Rockford Sun

Village of Rockton Administration Committee met June 6.

Here are the minutes provided by the committee:

Mr. York called the regular meeting of the Administration Committee to order at 5:30 pm. Members present: Mayor Peterson, Jodi May and Justin York

Staff present: Dan Barber (5:51 pm), Tricia Diduch, and Deputy Chief Hollinger

Absent: Mr. Danielson

Also present: Dan Baumgartner

Motion by Ms. May second by Mr. York, to waive the reading of and approve the minutes of May 16, 2022. All ayes. Motion approved 2-0.

PUBLIC COMMENT

None.

MAYOR – JOHN PETERSON

Mayor Peterson discussed recreational vehicle (RV) parking in residential districts with the Committee. Mayor Peterson stated that this was discussed a few years back and the Village Board decided not to make any changes at that time, but wanted to revisit this once again. Mayor Peterson said that the City of South Beloit currently allows RV parking in residential districts April 15th – October 15th, but that he doesn’t know what the Village of Roscoe is allowing. The Village Clerk advised that the Village of Roscoe only addresses snowmobiles in their Village code under recreational vehicles. Mayor Peterson said that the Village allows RVs up to 22 feet in the ordinance, but that many RVs are longer than that now since the ordinance was passed several years ago. Mr. York said that he doesn’t have a problem with parking RVs on driveways as long as it doesn’t block sidewalks if there are sidewalks in the subdivision. Ms. May stated that she looks at this similar to gaming boutiques popping up everywhere and that if the Village allows this then several residents are going to be parking them on their driveways and that this doesn’t look very nice. After a brief discussion, the Committee ultimately decided not to make any changes to the current ordinance. Mayor Peterson added that Officer Cure will also be helping Ms. Diduch with code enforcement this summer and that this is one of the issues that will be addressed.

COMMUNITY DEVELOPMENT – SCOTT DANIELSON, CHAIRMAN

None.

PUBLIC SAFETY & LEGAL – JODI MAY

Ms. May discussed Utility Terrain Vehicle (UTV) usage in the Village with the Committee. Deputy Chief Hollinger stated that he reached out to the police chiefs in Byron and Rochelle and that they are supposed to be getting in contact with him. Deputy Chief Hollinger wanted their thoughts on how this is going in their communities and stated that the Village of Winnebago is having some issues, but that it was more with ATVs driving in the roadways. Mayor Peterson said that he would like to move slowly on this and that we have a long ways to go if this is something that the Village is interested in allowing. Mayor Peterson asked the Village Clerk to obtain a copy of the ordinance that the City of Byron recently passed and that he would like everyone to take a look at it.

ADMINISTRATION – JUSTIN YORK

Mr. York discussed police protection in the school district with the Committee. Mr. York stated that he has been emailing Glenn Terry, Rockton School District #140 Superintendent, and speaking to Mr. Seever and Mr. Danielson in regards to making sure that the children in the school district are protected from mass shootings. Mr. York stated that some things to consider are 3M film on school doors/windows along with having an armed police officer at the entrance to the schools. Mr. York said that he knows it’s ultimately the school districts decision to do this, but he wanted to have some conversation about this. Deputy Chief Hollinger stated that he reached out to Mr. Terry and explained to Mr. York that the police department continually trains and does A.L.I.C.E. training for active shooters along with school response training. Mr. Baumgartner commented that the training is better than it was 10-12 years ago. Ms. May stated that she understood where

Mr. York was coming from because he is a parent, but that it’s up to the school district/school board to make the decision in regards to having a police officer in the school and whether or not it would be effective.

THE CHIEF– MATT HOLLINGER

Chief Hollinger stated that the police department has two full-time positions open and that they are currently completing lateral testing. Chief Hollinger said that the police department is also doing promotional testing this Wednesday and Thursday and that there are seven applicants completing oral interviews with the Police & Fire Commission.

Chief Hollinger added that he is meeting with Enterprise on June 30th in regards to the police department vehicle rotation.

Chief Hollinger advised the Committee that the police department was able to solve a crime within two hours due to the Flock Safety System that the police department has been using.

PLANNING & DEVELOPMENT ADMINISTRATOR – TRICIA DIDUCH

None.

EXECUTIVE SESSION

None.

ANY OTHER BUSINESS ALLOWED BY LAW

None.

ADJOURN

Motion by Ms. May, second by Mr. York to adjourn at 6:20 pm.

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