At the opening of the meeting, which lasted for 40 minutes, board member Joe Skaggs pulled a spark plug from his pocket and laid it on the meeting table. He said for an engine to run, it needs a spark plug that works for it to fire up, and that Sue James was their spark plug. James passed away last month, so Mayor “Skip” Land had to find a replacement. The board approved Land’s nomination of Dee Dee Bradley by a vote of 4 to 1. Only Wayne McKenzie voted “no”. Mayor Land pointed to a portrait of James that now hangs on the wall with a plate that says “Sue James – Norris City board member – 1991 to 2023.”
Melinda Nelson was approved as village treasurer, with only Wayne Mckenzie voting “no”. And Gene Gailsworth was approved to be Street Superintendent, replacing Mike Hite, who is retiring after 41 ½ years with the village. Keith Stokes will be assistant street superintendent.
Lena Hicks of WADI addressed the board about obtaining grant money for the ball field. She said they will receive $100,000 in grants, with $1,600 from WADI for administrative costs. Also, $84,000 was approved for playground equipment. The village has spent a little over $17,700 of the $20,000 from the Parks and Recreation Fund and have received about $16,300 in donations for the playground and ball park. With the summer season at Beatty Field over with, the dugouts will be painted grey and 12 surveillance cameras have been put up. Some cameras will also be put up at Boyd Park. They are also looking into putting speed bumps around the parks as well as the surrounding areas. Mayor Land is looking into determining which alleys are opened or closed, and that some are not being maintained.
The village is going to court to attempt to acquire the deed to the Wakeford Place and is in the process of demolishing the building on the property at 506 North Division Street, which the village now owns.
Engineer Jim Brown will be looking at the sewer and water plants to see what improvements need to be made. Mayor Land thanked the police and various departments for responding quickly after the recent weekend storms for clearing branches, which is still going on, and directing traffic.
The sidewalk repairs are a work in progress and oiling and chipping of streets will be done on July 26th, with a rain date of August 1st. The board approved renewing Mimmo’s liquor license, with only Kevin Pettijohn voting “no.”
The village signed a contract with the Illinois Rural Water Association for collecting water samples.
Due to village employee Keith Stokes’ recent surgery, which will have him out for eight weeks, the board approved paying him his salary for two pay periods.
In the police report for June, there were 11 reports written, six arrests made, 15 traffic stops and warnings, and 11 citations issued.
In the Animal Control report, they captured six baby skunks and their mother, releasing them in the wild.
The board adjourned at 7:40 PM. The next meeting of the Norris City Village Board will be Monday, August 7th at 7 PM.