Rockford Sun

Village of Rockton Board of Trustees met May 17.

Here are the minutes provided by the board:

Mayor Peterson called the meeting to order at 7:00 pm.

Present were: Mayor Peterson, Mr. Danielson, Mr. Fridly, Mrs. Honkamp, Ms. May, Mr. York and Atty. Szeto

Staff present: Jake Costello, Tricia Diduch and Deputy Chief Hollinger

Absent: Mr. Seever

APPROVAL OF MINUTES

Motion by Mr. Fridly, second by Mrs. Honkamp, to waive the reading of the May 3, 2022 Village Board meeting minutes. All ayes. Motion approved 5-0.

Motion by Ms. May, second by Mr. Fridly, to approve the May 3, 2022 Village Board meeting minutes. All ayes. Motion approved 5-0.

AMENDMENTS TO THE AGENDA

Atty. Szeto stated that he would like to add Executive Session to the agenda pursuant to 5 ILCS 120/2(c)(1) to discuss personnel. Motion by Ms. May to approve the amendments to the agenda, second by Mr. Fridly. All ayes. Motion approved 5-0.

PUBLIC COMMENT

None.

MAYOR PETERSON

None.

VILLAGE ATTORNEY

None.

ZONING

Mayor Peterson opened the public hearing regarding the pre-annexation agreement for 14111 Hansberry Road at 7:06 pm. Hearing no comments, the public hearing was closed at 7:07 pm.

Motion by Ms. May to approve Ordinance 2022-4: Approval of a Pre-Annexation Agreement Regarding the Property Commonly Known As 14111 Hansberry Rd. Rockton, IL 61072 and Authorizing the Village President of the Village of Rockton to Execute the Same, second by Mr. York. Mr. Fridly stated that he has reservations about pre-annexing this property into the Village because this locks in our future growth. Mr. Fridly said that the cost of getting utilities out that way would be astronomical due to the river and wetlands. Atty. Szeto explained that by pre-annexing a property that you are throwing a marker out there of where you would like to go. Atty. Szeto explained that there isn’t an immediate benefit to doing this because the Village wouldn’t be getting sales tax on pre-annexations and there isn’t water and sewer out there. Atty. Szeto added that the Village would gain a segment of control in the development. Mr. York inquired about the process for a property to be pre-annexed and Atty. Szeto explained that when a property is contiguous it can be annexed into the Village by ordinance, but when a property isn’t contiguous the goal is to get the parcels in between to annex so that the property can eventually be annexed into the Village. Mayor Peterson commented that the property owner approached the Village to pre-annex their property. Mr. Danielson said that he has some reservations as well regarding the property. Roll call. Ayes: Mr. York, Mrs. Honkamp, Mr. Danielson and Ms. May. Nays: Mr. Fridly. Motion approved 4-1.

Motion by Ms. May to approve Ord. 2022-5: Approval of a Map Amendment from the AG Agriculture District to the UT Urban Transitional District for 14111 Hansberry Rd., Rockton, Illinois, second by Mr. Fridly. Ms. May stated that the property is 10 acres and that the bed and breakfast shouldn’t affect the neighbors. Ms. Diduch stated that two neighbors called her for clarification about the pre-annexation, but that none of the neighbors had concerns. Roll call. All ayes. Motion approved 5-0.

Motion by Ms. May to approve Resolution 2022-113: Authorizing the Downtown Façade Grant Application for 102 E. Main St., Rockton Inn Pub, Grub & BBQ, second by Mr. Fridly. Ms. Diduch stated that this resolution is to a modification to their façade grant that they have already been approved for. Ms. Diduch said that the design has been tightened up and that there was a design change. Ms. Diduch added that no further funds are being distributed for this. Roll call. All ayes. Motion approved 5-0.

PUBLIC SAFETY AND LEGAL & BUDGET – MS. MAY

Ms. May shared the Rockton Police Department activity summary from May 1st – 15th with the Village Board.

Motion by Ms. May to approve the liquor license Salli’s Slots, LLC, second by Mr. Fridly. Roll call. Mr. Fridly stated that the application is for liquor and gaming and added that there were some concerns raised during the application process in regards to the manager of the business. Mr. Fridly stated that that individual hasn’t been conducive for the Village to deal with recently. Atty. Szeto explained the standards to the Village Board when applying for a liquor license and that even though the manager may have questionable behavior, he doesn’t have any felonies. Atty. Szeto said that the statute is vague when it comes to what is “not of good character or reputation within the community”. Atty. Szeto explained that this is very subjective in his opinion. Mayor Peterson asked where the Village’s plan or vision comes into play in how we want our downtown to be. Mayor Peterson added that he isn’t a fan of adding gaming boutiques downtown. Atty. Szeto stated that if they wanted to place a cap on gaming boutiques then that would be done by ordinance, but that we don’t currently have a cap in place. Mr. Fridly stated that if the background comes back okay, the Village is pretty much mandated to approve it and that we don’t have a choice because we haven’t set limits or a cap on gaming boutiques. Roll call. Ayes: Mr. York, Mrs. Honkamp, Mr. Danielson and Mr. Fridly. Nays: Ms. May. Motion approved 4-1.

Motion by Ms. May to approve the special event liquor licenses for the 2022 Rockton River Market for Fibs, Veedubs and Prairie Street Brewhouse, second by Mr. York. Roll call. All ayes. Motion approved 5-0.

ADMINISTRATION – MR. YORK

None.

WATER, SEWER, AND GARBAGE – MR. FRIDLY

Motion by Mr. Fridly to waive the formal bid process for the radios and PLC upgrade/programming for the water system due to an emergency repair, second by Mrs. Honkamp. Roll call. All ayes. Motion approved 5-0.

Motion by Mr. Fridly to approve the purchase requisition for Automatic Control Services for the radios and PLC upgrade/programming for the water system in the amount of $25,568, second by Mr. Danielson. Roll call. All ayes. Motion approved 5-0.

COMMUNITY DEVELOPMENT – MR. DANIELSON

None.

BUILDINGS AND PARKS – MRS. HONKAMP

Motion by Mrs. Honkamp to approve the special events application for Memorial Day Parade to be held on Monday, May 30th at 9 am, second by Mr. Fridly. Roll call. All ayes. Motion approved 5-0.

Motion by Mrs. Honkamp to approve the special events application Old Settlers Days to be held June 16th – 19th in Settlers Park, second by Mr. Danielson. Roll call. All ayes. Motion approved 5-0.

Motion by Mrs. Honkamp to approve the special events application for the 2022 Rockton River Market (RRM) to be held June – August in Settlers Park, second by Mr. Danielson. Roll call. All ayes. Motion approved 5-0.

Motion by Mrs. Honkamp to approve the purchase requisition for Pearson’s for toilet plumbing/masonry repair at the pool bath house at a cost of $3,980, second by Mr. Fridly. Roll call. All ayes. Motion approved 5-0.

STREETS AND WALKS – MR. SEEVER

None.

EXECUTIVE SESSION

Motion by Mr. Danielson to adjourn from regular session at 7:46 pm and go into executive session pursuant to 5 ILCS 120/2(c)(1) to discuss personnel, second by Mr. Fridly. All ayes. Motion approved 5-0.

Mayor Peterson called the Village Board meeting back to regular session at 8:16 pm. Roll Call. All Village Board members were present except for Mr. Seever.

ACTION ON ITEMS ARISING OUT OF EXECUTIVE SESSION

None.

UNFINISHED BUSINESS

None.

NEW BUSINESS

None.

PAYMENT OF BILLS

Motion by Mr. York, second by Mr. Fridly, to pay bills in the amount of $120,182.18. Roll call. All ayes. Motion approved 5-0.

ADJOURN

Hearing no further business, motion by Mr. Fridly, second by Mrs. Honkamp, to adjourn at 8:17 pm. All ayes. Motion approved 5-0.

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