Village of Roscoe proclaims "Avani Joshi Day," approves other special events

At their meeting Tuesday, the Village of Roscoe proclaimed July 20, 2021 as "Avani Joshi Day," in honor of the first Rockford-area student to reach the finals of the National Spelling Bee. Avani, who has just turned 14, placed 7th in the national competition. Her family attended the meeting and expressed their thanks.

The meeting went quickly, since the Board had already considered most of the agenda items at a June 6 meeting, in their role as Committee of the Whole. For example, the Village Board approved a special event permit for National Night Out on August 3, allowing temporary closure of Main Street from Bridge Street to River Street. The Board received a request to allow a wedding at Riverside Park - on the football field. The site is meaningful to the couple. But the Board voted to lay over the decision until the Board gets information on what insurance and bonding the couple has.

Steve Stromquist, deputy treasurer for the Village of Roscoe, reported the month's bills, including $84,305 in payroll expenses. After paying them, the Village had  $5,817,377 in their main account and $997,155 in the motor fuel fund. One recent purchase was a dragnet to go behind a Gator utility vehicle to keep weeds down on the baseball field and walking paths. The Village Board agreed that the police golf cart should be considered surplus, so it can be sold.

The Board approved a Class T temporary liquor license for Poison Ivy Pub for the off-premises sale of alcohol at Mud Volleyball on August 7. Only businesses who already hold an on-premises liquor license in the Village of Roscoe are eligible for this temporary license. Two food trucks are planned for the event, run by companies that are already licensed through Winnebago County. They would also like a Boy Scout troop to set up a tent to sell hot dogs and brats, but Village staff needs to research what approvals would be required for that.

The Rock Valley RC Flyers will be holding their Water Fun Fly at Chicory Ridge Park on Aug. 21. The Board approved their request to use a boat in the water in case they need to retrieve one of their radio-controlled boats, planes, or gliders.

Brandon Boggs, Village Engineer, recommended that road repairs for Prairie Flower in Sagewood be added to the 2021 Residential Street Program. These were approved for the 2020 program but were removed from the scope of work as a COVID related cost reduction. The repairs will extend from Willowbrook (off McDonald) to Crescent Court. Boggs also asked for approval to get design work done for the public works building. If approved, the work could be finished this year.

During the Village's first-ever audit by the Illinois Municipal Retirement Fund (IMRF), the IMRF said that employee health insurance contributions could be included under the IMRF, amounting to a couple hundred dollars a year per employee.  The Committee of the Whole approved a resolution to begin doing that in the future. They will take final action at the next Village Board meeting.

Since Governor Pritzker has said he will not renew his COVID emergency declaration, starting next month, the trustees will only be able to attend via Zoom if they have a health- or work-related excuse. All of them have been attending in person anyway.

But even though it will no longer be a requirement, Village of Roscoe wants to continue offering a Zoom link for Village Board meetings, They have found it increases public involvement and attendance in the meetings, even if citizens of the Village are only listening.