The Dwight Village Board of Trustees met Tuesday, April 22 in the lower level of the Public Services Complex.

The following Consent Agenda items were approved:

  1. Payments of April 22, 2025, $60,593.02
  2. Payments in between board meetings of $234,172.45
  3. Transfer $74,787.00 from General Fund (01) to Capital Expenditures (38) dated March 31, 2025
  4. March 2025 Treasurers Report
  5. Minutes of February 25, 2025, Services Meeting Motion approving minutes of March 25, 2025, Board Meeting
  6. Minutes from Committee Meetings of April 15, 2025

PUBLIC FORUM

  1. Livingston County Health Department Health Education and Marketing Director Chrystal Little spoke to the Board giving a brief overview of the Department’s programs, with emphasis on the benefits of administering Narcan in potential overdose incidents.
  2. Stephanie Mann, a nurse at Heritage Woods in Dwight, spoke in support of the Village continuing its subsidizing of a taxi service in Dwight.
  3. Matthew Norris addressed the Board expressing his interest in potentially offering a taxi service in Dwight.
  4. Mike Rippy, operator of the Dwight Taxi Service for the past 17 years, offered his interpretation of events which led to his recent halting of the taxi service. He indicated the Village owed him 8 months ($500 per month) back subsidy in the amount of $4,000 and was failing to pay. The last payment he received was in July of 2024. He also objected to how some of the information surrounding the taxi service had spilled over to Facebook.

**The Village determined in the Fall of 2024 that no valid contract for the Dwight taxi service had been issued since 2012. The Village Administrator contacted Rippy and asked for documentation and license information for the purpose of developing a new contract. No records or bills were ever presented so payments to the service were suspended. In March of this year Rippy informed the Village that the service would end in two weeks if the back payments were not made. Mayor Paul Johnson informed Rippy that the requested documentation had not been received and there was no way for the Village to evaluate if the taxi was a viable program and enter into a viable contract without records. This ultimately led to Rippy’s decision to end the service.

Later in the meeting a motion was approved to make payment of $4,000 to Michael Rippy, doing business as Dwight Taxi, contingent upon receipt of the following documentation:
  • Proof of liability insurance for operating as a taxi service
  • Vehicle registrations for all taxi vehicles
  • Proof of State of Illinois licenses
  • Names, addresses, and Social Security numbers of all employees who drove said vehicles for the taxi service
  • Monthly transportation reports from August 2024 through March 2025
  • All required documentation must be submitted to the Village no later than May 30, 2025.
The Dwight Taxi Service has also been subsidized by Dwight Township for transportation services. 
The Dwight Village Board will be evaluating options for moving forward with a new subsidized transportation service.

REPORT OF MAYOR/OFFICERS

Mayor Paul Johnson gave his thanks and appreciation for the time and service of the three outgoing board members; Jenny Johnson, Justin Eggenberger, and Brian Berta. New board members will be seated at the next meeting.

Village Administrator Crissy Livingston reported the construction contract at Renfrew Park had been signed and a pre-construction meeting would be scheduled soon. She added there were 185 water meters that have yet to be replaced because appointments had not been made.

Chief of Police Mike Nolan reported that Julia Santiago and Tyler Calhoun had both reached their two-year anniversary.

EMS Director Michel Callahan reported that he, and Officers Gary Beier and Julia Santiago, recently attended active shooter incident management training in Pontiac. CPR training will be at Dwight High School on May 14 and Camp 911 on May 15.

ORDINANCES / RESOLUTIONS

  1. Resolution 2025-07 Village Maintenance Contract – This resolution was passed giving the Village Administrator the authority to enter into contract with Braniff Communications, Inc. regarding maintenance and repair of outdoor emergency sirens. Renewal fee for three years is $9,300.
  2. Resolution 2025-08 Agreement for Professional Auditing Services – This resolution was passed giving the Village Administrator the authority to enter into contract with Mack and Associates for fiscal year 2026 at a cost of $13,250.
  3. Resolution 2025-09 Agreement with Hitchcock Designs Group related to Renfrew Park. – This resolution was passed giving the Village Administrator the authority to enter into agreement for professional planning and grant assistance services related to the Renfrew Park Splash Pad Concept Plan and OSLAD grant application at a cost of $21,000.
  4. Ordinance 1545 Amending Chapter Nineteen with regard to Local Government travel expense – This ordinance was revised to reflect reimbursement of meals during travel to be $100 per day, but no more than $50 per meal per person.
  5. Ordinance 1546 Amending Chapter Nine Water to add Article VI Water Meter Replacement – This ordinance gives the Village the authority to disconnect water service and assess a fee if the owner of a property does not allow for proper access to change outdated water meters.

NEW BUSINESS

  1. Dwight Police Department National Night Out Street Closure Request – Approved for August 5, 3 p.m. to 8 p.m on East Main Street.
  2. Dwight Police Department National Night Out Sound Amplification Request – approved for August 5, 5 p.m. to 8 p.m on East Main Street.
  3. Aly Anne’s Street Closure Request Red Carpet Weekend – Approved for Park Street behind Aly Anne’s, May 2, 8 a.m. through May 5, 10 a.m.
  4. Aly Anne’s Sound Amplification Request Red Carpet Weekend  – Approved for; May 2, 5 p.m. to 12:30 a.m., May 3, 12 p.m. to 12:30 a.m., and May 4, 12 p.m. to 10 p.m.
  5. DEA Food Truck Request – Approved for June 4, 2025 during “Ladies Night” from 5 p.m. to 8 p.m. to be located in parking lot across from A Perfect Blend coffee.
  6. Tax Abatement for Lifetime Auto – A payment of $19,228.54 was approved to Lifetime Auto per the Sales Tax Abatement agreement.
  7. Approval for Food Truck at Village Hall – Approved for May 22, from 11 a.m. to 2 p.m.
  8. Approve estimate to Leman Paint for $12,268.95 – Approved for truck body repair and paint.
  9. Appointing of open Trustee Position – Since no one ran for the two-year term left open by the resignation of Randy Irvin in 2024, the seat now needs to be appointed. Deb Karch was nominated by Mayor Johnson and approved by the Board. She will be installed at the next meeting along with the three Trustees elected to 4-year terms; Austin Haacke, Josh Jahn, and Daniel Hansen.
  10. Appointing of Village Clerk – Nicole Bozarth was approved as Village Clerk.

The Board moved into Executive session. From this, three items were approved:

  1. Motion to approve Lateral Police Hire, Jeremy Helsing
  2. Motion to approve EMS Contract
  3. Motion to approve payment of $4,000 to Michael Rippy, doing business as Dwight Taxi, contingent upon receipt of the following documentation:
  • Proof of liability insurance for operating as a taxi service
  • Vehicle registrations for all taxi vehicles
  • Proof of State of Illinois licenses
  • Names, addresses, and Social Security numbers of all employees who drove said vehicles for the taxi service
  • Monthly transportation reports from August 2024 through March 2025
All required documentation must be submitted to the Village no later than May 30, 2025.
Share: XFacebook