The Dwight Village Board of Trustees met Monday, October 23 in the Public Services Complex. Trustees present were Randy Irvin, Pete Meister, Marla Kinkade, Jenny Johnson, and Brian Berta. Also in attendance were Village President Paul Johnson, Village Attorney Nick Ehrgott, and Village Clerk Whitney Scott.
FINANCIAL REPORTS
Payments of October 23, 2023 for bills of $108,438.83 were approved. The August Treasurer’s Report was also approved.
PRESIDENTS REPORT
Mayor Paul Johnson reported he has been fielding concerns from Dwight business owners and residents regarding the recent assessed valuations released by the Livingston County Assessor. All Dwight businesses were reassessed by an independent firm on behalf of the County this past year and most businesses have seen sharp increases. Though the Village may benefit from the increases, the Village has no hand in establishing the evaluations.
VILLAGE REPORTS
Village Administrator Crissy Livingston indicated that the Village is following the Municipal Code guidelines regarding water payment delinquency. Once a Red-tag water shutoff notice is hung on door, the homeowner or business has 24 hours to pay the balance in full to avoid being disconnected from the Village water supply. She urged anyone having difficulty paying to make arrangements with the Village prior to the process getting to the Red-tag stage. There also is a $50 fee to reconnect.
In addition, the Village is moving to implement smart meters which will automate the meter reading process.
EMS Director Michael Callahan reported that next ambulance remount will begin January 2 and that crews will be sized for new safety gear as part of the Firehouse Sub grant.
Also, the Department will be organizing a food drive in conjunction with the Salvation Army of Pontiac. They will be accepting non-perishable donations from now until Sunday, November 5th. The donation box will be located in the front vestibule of the Public Services Complex.
Chief of Police Mike Nolan told the Board that the Police Department will be testing four potential recruits on October 28. There are currently two slots reserved by Dwight in a January time-frame at the Academy.
The two new recent officer hires are moving into their shadowing phase of development which will last four to six weeks.
Director of Public Works Cory Scoles reported that the new playground equipment at Lions Lake is operational but they are waiting on a couple missing pieces to arrive to make installation complete.
Trustee Randy Irvin questioned Scoles on what could be done to keep the nuisance geese away from the playground. Trustee Brian Berta suggested spreading grape Koolaid in the area. The Grade School experimented with this and it seems to be working.
COMMITTEE MEETINGS
- Ordinance Meeting 10/19/2023
- Business Application license – The Village attorney is working on language for a new Business Application License and will be discussed at a subsequent meeting.
- Sidewalk Ordinance / Application – The Sidewalk Repair Ordinance was discussed and it was decided to increase the homeowner reimbursement to $5.00 per square foot. Procedures for getting approval were also updated and the ordinance was approved.
- Food Trucks – Food Trucks were discussed and details were referred once again to the Village attorney to develop language for the ordinance to be finalized at a later date
- Dilapidated properties – Dilapidated properties in the Village were discussed. The Village attorney will be developing language surrounding this with the intent of getting property owners to raze or fix up such properties.
- Demolition Permit – No Demolition Permit currently exists, so one will be developed.
- Fence Permit – A Fence Permit was developed and approved by the Board.
OLD BUSINESS
- Solicitors Permit – At a previous meeting Thomas Kulasik had requested a Solicitor’s Permit, asking for authorization to go door to door in the Village as he was running for Public Office. It was determined that a Solicitor’s Permit is not required for this.
NEW BUSINESS
- Solicitors Permit – IGS Energy – This Solicitor’s request was denied.
- Road Closure 5k – Road closures for a 5k run on December 2 was approved.
- Road Closure Christmas Parade – Road closures for the Christmas Parade on December 2 was approved.
MOTION TO ENTER INTO EXECUTIVE SESSION
- The Board moved into Executive Session with no action resulting.
The next Village Board meeting will be Monday, November 13.