December 4, 2024 Meeting Minutes

Village of Bishop Hill                web page: bishophillil.gov

 County of Henry

 State of Illinois

 December 4th, 2024

The regular meeting of the Village of Bishop Hill Board was held at the Municipal Bldg. The meeting was called to order by Mayor Mike Funke at 6:00 p.m.

ROLL CALL; Mike Funke, Patrick Light, Lisa Nordstrom Ben Strand, Jim Nolan, Amanda Laub, Sharon Wexell & Terri Wigant were all present. Mike Keup was absent.

MINUTES; Light motioned to accept the November minutes, seconded by Nordstrom. Voice vote, motion carried.

TREASURER’S REPORT; Laub motioned to accept the Treasurer’s Report, seconded by Nolan. Voice vote, motion carried.

PAY BILLS;  Nordstrom motioned to pay bills, including Whittington’s regular pay + 6.5 extra work hours  for November plus 3 hours of annual leave pay (a new Illinois statue ), seconded by Laub. Voice vote, motion carried.

OLD BUSINESS;

Funke said Well #2 is still down, the water usage meters are going to be checked. Peerless Co. pulled the pump, it was okay and no problem with the electrical. Rock River electrician is going to also check the electrical and the VFD.

Cameron will get bonded and then he can dig for our water hydrant and water main work.

Funke said the benches have been shipped for the picnic table, and Mortenson Co. would send a repair kit for the damaged tear drop bench. Wigant said her husband took the picnic table down to the Filling Station today. Funke said the B.H. Old Settlers wants a tear drop bench and Jeff Goard wants a bench. We have 2 round benches, 2 tear drop benches, and 2 regular benches.

Funke said he didn’t know what to do about our sidewalks, he was hoping that Darren Frank would have gotten it done this fall - -Colony Inn down to P. L.’s. He has the template and the dye color; it would be nice if he could work with us to eventually get all the sidewalks matching. Wigant said Dalton Whittington would be interested in bidding the sidewalk work.

At the last meeting the Board voted to amend the Liquor Ordinance to allow five (5) Class A Village Liquor Licenses at any one time. Wexell had the amended ordinance ready to sign. Light motioned to pass the amended Liquor Ordinance 2024-06, seconded by Nolan. Voice vote, motion carried.

Also, at the last meeting, Wigant had a liquor license application filled out by Jennifer Jude, the new owner of P.L. Johnsons. Jude also gave Wigant a copy of her insurance coverage. Nordstrom motioned to give Jennifer Jude a Village Liquor License, seconded by Laub. Voice vote, motion carried. Jude will now be able to apply for her State Liquor License.

NEW BUSINESS;

            Kelly Wolf, the new Henry County Tourism Director, was at the meeting informing the Board about the plan that the new Henry County Tourism Bureau had put in place. The Bureau was trying to get all municipalities to participate in the plan. The cost to each municipality went by population and what events and hotels they had. Currently there are 11 municipalities that have joined the Bureau. As of October 1st, the bureau that was known as Visit Henry County, is now Explore Henry County and they already have 5 commercials made to advertise in the spring. Wolf has attended different conferences to see about bringing in bus tours and group tours, etc. Advertising will focus on the Quad Cities, Galesburg, and Peoria areas. Wolf said previously Bishop Hill had the Twinflower’s hotel tax of $1,000 to qualify to be a member of the HC Tourism Bureau. Since Twinflower is no longer in business, the Village of Bishop Hill will need to pay $1,000 annually to be a member and benefit from the advertising.  Joella Krause, Treasurer of the Arts Council, has been communicating with Wolf and said the shops are each donating a sum of money. Todd DeDecker, Administrator for the Bishop Hill Heritage Association said they will donate $200. After going to the last Arts Council meeting and listening to how the Tourism Bureau is going to work, Wexell suggested that the Village help raise the $1,000 fee.  Light said he thought the Village could pay for 1 year and see how the tourism bureau works for the Village. Funke said everyone is hesitant because the last tourism bureau didn’t do a very good job for the money that was paid. Wolf stated that the Board is built from City Administrators, Mayors, and shop owners, so it is a diversified Board. Wolf said John Taylor, owner of Bishop Hill Commons, is on the Board for Cambridge. Wexell said she and Krause would represent Bishop Hill. Nordstrom said she agreed the Village could help, but the money should be raised by everyone, so they all have an interest in the return for their money. The county does contribute 1/3 of the $120,000 needed. Four months ago, the Bureau also qualified for a $40,000 State Funding Grant. Funke said we need to show good faith to our store owners by paying something. Nordstrom motioned to table the subject until our January meeting. Wolf said this year’s membership expires December 31, 2024, she will send out invoices in January for 2025 membership, so the Board has time to see what sum is needed. Wolf said as long as she can go back to her board saying she has an agreement from the Village to donate.

The Board decided to keep the meeting date the 1st Wednesday of each month, except for January as it lands on New Year’s Day. The board moved the January meeting to Wednesday the 8th. Light motioned to leave the meetings at the 1st Wednesday of each month at 6 p.m., except for January, it will be on the 2nd Wednesday, seconded by Nolan. Voice vote, motion carried.

            Wigant had talked to Shaun Wood, Weller Township Road Commissioner, about a blind driveway sign and speed limit sign for the end of W. Main St. Funke also wanted No Parking signs with certain hours and days printed on the signs for Helena St. That was so the township would have room to get their equipment to and from the Township shed and the highway. Wood ordered the signs with no time or days on it. Funke asked him to reorder signs that said times and days of no parking.

            Wigant stated that the step ladder for the Municipal was not very safe, she asked the Board if she could buy a new one. Laub said to purchase a new ladder, seconded by Nordstrom. Voice vote, motion carried.

Light looked at the monitor for the new surveillance cameras at the Municipal Bldg. He said the monitor that he brought was not big enough, it was not letting him see the whole screen, so we need a bigger monitor. Light will see if his work has any used 27” or 30” monitors we could get.

There was no further business, Light motioned to adjourn, seconded by Laub. Voice vote, motion carried.