The Dwight Village Board of Trustees met Monday November 27 in the lower level of the Public Services Building.
In attendance were Village Trustees Randy Irvin, Marla Kinkade, Justin Eggenberger, Jenny Johnson, and Brian Berta. Absent was Pete Meister. Also at the meeting were Village President Paul Johnson, Village Attorney Nick Ehrgott, and Village Clerk Whitney Scott.
November 27 bill payments of $964,447.66 were approved as well as the October Treasurer’s Report.
In Public Forum, Randy Irvin representing the Dwight Economic Alliance, reported that the Christmas Tree at Chamber Park had been installed. The downtown clean-up day scheduled for Sunday the 26th was postponed until Wednesday due to poor weather. The DEA event Sleigh All Day will take place Saturday December 2 starting at 9 a.m. with activities all day until midnight.
Village Administrator Crissy Livingston commented she has received many compliments on how the downtown area has been decorated for the Holidays.
Michael Callahan reported the EMS Department has been very busy and there has been a large uptick in mental health calls. In regards to the workload of the EMS department, the Board discussed methods of reducing instances where individuals or institutions appear to be abusing and overusing the EMS system.
Chief of Police Mike Nolan reported that the father of officer Watson Mckee had unexpectedly passed away and many in the department would be attending the visitation on Thursday November 30.
Director of Public Works Cory Scoles wanted to remind the public that leaf pick-up had ended and the overnight street parking ban would go into effect on December 1 at 2 a.m.
Actions resulting from the Administrative Committee Meeting prior to the regular meeting:
- In lieu of giving each Village employee a gift card for Christmas, the Board voted this year to donate $1,550 to the Dwight Economic Alliance.
- The Building Fee Schedule for 2024 was approved. The New Housing building incentive will be set at $1500 and will expire at the end of 2024.
- The Village Board voted to move forward with obtaining historic building appraisals for the Windmill, Ambler Texaco, and the Old Depot. The concern is that current levels of insurance would not be sufficient to cover replacement costs.
- Ordinance 1509 was passed so the Village would be compliant with the Paid Leave for All Workers Act.
- The Village Board proposed the 2024 Village tax levy be 1.2090, down from1.2235 in 2023. The levy was reviewed at the Administration committee meeting and will officially be sent to the board meeting for final approval on 12/11. The proposed extension rate is 4.97% and estimated in the amount of $1,023,500.00. This would equate in to a homeowners tax decreasing 14.45% for every $100,000 of assessed evaluation.
In Ordinance and Resolutions, the Board passed ordinance 1510 which will give the Village the ability to collect water payments via the ACH payment process.
In New Business, a liquor license was granted to Rural Adventures, LLC at 101 W. South Street (Country Mansion).
The Board went into Executive session with the following actions resulting:
