April 20, 2026

STATE OF ILLINOIS) COUNTY OF ) ) Minutes Board of Trustees Regular Meeting April 20, 2026 President Eric Schuler called the second regular monthly meeting of the De Soto Village Board of Trustees to order at 7:00 P.M. Village Clerk Paula Parks was present to record the minutes. Present : Brian Gleason Nichole Galloway Eric Schuler Jennifer Morgan Cristy Desormeaux Rachel Alstat Motion made by Nichole Galloway, seconded by Jennifer Morgan, to dispense with the reading of the minutes and to approve them. Motion carried. Motion made by Cristy Desormeaux, seconded by Brian Gleason, to approve the March Revenue report. Motion carried. Motion made by Nichole Galloway, seconded by Rachel Alstat, to pay the list of bills. Upon roll call vote: Brian Gleason – Yes; Nichole Galloway – Yes; Jennifer Morgan – Yes; Cristy Desormeaux – Yes; Rachel Alstat - Yes. Motion carried. Tom Manis, who lives on East Douglas St., stated that a couple of years ago He had spent a large amount of money getting his ditch where it would drain properly. He registered a complaint that when the Village graded the road, they got two feet into his yard. Mr. Manis had asked them to rake the ditch to break up the clumps of dirt and remove the gravel. The village employee took a backhoe and damaged the ditch so now it would not drain properly. Mr. Manis said that after the next big rain he would know how well the ditch drains. He said he will bill the Village for the repairs. President Schuler said the Village would try to make it right. Mark Sutton of J. T. Blankinship Inc. reported that Wiggs Excavating Inc. submitted the lowest bid of $1,295,399.00 for construction of the Phase IV Watermain Replacements project. The highest bid was from S&W for $1,790,000.00. Blankinship recommended accepting the lowest bid from Wiggs Excavating Inc. Motion made by Rachel Alstat, seconded by Cristy Desormeaux, to accept the bid of $1,295,399.000 from Wiggs Excavating Inc. for construction of the Phase IV Watermain Replacements project. Upon roll call vote: Brian Gleason – Yes; Nichole Galloway – Yes; Jennifer Morgan – Yes; Cristy Desormeaux – Yes; Rachel Alstat - Yes. Motion carried. Mr. Sutton reported that the total cost of the project is estimated at $1,570,000.00 less $375,000 in loan forgiveness. The loan forgiveness was 25% up to $1,500,000.00. The annual payment will be $65,110.00. Mr. Sutton also stated that the original loan agreement would have to be amended to $1,600,000.00 due to the increased cost. Motion made by Rachel Alstat, seconded by Jennifer Morgan, to pass Ordinance 2026-1 amending Ordinance Number 2022-01 authorizing the Village to borrow funds of $1,600,000.00 from the Public Water Supply Loan Program. Upon roll call vote: Brian Gleason – Yes; Nichole Galloway – Yes; Jennifer Morgan – Yes; Cristy Desormeaux – Yes; Rachel Alstat - Yes. Motion carried Motion made by Jennifer Morgan, seconded by Cristy Desormeaux, to accept the bid from Lane Huppert to purchase the vacant lot at 210 N. Hickory St. for $4,800.00. Upon roll call vote: Brian Gleason – Yes; Nichole Galloway – Yes; Jennifer Morgan – Yes; Cristy Desormeaux – Yes; Rachel Alstat - Yes. Motion carried Motion made by Brian Gleason, seconded by Nichole Galloway, to suspend the rules to move Agenda Item 6d Employee Pay Raises and Agenda Item 7a Status of Utilities Clerk Position until after Agenda Item 11a Executive Session to discuss personnel, pursuant to 5 ILCS 120/2(c)(1). Motion carried. Trustee Jennifer Morgan reported that the Park Committee had met at 6 PM to continue planning for the 2026 Party at the Park. She also reported that the lights at the park were not staying on. Director of Public Works Cody Fred will check it out. The Little League and the school had purchased a pitching mound for the ball field. Trustee Morgan left the meeting at 7:39 PM. Trustee Nichole Galloway scheduled a committee meeting on May 4 at 6:30 PM to discuss raising the rental fee for the east hall and possibly purchasing new toilets. Trustee Cristy Desormeaux said that the school had asked if the Village would be able to help pay additional hours for the school resource officer. Police Chief Ben Doan will check into the matter. Motion made by Cristy Desormeaux, seconded by Brian Gleason, to go into executive session at 8:04 PM to discuss personnel, pursuant to 5 ILCS 120/2(c)(1). Upon roll call vote: Brian Gleason – Yes; Nichole Galloway – Yes; Cristy Desormeaux – Yes; Rachel Alstat - Yes. Motion carried Motion made by Rachel Alstat, seconded by Cristy Desormeaux, to come out of executive session at 8:41 PM. Upon roll call vote: Brian Gleason – Yes; Nichole Galloway – Yes; Cristy Desormeaux – Yes; Rachel Alstat - Yes. Motion carried Motion made by Rachel Alstat, seconded by Cristy Desormeaux, to keep the utilities clerk position as part time. Motion carried. Motion made by Brian Gleason, seconded by Nichole Galloway, to raise Jana Fann’s salary by $2.62 per hour, making it $22.00 per hour, with the raise to be funded from the Police Department budget. Upon roll call vote: Brian Gleason – Yes; Nichole Galloway – Yes; Cristy Desormeaux – Yes; Rachel Alstat - Yes. Motion carried. Motion made by Nichole Galloway, seconded by Rachel Alstat, to approve a 3% raise for all other regularly scheduled employees except the new employee, effective May 1, 2026. Upon roll call vote: Brian Gleason – Yes; Nichole Galloway – Yes; Cristy Desormeaux – Yes; Rachel Alstat - Yes. Motion carried. The next village board meeting will be held Monday, May 4, 2026, at 7:00 PM at the village hall. Motion made by Brian Gleason, seconded by Nichole Galloway, to adjourn at 8:47 PM. Motion carried. Respectfully submitted, Paula J. Parks Village Clerk