APR 6, 2026

STATE OF ILLINOIS) COUNTY OF ) ) Minutes Board of Trustees Regular Meeting April 6, 2026 President Eric Schuler called the first regular monthly meeting of the De Soto Village Board of Trustees to order at 7:10 P.M. Village Clerk Paula Parks was present to record the minutes. Present : Brian Gleason Nichole Galloway Eric Schuler Rachel Alstat Absent: Jennifer Morgan Cristy Desormeaux Motion made by Brian Gleason, seconded by Nichole Galloway, to dispense with the reading of the minutes and to approve them. Motion carried. Motion made by Nichole Galloway, seconded by Rachel Alstat, to approve the March Expense report. Motion carried. Motion made by Brian Gleason, seconded by Nichole Galloway, to pay the list of bills. Upon roll call vote: Brian Gleason – Yes; Nichole Galloway – Yes; Rachel Alstat - Yes. Motion carried. Trustee Nichole Galloway had met with Matthew Schuler of EZ-PZ Painting to confirm the details for painting the east hall and bathrooms. EZ-PZ was the lowest estimate. Motion made by Nichole Galloway, seconded by Rachel Alstat, to hire EZ-PZ Painting to paint the east hall and bathrooms for $3,000.00. Upon roll call vote: Brian Gleason – Yes; Nichole Galloway – Yes; Rachel Alstat - Yes. Motion carried. Trustee Nichole Galloway suggested raising the rental fee for the east hall. President Schuler suggested waiting until after the east hall had been updated. Trustee Rachel Alstat reported that the Water, Sewer and Street Committees had met to interview the applicants for the city worker position. Those present at the interviews recommended hiring Kayden Robertson as the city worker at $16.50 per hour to start as soon as he is available. Motion made by Rachel Alstat, seconded by Nichole Galloway, to hire Kayden Robertson for the city worker position at $16.50 per hour with full benefits to start as soon as possible. Upon roll call vote: Brian Gleason – Yes; Nichole Galloway – Yes; Rachel Alstat - Yes. Motion carried. Motion made by Brian Gleason, seconded by Nichole Galloway, to purchase a standup freezer for the park concession stand for up to $1,000.00. Upon roll call vote: Brian Gleason – Yes; Nichole Galloway – Yes; Rachel Alstat - Yes. Motion carried. Motion made by Brian Gleason, seconded by Rachel Alstat, to suspend the rules to move Agenda Item 7a Status of Utilities Clerk Position to after Agenda Item 11 Miscellaneous. Motion carried. Police Chief Ben Doan reported that the problem with the new siren was the batteries, and it is now fixed. Walker Communications will check out the old siren. Chief Doan reported that the school is willing to go thirds on the AED’s for the park. He will get information and pricing on the AED’s and bring them back to the Board at the next meeting. President Schuler reported that cleanup day at the park went well. Also, the Easter Egg Hunt and the Beta Club pancake breakfast were good times. He thanked all of the volunteers who helped. President Schuler reported that it is time for SIAP Electric Aggregation to approve new electricity rates with Homefield Energy for the residential opt-out electric aggregation programs. The contract with Homefield Energy expires in December of 2028. Under that contract, the rates have been set for various terms so far. Homefield’s rates have been higher than Ameren Illinois in the past year. Homefield’s current rate of .11789/ KWH expires in June 2026. Ameren’s current rate is .08769. Customers have the option to opt out of the aggregate program with Homefield. SIAP has two goals: They want to return to savings compared to Ameren’s rate and to minimize the amount of phone calls during the opt out process. Homefield Energy has agreed to make changes to achieve these goals. Motion made by Brian Gleason, seconded by Rachel Alstat, to rescind the motion to purchase a standup freezer for the park concession stand for up to $1,000.00. Upon roll call vote: Brian Gleason – Yes; Nichole Galloway – Yes; Rachel Alstat - Yes. Motion carried. Motion made by Brian Gleason, seconded by Rachel Alstat, to purchase a standup freezer for the park concession stand for up to $2,000.00. Upon roll call vote: Brian Gleason – Yes; Nichole Galloway – Yes; Rachel Alstat - Yes. Motion carried. Motion made by Rachel Alstat, seconded by Nichole Galloway, to pass Resolution 2026-3 Accepting Illini Asphalt Corporation’s bid of $34,190.00 to oil and chip designated streets. Upon roll call vote: Brian Gleason – Yes; Nichole Galloway – Yes; Rachel Alstat - Yes. Motion carried. Motion made by Brian Gleason, seconded by Rachel Alstat, to go into executive session at 8:06 PM to discuss personnel, pursuant to 5 ILCS 120/2(c)(1). Upon roll call vote: Brian Gleason – Yes; Nichole Galloway – Yes; Rachel Alstat - Yes. Motion carried. Motion made by Rachel Alstat, seconded by Brian Gleason, to come out of executive session at 8:44 PM. Upon roll call vote: Brian Gleason – Yes; Nichole Galloway – Yes; Rachel Alstat - Yes. Motion carried. Motion made by Brian Gleason, seconded by Rachel Alstat, to table the status of the utilities clerk position until the meeting on April 20 when all the Board members are present. Motion carried. The next village board meeting will be held Monday, April 20, 2026, at 7:00 PM at the village hall. Motion made by Brian Gleason, seconded by Nichole Galloway, to adjourn at 8:46 PM. Motion carried. Respectfully submitted, Paula J. Parks Village Clerk