Chicago City Wire

Village of Cherry Valley Committee of the Whole met June 24

Here are the minutes provided by the committee:

MEMBERS: VILLAGE PRESIDENT: DAVID SCHROEDER 

VILLAGE TRUSTEES: NANCY BELT MIKE NEVILLE 

JEFF FUSTIN BRANDI PEARSE   SALLY HOLLEMBEAK CARL WEDIG 

Village President David Schroeder called the Committee of the Whole Meeting to order at 7:00 PM. Village Administrator Jim Claeyssen took the roll call:  

NANCY BELT PRESENT SALLY HOLLEMBEAK ABSENT 

JEFF FUSTIN PRESENT BRANDI PEARSE PRESENT 

MIKE NEVILLE PRESENT DAVID SCHROEDER PRESENT 

CARL WEDIG PRESENT 

Also present: Attorney Roxanne Sosnowski, Police Chief Todd Stockburger, Sergeant Jesse  Pearse, Patrol Officers Chase Nance, Mike Rach, Sam Saladino, Rodney Smith, Village Treasurer Maureen Gumowski, Interim Public Works Director Andy Wesseln, and Adam Bunge C.E.S. 

ADOPT THE AGENDA:  

Village President Schroeder entertained a motion to adopt the June 24, 2024 agenda with two  changes; Administrator Claeyssen will be taking tonight’s minutes and adding Mr. Alex Bauling (Menards employee) under the life-saving awards presentations. Trustee Belt moved to approve the agenda. Trustee Fustin seconded. All “AYE” None opposed. Motion carried by voice vote.  

APPROVE THE COMMITTEE OF THE WHOLE MEETING MINUTES: 

Village President Schroeder entertained a motion to approve the Committee of the Whole Meeting Minutes from June 10, 2024. Trustee Neville moved to approve the June 10, 2024 Committee of the Whole Meeting Minutes. Trustee Belt seconded. All “AYE” None opposed. Motion carried by voice vote. 

PUBLIC COMMENT:  

Village Resident Pat Stegmann addressed the Committee of the Whole regarding the village’s plans to remove a portion of the bricks from East State Street (from Lawrence to Van Buren) to use for repairs farther down the street in the East Street / Shell Station Area. She was disappointed that she had just recently heard of this project and is requesting that the Village Board postpone this project and to also have this project removed from the CV 2024 Streets Improvements Project List. Pat Stegmann offered to help the village locate and identify sources for replacement bricks and to leave the entire brick street intact. Other residents who signed up to speak were: 

Carla Persson Smith – keep the bricks, its what makes Cherry Valley home. 

Nelson Sjostrom – owns a home on State Street and the brick street makes Cherry Valley  special; offered to help the village in any way he can. 

John Baker & Lisa Murphy Baker – owns a home on State Street and believes it needs to be preserved. The brick street is one of the things that makes Cherry Valley special. Jeff Anderson – there is a historical significance to these bricks with a petition being filed to oppose this project and come up with other solutions. 

Dave Hagmann – what is wrong with the bricks with the way they are? Yes, there are some bumps down by the Shell Station but fix them when we can.

Others spoke on this subject as well. They were Rachel Rawson, (Rachel also read a letter by her neighbor, Camille Walker) asking the village board to remove this project from this year’s road construction projects, Brian Kaplee stating the bricks are the crown jewel of the town and offered to buy bricks if needed. and Jose Lopez stating he would help also. A petition was also submitted to the committee titled “2024 Petition – Save Cherry Valley’s Brick Road”. The petition had (98) signatures on it. 

Octario Aleksander spoke about the village’s dog park and nuisance ordinances in regards to homeless people. The signup sheet for Public Comment and the Petition to Save the Bricks will be placed on file with the minutes. 

PRESIDENT’S REPORT: None.  

ORDINANCE –CHAIRMAN TRUSTEE NANCY BELT. 

UNFINISHED BUSINESS: None. 

NEW BUSINESS: None.  

PUBLIC WORKS – CHAIRMAN TRUSTEE MIKE NEVILLE.  

ENGINEER’S REPORT: 

1. Well 7 – Well House – C.E.S. has resubmitted Well House #7 plans and specs for IEPA and FRSA review. As a reminder, we will be required to retest for radium and gross alpha during a final well water quality test when applying for the operating permits.  

Next steps include:  

• Approximate Schedule – Estimated project dates provided below.

◦ Plans & Specs are at IEPA for review.  – Submitted to IEPA on October 26, 2023.  

◦ Winn Co has approved. IEPA’s latest review had 1 minor addition not present in the first review. 

◦ IEPA received the latest resubmittal on 1/25/24.  

◦ Per Village request, the latest plans and specs were advertised as of 2/7/24. Bids were opened on Wednesday 3/20/24.  

◦ Construction – DPI has turned the contracts over to the Village for final signatures. Exterior site improvements are scheduled to begin June 24 and continue through July 12.  

Upper Pond Regional Detention Improvements –Adam submitted a final pay request to the Village upon receiving the Warranty letter and matching invoice from Stenstrom.  

CV 2024 Streets Improvements Project – The Contractor is continuing with their sidewalk replacement. Swanson Park Subdivision paving shall be completed from Monday 6/24 through Thursday 6/27. Paving notices were distributed Friday afternoon.  

CV Elgin Street Watermain Replacement - The Board has approved the Elgin Street Watermain Replacement project proposal. The Village has pre-purchased the estimated 12” and 8” watermain necessary for the project. Design is being finalized for bidding this month. An exhibit has been shared with Frontier to inform them they have service poles that need to be relocated or stabilized throughout watermain construction. Adam  met with Public Works and old unreliable hydrants are being replaced along the route since the PW team already  has the replacement hydrants on hand.  

CV Watermain Lowering – S. Mall Drive – DPI has finished testing the watermain. Pavement and Curb restoration is still required for project closeout. IDOT has previously agreed they will pay for all construction and engineering-related costs. 

This Engineering Report will be placed on file with the permanent record. 

UNFINISHED BUSINESS:  

General Public Works Updates from Interim Public Works Director Andy Wesseln.

• The Layne Company has pulled the motor and shaft assembly from Well #3 and their  machinist is investigating any possible damages to this assembly for repairs.

• Public Works is working in the downtown area to prepare for the July 4th activities.

• Public Works has been placing JULIE flags along State Street to mark locations to replace older cherry trees which have been lost lately in late Spring Storms. 

NEW BUSINESS:  

1. Trustee Neville made a motion to send to the Village Board approval to order a new International 10 Yard Patrol (Dump) Truck from Lakeside – Rockford at a total cost of $249,818.00 (which includes the cost of a Monroe Body at $109,855.00) with an estimated delivery date in FY 2026/2027. This will be a Capital Improvements purchase. Motion seconded by Trustee Fustin. All “AYE” None opposed. Motion carried by voice vote.  

2. The committee discussed the current status and estimated start dates regarding the  village’s remaining projects for the 2024 Street Improvements Program. Trustee Fustin  had concerns over the misalignment of (2) ADA sidewalk approaches in the Swanson Park Neighborhood and making sure landscaping in these areas our done correctly since some  homeowner’s lawns were disturbed during construction. Adam Bunge will meet with Trustee Fustin to discuss these details. Paving is scheduled starting the week of June 24th through June 27th weather permitting. Adam Bunge will contact Rock Roads Companies for the tentative schedules for South Cherry Street and Elgin Street. 

CHAIRMAN’S REPORT: No Report. 

EX-OFFICIO’S RECREATION BOARD REPORT:  

1. Trustee Pearse moved that the Committee of the Whole approve an additional $300.00 for the village’s Annual 4th of July Parade from line item 5260 Buildings and Grounds. Motion seconded by Trustee Wedig. A roll call vote was taken: 

NANCY BELT AYE SALLY HOLLEMBEAK ABSENT  

JEFF FUSTIN AYE BRANDI PEARSE AYE 

MIKE NEVILLE AYE DAVID SCHROEDER AYE 

CARL WEDIG AYE 

Motion passed 6-0-1. 

PUBLIC SAFETY – CHAIRMAN TRUSTEE JEFF FUSTIN. 

UNFINISHED BUSINESS: None. 

NEW BUSINESS: 

1. Trustee Fustin made a motion to send to the Village Board approval of a Conditional Offer of Employment to Mr. Asim Turkes to serve as a full-time Lateral Entry Patrol Officer for  the Village of Cherry Valley at a starting wage of $63,841.00. Motion seconded by Trustee  Wedig. Trustee Neville asked why the village is pursuing the lateral entry process for a  patrol officer rather than the candidate testing list. Chief Stockburger replied because of the time it takes to have a new hire complete the training academy and the village has been able to hire experienced officers in the past and get them into service much faster.  All “AYE” None opposed. Motion carried by voice vote.

2. Trustee Fustin made a motion to send to the Village Board approval for the purchase and  installation of a camera system (outdoor and indoor) from MONARCH, San Francisco, CA for  806 E. State Street, Cherry Valley, IL at a total cost of $37,640.88 from Capital  Improvements line item 5375 Police at $20,328.88 and Capital Improvements line item 5375 Administration at $17,312.00 for a total amount of $37,640.88. Motion seconded by Trustee Wedig. All “AYE” None opposed. Motion carried by voice vote.  

3. Trustee Fustin made a motion to send to the Village Board approval to replace the in-car radar unit for Police Squad 7 from Stalker/Applied Concepts, Inc. Richardson, TX at a cost of $2,645.00 from line item 5375 Police. Motion seconded by Trustee Pearse. All “AYE” None  opposed. Motion carried by voice vote. 

CHIEF’S REPORT: No Report. 

FINANCE – CHAIRMAN TRUSTEE BRANDI PEARSE. 

UNFINISHED BUSINESS: None. 

NEW BUSINESS: None. 

CHAIRMAN’S REPORT: No Report.  

ADMINISTRATION REPORT:  

1. Village Administrator Claeyssen updated the committee regarding the Dog Park Project.

• Public Works Supervisor Trevor Dolgach met with a consultant from Andy’s Landscaping  regarding the park. He suggested putting the park on a four-step fertilization process rather than re-seeding. Supervisor Dolgach will obtain quotes to send to the Village Board for approval to accelerate this project. 

• We are moving forward to try to open the park by Mid-July; Administration Staff and Public Works are working hard to obtain this goal. 

PLANNING AND DEVELOPMENT – CHAIRMAN TRUSTEE CARL WEDIG. 

UNFINISHED BUSINESS: None. 

NEW BUSINESS: 

1. Trustee Fustin spoke about two of the items that were discussed at the Planning and Zoning Commission Meeting held on June 20, 2024. One was a driveway permit for a residence in Penfield Crossing which was withdrawn from the agenda at the start of the meeting, the other item was a request for a seven-foot-high privacy fence in a residential neighborhood. This request was not approved by the Planning and Zoning Commission in which the homeowner withdrew their request the next business day at Village Hall.  

2. Trustee Wedig made a motion to send to the Village Board approval of AN ORDINANCE OF THE VILLAGE OF CHERRY VALLEY, ILLINOIS APPROVING AN AMENDMENT TO A SPECIAL USE PERMIT ALLOWING FOR A WILDLIFE HABITAT OR REFUGE IN THE PARKS (PK) ZONING DISTRICT FOR THE PROPERTY COMMONLY KNOWN AS 888 S. LYFORD ROAD, ROCKFORD,  ILLINOIS (PIN 12-25-126-001). Motion seconded by Trustee Fustin. 

This ordinance is in regards to Severson Dells Nature Center purchasing approximately 168 acres of the Elliot Golf Course from the Rockford Park District. All “AYE” None opposed. Motion carried by voice vote.  

PERSONNEL COMPENSATION & BENEFITS – CHAIRMAN TRUSTEE SALLY HOLLEMBEAK.

UNFINISHED BUSINESS: None. 

NEW BUSINESS: None. 

EXECUTIVE SESSION: None. 

RECONVENE TO OPEN SESSION:  

SPECIAL PRESENTATION BY CHIEF OF POLICE TODD STOCKBURGER 

Officer Recognition for Patrol Officer Mike Rach, Patrol Officer Rodney Smith and Menards Employee Alex Bauling in regards to a life-saving incident at Menards. 

Their heroic actions by performing CPR until the arrival of the Cherry Valley Fire Protection District saved the life of a person shopping at Menards.  

Officer Recognition for Patrol Officer Chase Nance and Patrol Officer Sam Saladino in regards to a life saving incident at Millbrook Homes. 

Both officers arrived on the scene of a person who had been stabbed during a domestic dispute. They both worked diligently to stabilize the victim and the scene until paramedics arrived. Their heroic actions saved this man’s life.  

ADJOURNMENT:  

Trustee Fustin moved that the meeting be adjourned at 8:03 PM. Trustee Belt seconded. All  “AYE” None opposed. Motion carried by voice vote.

https://cms3.revize.com/revize/villageofcherryvalley/COW%20MINUTES%2006-24-2024.pdf