MINUTES BOARD of TOWN TRUSTEES

MINUTES - BOARD of TOWN TRUSTEES

STATE of ILLINOIS TYPE OF MEETING HELD: Regular

LASALLE COUNTY, SS. TIME MEETING BEGAN: 5:00pm

TOWN of BRUCE TIME MEETING ENDED: 5:19pm

The January 8, 2014 meeting of the Bruce Township Board of Trustees opened with the Pledge of Allegiance to the Flag. Highway Commissioner Carl Barton and Trustee Jerry Christensen were absent from this meeting. Assessor Mary Sullivan was in attendance. The meeting was conducted by Mr. Henry Araujo as chairman and recorded by Ms. Sheryl Sedlock Township Clerk.

APPROVAL OF PRIOR MEETING’S MINUTES: The first order of business was to read and approve the minutes from the December 11, 2013 Regular Meeting.

MOTION MADE BY: Steve Biroschik 2nd BY: Bob Harrison That the minutes of the December 11, 2013 Regular Meeting be approved as read. No further discussion was required.

Aye’s 4 Nay’s 0 Motion: Carried

PUBLIC COMMENTS: There were no public comments raised at the meeting.

TREASURER’S REPORT/APPROVALOF BILLS A summary of the bills was distributed for review.

MOTION MADE BY: Randy Baumrucker 2nd BY: Steve Biroschik That the bills be allowed and paid. No additional discussion was required on the topic.

Trustee Bob Harrison: Aye Trustee Jerry Christensen: Absent Trustee Randy Baumrucker: Aye Trustee Steve Biroschik: Aye Supervisor Henry Araujo: Aye

COMMITTEE REPORTS: SUPERVISOR’S: Supervisor Araujo informed the board that he had purchased the new tractor for snow removal and mowing from Streator Farm-Mart for $15, 000.00. He confirmed the tractor does have 4 wheel-drive and worked pretty well during this week’s snow storm which included heavy blowing and drifting conditions. He also shared that we received $3,195.00 in trade-in for the old tractor. He indicated that he spent about 12 hours a day Friday through Tuesday working on snow removal and that he had closed the office on Monday due to the extreme weather conditions. He noted that 2 individuals insisted on giving him a gratuity for his snow removal efforts. He did not feel right accepting the money until one of the individuals suggested using the money to take members of the Township office for an “appreciation lunch” for their work throughout the year. He then put gas in the tractor and donated the remaining money to the Annual Community Christmas fund.

HIGHWAY COMMISSIONER’S: Highway Commissioner Barton was not present to give a report this month. Supervisor Araujo indicated that he had not received any calls concerning road conditions in the township and suggested that this was a good indication that Highway Commissioner Barton and his team did a good job of keeping our road ways

1 of 3 MINUTES - BOARD of TOWN TRUSTEES clear during the snow storm. Trustee Biroschik indicated that he saw an Otter Creek Township snow plow come down his street during the storm and asked if we had an agreement with that township to plow our roads. There was no one at the meeting who could speak to Trustee Biroschik’ question.

ASSESSOR’S: Assessor Sullivan reported that the Senior Homestead forms will be sent out on February 1st.

TRUSTEE’S: Trustee Harrison reported that he represented Bruce Township a meeting in Ottawa with the North Central Area Transit (NCAT) to obtain more information on the current services offered and the plans for future growth in the Streator Area. He reported that the current cost to Streator residents of $2.00 is slightly higher than Ottawa residents of $1.00 because the City of Ottawa subsidizes the fares for its residents. He indicated fees for rides out of town are $0.35 per mile. He shared that some popular destinations include students traveling from Streator to Illinois Valley Community College (IVCC) in Oglesby and rides to area hospitals. Trustee Biroschik shared that this service will also provide rides to the Chicago Area Airports. Trustee Harrison went on to say that there are currently no set routes being served in Streator but there are plans to possibly provide them in the future. Currently, all rides are done by reservation only. Additional buses will be gradually added over time as the cost for a new bus is approximately $100,000.00.

OTHER: Clerk Sedlock gave a brief report on the progress made in the creation of the Bruce Township Website. The site is up and partially populated. Her plan is to focus on getting the information in place and will then go back to make modifications to improve the look and feel of the site. She provided the board members with instructions on how to access the website, a list of the proposed content which indicated what had already been populated on the site, and a form to complete that would give her input from the trustees on what contact information they would like listed on the Officials page. Assessor Sullivan suggested only providing an email address if you check the email on a regular basis. She indicated that the information was easy to input and that she will not need any help in populating the remaining information. She welcomes feedback and suggestions for improving the page. Trustee Biroschik suggested connecting the website to facebook given social media like facebook are more used than email and other forms of communication now and that is the trend for the future, as well. Assessor Sullivan informed the board that Bruce Township currently has a facebook page and she will work with Clerk Sedlock to get the appropriate links in place.

REPORTS BY SPECIAL COMMITTEES: HEALTH BOARD: The Health Board had nothing new to report. Supervisor Araujo has not received a response from Mr. Mike Harsted concerning the progress on removing cars from 228 W. 2nd Street.

OLD BUSINESS: Supervisor Araujo indicated that Echols & Associates, P.C. have completed the audit of Bruce Township’s financial records and will be providing the board with a report very soon. It is thought that the weather may have delayed the delivery which was expected last Friday. Supervisor Araujo will add it to the agenda for next month.

Trustee Harrison asked for the current status on the Township Hall floors. It was noted that the recent work to strip and apply new wax was not to the Board’s satisfaction. Supervisor Araujo reported that the cleaning service is scheduled to re-do the Township Hall floors this Friday (1/10/2014) at no additional cost to the Township. Supervisor Araujo is expecting the issue to be corrected.

Assessor Sullivan reported that the 2013 Annual Community Christmas Dinner was a success and that approximately 400 meals were served that day. This is an increase over last year’s number by approximately 150 meals.

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NEW BUSINESS: Trustee Biroschik suggested the board purchase a Solar Light to attach to the flag pole to provide a more focused and energy efficient source of light. He suggested checking at Ace Hardware to see if they carried them and, if not, he knows they are available at Menards.

MOTION MADE BY: Steve Biroschik 2nd BY: Bob Harrison That the meeting be adjourned.

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