Village Board Meeting — Minutes

Village of Benton March 19, 2025 Board Meeting Minutes Members present: Scott Cruse, John Perkins, Jill Knight, Kenneth Farrey, Chuck Wartner, Joe Slater Absent members: Cal Robbins Village employees present: Sonya Silvers, Jared Roling, Brian Hammill Others Present: The regular board meeting of the Benton Village Board was called to order by village president Scott Cruse at 6:30 p.m. in the conference room of the Benton Business Incubator Building at 244 Ridge Avenue on Wednesday, February 19, 2025. In compliance with the open meeting law, proper notice of the meeting had been posted in four public places: the Zephyr Depot, Benton State Bank, Benton Post Office, and the Benton Business Incubator Building. The minutes from the previous village board meeting were presented. Motion (Farrey, Wartner) to approve the minutes from the regular village board meeting held on February 19, 2025, as presented. Voice-all ayes. Carried Jared Roling stated there have been several water/sewer meetings regarding mapping out sewer laterals for the interceptor project. The goal is to have this completed by April 2nd. The facilities plan has been received, and Jared is reviewing it. Brian Hammill has been having issues with the radio and is working with Comlec to get the issue resolved. Brian is working on upgrading radar equipment. Scott Cruse mentioned that the owners of 442 White Street received phone calls and letters regarding the village purchasing the lot back. A deadline of March 31st was given for a response. Committee Reports:  The Water/Sewer Committee has met several times to discuss the rehab/replacement of the sewer interceptor.  The Finance Committee met Monday, February 24th, to discuss funding of the WWTP interceptor. The Congressional Direct Spending funding is no longer going to be available for 2025 and Baldwin’s office is encouraging reapplying for 2026 for the funds. DOT has moved up the highway project to 2027. Vierbircher would resubmit the application for 2026, and the cost would be $1,500.00. The board would like more information and answers on the timeline and the possibility of funding the whole water main project and to present information at next month’s board meeting. The cost is estimated at $250,000 for the WWTP interceptor. The finance committee stated that the sewer unrestricted account could cover the cost of the interceptor. Another option presented would be taking a loan for the project and using the interest being collected on the sewer funds to make the payments throughout the year. Once the water/sewer committee gets a better idea of the cost, the finance committee will talk to the bank about a loan. Brian updated the board regarding a dog that was to be removed from the village for aggressive behavior. The dog was removed from the village per Brian’s knowledge. Pay the claims against the village. Motion (Knight, Slater) to pay the claims against the village. Roll-all ayes. Carried The meeting was adjourned at 7:10 p.m. Motion (Slater, Perkins) to adjourn. Voice-all ayes.