Budget Report was submitted. A motion to accept was made by Trustee Morgan and seconded by Trustee Swartz. On a roll call vote, the following voted “yes”: Morgan, Schubbe, Swartz, Heisner and Cann. Motion carried unanimously.
The Road District Funds Budget Report was submitted. A motion to accept was made by Trustee Heisner and seconded by Trustee Morgan. On a roll call vote, the following voted “yes”: Morgan, Schubbe, Swartz, Heisner and Cann. Motion carried unanimously.
The Financial Summary Report was submitted. A motion to accept was made by Trustee Swartz and seconded by Trustee Schubbe. On a roll call vote, the following voted “yes”: Morgan, Schubbe, Swartz, Heisner and Cann. Motion carried unanimously.
The Town Fund bills were then submitted. A motion to pay these bills was made by Trustee Heisner and seconded by Trustee Schubbe. On a roll call vote, the following voted “yes”: Morgan, Schubbe, Swartz, Heisner and Cann. Motion carried unanimously.
The Road & Bridge, Hard Road and Equipment Funds bills were then submitted. A motion to pay these bills was made by Trustee Schubbe and seconded by Trustee Heisner. On a roll call vote, the following voted “yes”: Morgan, Schubbe, Swartz, Heisner and Cann. Motion carried unanimously.
Under Additions to the Agenda, TOIRMA Bond was added.
Under Planning & Zoning, there was no business to discuss.
The following correspondence was received:
• The recent CASA request for donation was tabled until a later time.
• Certificates of Election were received from the Will County Clerk and were appropriately distributed to the Board by Clerk Younker. Official election voting result summaries were also received with this correspondence.
Under Old Business, Clerk Younker reported that the Peotone Township TOI website changes and updates have been completed. The website has been significantly improved. Clerk Younker asked all Board members to visit the website, www.toi.org, and send him any changes or additions by next month. Road Commissioner Hack reported that his 2017 road improvement plan has been completed. Clerk Younker requested a copy of the specific roads being improved so that it could be posted on the Township website too. A motion to donate $500 to the WC Center for Community Concerns was made by Trustee Morgan and seconded by Trustee Schubbe. On a roll call vote, the following voted “yes”: Morgan, Schubbe, Swartz, Heisner and Cann. Motion carried unanimously. Under additional Old Business, Assessor Latham stated that she was upset about the statement last month that her assessor records were not in compliance with Will County and wondered who questioned that at last meeting. Trustee Heisner stated that he had raised that question based on constituent feedback and the” Letter to the Editor” comments made prior to the election. Assessor Latham stated that all of her records are in compliance & up-to-date which can be verified by contacting the Will County offices. In regard to the statement of lack of Board support, Assessor Latham meant that she would like the Board to act as an “Intervener” in the future to better support her when challenging Board of Review assessment cases. The Board felt that was a reasonable request and would try to do so in the future to better help Assessor Latham. Supervisor Cann reported that Peotone Scholarship group could only use $500 of the $1000 allocated for scholarships this year since there weren’t enough seniors that applied for scholarships! Supervisor Cann also reported that the TOIRMA Bond paperwork was completed and copies mailed to TOIRMA and the Will County Clerk as required.
Under New Business, a motion to adopt the 2017-2018 Town Fund Budget was made by Trustee Heisner and seconded by Trustee Swartz. On a roll call vote, the following voted “yes”: Morgan, Schubbe, Swartz, Heisner and Cann. Motion carried unanimously. A motion to adopt the 2017-2018 Road Funds Budgets was made by Trustee Schubbe and seconded by Trustee Heisner. On a roll call vote, the following voted “yes”: Morgan, Schubbe, Swartz, Heisner and Cann. Motion carried unanimously. A Letter of Resignation effective July 1, 2017 was received from Christine Cann. A motion to accept the resignation was made by Trustee Schubbe and seconded by Trustee Swartz. On a roll call vote, the following voted “yes”: Morgan, Schubbe, Swartz, Heisner and Cann. Motion carried unanimously. The Board had a discussion regarding the importance of replacing that position and it’s duties. The Board decided the position should be replaced and agreed upon a very capable & trustworthy candidate. A motion to appoint Marcie Hamann to the position of Assistant to the Board of Peotone Township at the same hourly rate not to exceed $3,000 per year in total was made by Trustee Swartz and seconded by Trustee Heisner. On a roll call vote, the following voted “yes”: Morgan, Schubbe, Swartz, Heisner and Cann. Motion carried unanimously. Under additional New Business, Clerk Younker reported that the Oath of Office has been given to all newly elected officials and copies sent to the Will County Clerk as required. Clerk Younker also reported receiving a FOIA request for township salary information and that it has already been processed.
Assessor Latham shared her tentative Township Factor document with the Board. She also stated that the Will County program used for assessing large number of properties would cost $6,500 plus and an additional $1,500 to use it’s drawing capabilities. Due to the much lower number of properties in our township, she did not feel that the $8,000 cost of that system was warranted at this time.
Road Commissioner Hack reported that all gravel roads have been graded and are in good shape.
Being no other reports or comments from the Board, a motion to adjourn was made by Trustee Swartz and seconded by Trustee Morgan at 8:17 P.M. The motion was unanimously accepted.
GeneYounker
Peotone Township Clerk