1. 2. 3. The February 8, 2011 Board meeting was called to order by Supervisor Kupar at 7:32 p.m. at the Community Center. The Pledge of Allegiance was recited. Clerk Johansen called the roll with Supervisor Kupar and Trustees Boissonnas and Murphy present. Trustees Stutesman and VanZandt were absent.
4. Reports:
Sheriff – Wasco Substation Community Policing – Sgt. John Grimes: Absent.
Highway Commissioner – Sam Gallucci: Commissioner Gallucci stated the road crew plowed and salted 14 times in January. In the blizzard of a week ago we had over 2 feet of snow, 60 mile-per-hour winds, 12-foot drifts, and a number of abandoned vehicles on the roads in Campton Township, Campton Hills, and Campton Hills in Plato Township. By 10:00 p.m. the storm had grown too dangerous for plow work to continue, with the state, county, and other townships ceasing operations around that time. The county imposed a travel ban from then until noon Wednesday. We had to pull our crews off the roads because they could not see. There was absolutely no visibility. On Wednesday our main goal was to open roads. Then on Thursday and Friday the goal was to widen roads. We had everything widened out by Friday. Our men slept in vehicles or on cots. No one went home for three days. We have ten trucks and ten routes. Four trucks broke down during the storm and our mechanic came in from his plowing and fixed the trucks. Regarding mailboxes that were lost during the snow emergency we have two men going out to take care of them, no matter who took them out. St. Charles is able to dump some of its snow in the Fox River but we have a problem finding places to dump snow in tighter locations like Fox Mill. This is the most challenging storm we have had. Despite these challenges road crews made special rescues of four doctors and three nurses from various locations in Campton Township, allowing them to respond to medical emergencies during the night. The road crew continued to patrol roads throughout Campton Township and the Village of Campton Hills for drainage problems, pot holes, and culvert permits; continued to repair pot holes with cold patch; and checked all stop signs in the Township and Village on a weekly basis and replaced damaged or missing ones. The Highway District made Building B improvements including installation of insulation, electrical rewiring, repainting of lockers, and adding shelf space. The road crew installed speed limit signs on Prairie Valley Drive, Otter Lane, and the entrance to Lily Lake subdivision. Ongoing maintenance on Township vehicles and equipment was performed in-house by staff.
Assessor – Alan D. Rottmann: Assessor Rottmann stated he is still working on the 2011 quadrennial assessments.
Solid Waste District – Barbara Boissonnas: No Report.
Staff Update on Open Space – Kristin Bilar: Open Space Coordinator Bilar stated the upcoming volunteer workday that was scheduled for February 12th is canceled due to the weather. Volunteer workdays are normally the second Saturday of the month from 9:00 a.m. until noon. Staff continued to work on the 2011/12 budget; on the website text/photos, and on consolidating and organizing Open Space files at Motz and Lily Lake. J. Shouba and K. Bilar attended the FREP meeting and learned about new invasive plants, and J. Shouba attended the Ferson-Otter Creek Watershed meeting. Snow plowing was done at Anderson Park, Corron Farm, Gray Willows, and Harley Woods. Snow shoveling was done at the Community Center and Town Hall. At Corron Farm there was tree clearing and brush pile burning. At Grey Willows there was brush pile burning. At Harley Woods Jerry Johnson has begun chainsaw work in preparation for the scout project. The scouts begin working on the Eagle Scout project this Sunday. A brush pile was burned. There was tree clearing and a brush pile burn at the Headwaters Conservation Area. We had a meeting with Trotter Engineering about fixing erosion problems at Poynor Park. There is no report on Anderson Park, Brown Road Meadows, Mongerson Park, Town Hall, or easements due to it being winter.
Financial Report – Louise McKay: Certified Public Accountant McKay stated any January line items that are over budget are offset by line items that are under budget. Expenditures continue to be reviewed closely to maintain a balanced budget. The Open Space fund continues to be under budget in salaries though some wages budgeted were charged to Anderson Park due to snow removal and planning/obtaining quotes for next year’s budget. She is continuing to work on the budget for fiscal year 2011-2012. There will be a tentative budget prepared for the March 8th Board meeting and she anticipates holding a Public Hearing prior to the Thursday, April 7th Board meeting. She reminds the Board that the Annual Town Meeting will be held on Tuesday, April 12th. The agenda for the Annual Town Meeting has to be adopted at least 10 days before the meeting. Therefore, adopting the agenda will need to be done at the March 8th Board meeting. If there are any recommendations for items to include in the Annual Board Meeting brochure, please contact the office.
Village of Campton Hills – Patsy Smith: Campton Hills Village President Smith stated we were declared a disaster area due to the recent snow emergency so there may be some FEMA (Federal Emergency Management Agency) money. She will contact Highway Commissioner Gallucci when she knows more. Supervisor Kupar was contacted about the Water Resources Committee. Marian Boviari will serve on the Historic Preservation Committee. Each of the Campton Hills Plan Commissioners is assigned to a committee. We will hold public workshops. We have a grant to help with land planning for the Wasco area. The Fox River Countryside Fire District missed the deadline for applying for a Public Hearing to build their fire station. She attended a Wasco Sanitary District (WSD) meeting and does not know if the Fire District has enough people equivalent (PE) to hook up to WSD. The next Campton Hills Plan Committee meeting is February 28th.
Joint Environmental Resource Management Committee – Rob Linke, John Kupar, Jack Shouba: No Report.
Supervisor – John Kupar: Supervisor Kupar stated we continue to work on the budget for next year. We should have a final draft for Board review in the next week or two. K. Bilar, T. Seriwitz and I met with Trotter and Associates Engineers to discuss the Poynor Park erosion stabilization project. Trotter should have the bid packages ready for Board review and approval at the March Board meeting. We will have to solicit bids shortly there after to schedule work to complete this year. We will have to coordinate some of the construction work with the softball leagues. He met with Bob Kay of USGS (United States Geological Survey) and Rob Linke of Trotter and Associates Engineers, to discuss utilizing the Township’s Groundwater Model with the Land Use Overlay of Campton Township and the Village of Campton Hills. USGS will seek government funding for this effort. He attended the Village of Campton Hills Comprehensive Land Use Plan meeting. The Village received a grant from Chicago Wilderness to develop a Comprehensive Plan for the Village. The Plan Commission created 9 subcommittees whose charge is to write a chapter of the Comprehensive Plan. The subcommittees include: Water Resources, Land Use, Housing, Natural Resources & Green Infrastructure, Agriculture, Transportation & Infrastructure, Historic Preservation, Economic Development, and Background Summary. The Plan Commission believes this will be a two-year effort. They are looking for volunteers to help. Contact Rolf Fredrick, Chairman of the Plan Commission.
5. Approval of Minutes:
a. Board Meeting January 11, 2011: E. Murphy moved the minutes be amended to change the spelling of “loose” to “lose” in the eighth sentence of the Village of Campton Hills – Patsy Smith, under Reports; and “roll call” be changed to “voice vote” in the last paragraph of the minutes under Adjournment. The amendment was seconded by J. Kupar. In a roll call vote Supervisor Kupar and Trustees Boissonnas and Murphy voted aye. Trustees Stutesman and VanZandt were absent. The amendment passed. C. Boissonnas moved the minutes as amended be approved. E. Murphy seconded the motion. In a roll call vote Supervisor Kupar and Trustees Boissonnas and Murphy voted aye. Trustees Stutesman and VanZandt were absent. The motion passed.
6. Citizens’ Comments: Campton Hills President Smith stated she had additional comments. The Village thanks the Campton Township Highway District for its work in the recent snow emergency. It was a horrible several days to have to deal with. The Village approved two advisory referendum questions. The first one asks if the residents want the Village to negotiate a bulk rate for electricity for residents. We could become part of a consortium of 50 municipalities to negotiate bulk electricity rates. The second advisory question asks if residents want the Village to investigate forming our own fire department because of the possibility the new fire department may not be able to get auto aid from nearby fire departments. She is meeting with the Elburn Fire Chief this week. C. Boissonnas said we cannot, not have fire protection. The state fire marshal will assign fire protection from adjacent fire departments. P. Smith stated that’s true for unincorporated areas, but not for incorporated areas. We would have to negotiate with adjacent fire departments.
7. Planning Commission: No Report.
8. Old Business – Presentation and Discussion for Action: Nothing
9. New Business – Presentation and Discussion for Action:
a. Review and Act Upon Accepting Audit Proposal for Fiscal Year ending March 31, 2011: E. Murphy stated she reviewed the audit proposal of Sikich Certified Public Accountants and found it very reasonable. C. Boissonnas moved the Board accept the audit proposal of Sikich Certified Public Accountants for the fiscal year ending March 31, 2011. E. Murphy seconded the motion. In a roll call vote Supervisor Kupar and Trustees Boissonnas and Murphy voted aye. Trustees Stutesman and VanZandt were absent. The motion passed.
b. Discuss and Act Upon Investment Strategy: J. Kupar stated over the last three years open space bond monies have been invested conservatively by PMA and are returning about 0.5 to 0.9. We want to revisit this to see if we can get more return. E. Murphy stated PMA is investing short term and the market has depressed rates on short term, so we can ladder some investments to allocate short term (1 year), and others 2 to 5 years, and others 6 to 10 years. We can only buy AAA products. Five year is 2.4 and ten year is 3.5 to 3.75. J. Kupar stated our goal is to get more money into the coffers for open space.
10. Claims and Demands for Payment:
a. Town Fund: C. Boissonnas moved the Board approve the claims and demands on the Town Fund. E. Murphy seconded the motion. In a roll call vote Supervisor Kupar and Trustees Boissonnas and Murphy voted aye. Trustees Stutesman and VanZandt were absent. The motion passed.
b. Open Space Fund: E. Murphy moved the Board approve the claims and demands on the Open Space Fund. C. Boissonnas seconded the motion. In a roll call vote Supervisor Kupar and Trustees Boissonnas and Murphy voted aye. Trustees Stutesman and VanZandt were absent. The motion passed.
11. Executive Session – Review Executive Session Minutes, Personnel Issue: Clerk Johansen stated its not necessary to review Executive Session minutes until next month. C. Boissonnas moved the Board go into Executive Session to discuss a personnel issue and include attorney Kathleen Judy Purcnell and Certified Public Accountant McKay. The motion was seconded by E. Murphy. In a roll call vote Supervisor Kupar and Trustees Boissonnas and Murphy voted aye. Trustees Stutesman and VanZandt were absent. The motion passed and Executive Session began at 8:20 p.m.
12. New Business Continued – Supervisor Kupar reconvened the regular session.
c. Discuss and Act Upon Approve Executive Session Minutes: No action.
13. Adjournment: C. Boissonnas moved the Board adjourn the meeting. E. Murphy seconded the motion. In a voice vote Supervisor Kupar and Trustees Boissonnas and Murphy voted aye. Trustees Stutesman and VanZandt were absent. The motion passed and the meeting adjourned at 9:10 p.m.
Respectfully Submitted,
Richard Johansen
Clerk