A busy night at Roscoe Village meeting

Several items were passed by Roscoe Trustees at the Sept. 20 Village meeting, including permanent LED lighting, which we reported from the Aug. 16 meeting. But before beginning the meeting, Roscoe Police Department Officer Caleb Brown was sworn in as Sergeant.

Police Chief Jamie Evans and Deputy Chief Sam Hawley came forward to announce the promotion, followed by Brown’s wife, Britta, who pinned the new badge on her husband.

Sgt. Brown joined the department in 2015.

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President Mark Szula announced the recipient of an Outstanding Citizen Award to Marshall Barkley on behalf of the Village of Roscoe. Barkley is the owner of RPM (Roscoe Pack and Mail) at 5062 Rock Rose Court in Roscoe.

Algonquin Police Chief John A. Bocci of the Illinois Association of Police Chiefs and Roscoe Police Chief Evans presented the award.

Chief John Bucci, representing the Illinois Association of Police Chiefs, and Roscoe Chief Jaime Evans presented Marshall Barkley with an Outstanding Citizen Award at the Sept. 20 Village Board meeting. Barkley is the owner of Roscoe Pack and Mail, 5062 Rockrose Court in Roscoe. He has been instrumental in preventing ten attempts of fraud in his store.

Barkley intervened in ten attempted fraud cases in his store. He was able to prevent nine out of ten victims from losing their money. We have contacted him for details.

Vic Wilder was introduced as the Village’s new code enforcer. Wilder previously served as code enforcer for the Winnebago County Health Department.

Code enforced laws pertain to nuisance, health and safety issues.

Roscoe's previous code enforcer was Billy Weston, who retired as a corporal from the Roscoe Police Department. In Rockton,  Tricia Diduch handles code enforcement as well as planning and development. 

Final action was taken on several resolutions presented to the Board at the Committee of the Whole meeting on Sept. 6.

Trustees approved the final Plat 7 of Prairie Business Center, the commercial area west of 251 and north of Hononegah Road. Plat 7 will include 11932 and 11954 Baneberry Drive, north of Mary's Market. Formerly part of Plat 4, it is owned by Preston Holdings of Saint Petersburg, FL. The assessed value for each lot is $28,215 for 2022, though it was $113 for 2021.

The board discussed approval of an agreement with Alliance Contractors for construction of new sidewalks and ADA modifications for the intersection of Karakul Terrace and Montadale Drive in Shepherd Hills.

Village Administrator Scott Sanders said the correct amount for the bid is $161,230, not the engineer’s estimate of $117,134.00. Since the amount is significantly over the estimate, the vote was laid over to the next Board meeting.

Trustees voted to approve permanent LED lighting around the roofline of Village Hall and the Roscoe Police Department, with a cost not to exceed $22,000. Trustees Gustafson and Petty voted against the expenditure, saying it was too costly and not really necessary. Trustees Mallicoat, Plock, Keene, and Dunn approved the purchase. The vote was 4-2.

Garbage, recycling, waste collection and billing service was once again discussed, since the Village's contract with Waste Management expires Dec. 31, 2022. Gustafson wondered about an à la carte approach: residents would be able to choose the services they preferred. Sanders commented that giving everyone options would drive up the price.

Also discussed was the length of the contract. President Szula suggested putting the contract out for competitive bids.

A special meeting focusing on grant proposals will be held at Village Hall, Sept. 27, at 6:30 p.m. The meeting is open to the public, and members of the public are invited to share their opinions (for no more than three minutes each).

Engineer Brandon Boggs gave an update on capital road projects in the Village. IDOT is still reviewing the traffic impact and design study on Willowbrook Road. Boggs said the parking lot at Porter Park is now completed.

Trustee Gustafson commented that the cabin at Porter Park “looks terrible.”

“The building needs to be cleaned and restored. We need to get someone in there to do the maintenance work needed,” she said. Trustees were in agreement.

The Committee of the Whole meeting followed.

Chad Schultz, President of Premier Technologies of Beloit presented a proposal for information technology (IT) services including monthly fees for tech storage, cloud storage and technical support and backup for the Village Hall, Public Works and Police Department. Schultz said it could be up and running by December 2022.

Sanders recommended approval. The proposal will move on to the Board for a vote at the next Village meeting.

Last on the Committee of the Whole agenda was discussion for approving the purchase of a 2023 International Versalift aerial bucket truck for the Public Works Department, under the terms of the Village Master Lease Agreement with Enterprise Fleet Management, Inc.

The aerial bucket truck would be used for tree trimming, lighting repairs, and holiday lights. The quoted price is $107,925.40.

Trustees Gustafson and Petty were against the purchase, arguing that the price is high and would be used infrequently. “I don’t see how we can do this. It’s not in our budget,” Gustafson said. Sanders said the equipment would be purchased in 2023, not this year.

Petty suggested looking into sharing a bucket truck with a neighboring municipality.

The purchase had the approval of Trustee Mike Dunn. “The equipment we are presently using is not safe. If we had the ability to use the truck for other things, I strongly think we should buy it.”

Gustafson and Petty voted against. Plock, Mallicoat, Dunn and Keene voted for. The motion was sent to the Board.

The last order of business was discussion of the Village Halloween event coming up Oct. 22. Inside and outside activities are planned, with goody bags, candy, displays of decorating pumpkins, luminaries, games and more.

The next regular Village meeting is Oct. 4, beginning at 6:30 p.m. The public is encouraged to attend.

Michael McGinnis contributed to this story (in italics).

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