MINUTES
PALESTINE VILLAGE BOARD OF TRUSTEES MEETING
August 5, 2021

Palestine Board of Trustees met on August 5, 2021. Trustees answering roll call were J.R. Dunlap, Twilla Davis, Tim McDaniel, Mary Michael, Gene Purcell…Brian Nethery was late to meeting. 

Staff Members present: Jake McGuinness, Kathy Clark, DPW, Shirley Adams, Village Clerk and Stacey Myers, Deputy Clerk. 

Visitors present were Tom Osborn, Teresa Blackburn, Noble Jones, Marcus Cook and Bruce McDaniel. 

Meeting called to order by Mayor Byrley.

The meeting began with all present reciting the Pledge of Allegiance.

Minutes were taken by the Village Deputy Clerk.

The Minutes of July 1, 2021, were accepted as presented. 

OLD BUSINESS:
1)	Discussion and approval of upgrading Main St. lighting to LED. Mr. Noble Jones the sales representative here to present information. Mr. Jones presented to the trustees information regarding the benefits and cost saving the upgrade to new LED lights would do for the Village. Further, he is gathering information for a rebate the Village could receive through Ameren CIP for the upgrade of lighting system to energy efficient. Gene Purcell made a motion to approve upgrading Main St. lighting to LED. Tim McDaniel seconded motion. Motion carried unanimously. 
2)	Status Que-Bridge Repair.  No update
3)	Update-Main St. Building.  Mayor Byrley stated that a few weeks ago on a Saturday they had a clean-up day. The DPW helped to remove scrap and will be taking it to the strap yard to sell to retain some monies from the Main St. building. He is hoping to have another clean-up day in the near future. 
4)	Update-Ervin Property.  No progress has been done. Discussion was that a letter from Mayor Byrley be sent stating further action could be made if clean-up isn’t done. 

New Business:
1)  Official approval of the Phone Poll on July 6, 2021, for a special event request from Blended Eatery.  J.R. Dunlap made a motion to approve the Phone Poll on July, 6 2021, for a special event request from Blended Eatery. Gene Purcell seconded motion. Motion carried unanimously.

2) Teresa Blackburn-requesting to have the pole on the N. side of her building removed. Mrs. Blackburn presented to the board of trustees the concern that the pole was in bad shape. She feels like the pole is an eye sore and a safety hazard. She was informed by the trustee’s and Mayor that the Chamber uses the pole as a place to hang a Rodeo banner. Mrs. Blackburn was unaware that the chamber used the pole. Mayor Byrley thanked Mrs. Blackburn for attending the meeting and for presenting her concern and the board of trustees will take it all into consideration. 

3) Bruce McDaniel-Complaint about neighboring property. Mr. McDaniel stated to the board the property next to his has over grown grass/weeds and several containers that are holding water. He stated that standing water in the containers and an old boat are creating a severe mosquito problem. Kathy has offered to spray more heavily around his property until the issue is resolved. Further, Jake stated that the property owner has been sent a letter by chief Besing and will have 30 days to clean up property before further action is taken. The Homeowner did however tell Chief Besing that he would have the junk hauled off and cleaned up within the next weekend.

DPW REPORT:  Kathy Clark.
Vandevanter has installed the new lift piping at the influent station. They removed the splash cover from the other pump piping to find it in worse repair than the first. They also removed “flushable” wipes from the check valve, replacing the O rings and gaskets, to prolong the life of the pump till we can replace the piping. Kathy presented a proposal for resurfacing the Village Hall Parking lot. She stated the she has done as much street/curb painting as she can due to limited manufacturing at this time. Kathy and David are scheduled to test for Waste Water Certification in Robinson in September. 

POLICE REPORT:  Jake McGinniess.
There have been seven ordinance citations gone to the court process due to non-payment of fines this past month. Chief Besing and Jake participated in “National Night Out” at Robinson City Park, August 3rd. This is a yearly event held across the nation with emergency service first responders to interact with the community. The Palestine Police Department will be reminding residents via social media about the school zones as school starts August 20th. 

PIONEER ROOM/COMMUNITY FACILITY – August 2021 – J.R. Dunlap 

COMMITTEE REPORTS:

Budget Committee:  Shirley Adams, Chairman.  The July Financial Reports were passed out to Trustees. Annual Audit is scheduled for September 7th and 8th. 

Bldg Regulations, Permits, Maintenance: Harry Gene Purcell, Chairman.  One building permit was issued. 

Employee Relations Committee: J.R. Dunlap, Chairman. 

FOIA/OMA Officers:  Shirley Adams, Chairman 
Online website is still down and not able to renew at this time.

Ordinance/Grant Committee: Pat Schofield
 
Streets, Sidewalks, Alleys Committee: Tim McDaniel, Chairman.  
Dave Maxwell has got several sections of sidewalks done but still have several more to complete. 

Sewer/Lagoon Committee: Brian Nethery, Chairman.  

With no further business to discuss Genre Purcell moved to adjourn.  J.R. Dunlap seconded motion. Motion carried. Meeting adjourned at 6:26 PM.

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  	   PRESIDENT					DEPUTY CLERK