Rockford Sun

Village of Rockton Administration Committee met July 15.

Here are the minutes provided by the committee:

Chairman Danielson called the regular meeting of the Administration Committee to order at 5:30 pm. Members present: Mayor Peterson, Scott Danielson, Dave Winters and Justin York

Staff present: Dan Barber, Sally Bennett, Tricia Diduch and Chief Hollinger

Motion by Mr. Winters, second by Mr. York to waive the reading of and approve the minutes of July 1, 2024. All ayes. Motion approved 3-0.

PUBLIC COMMENT

Ross Grimes with Fehr Graham spoke to the Committee in reference to the grant preparation proposal for the Sonoco site. Mr. Grimes stated that he specializes in Brownfield sites and that he put together a proposal for the Village so that the Village could apply for a Brownfield grant in the future. Mr. Grimes said that currently the property is currently industrial/commercial and that the Brownfield grant would help the Village clean up the property to residential standards. Mr. Grimes added that there is a bit of a hiccup with the Village not getting a Phase I done on the property, but stated that the Village could move the property to the Northern Illinois Land Bank Authority to hold the property and have a Phase I completed. Mr. Grimes added that an agreement would have to be drawn up between the Northern Illinois Land Bank Authority and the Village. Mr. Grimes stated that if the Village receives the grant that there is no match, therefore, there would be no cost to the Village. Mr. Grimes said that it would cost between $1M-$2M for the cleanup, but that the Village is behind for the current grant cycle. Mr. Grimes stated that the Village would need to wait until August or September 2025 to apply for the grant. Mayor Peterson said that he spoke with two different commercial realtors and that one of them didn’t feel that there was a vision for the property and the other thought that there was some value there. Mayor Peterson stated that cleaning up the property to residential standards opens it up for more uses even though commercial property is valued more than residential property. Mayor Peterson asked Mr. Grimes if there is any interest in the property from developers if the property gets cleaned up to residential standards. Mr. Grimes stated that he can put feelers out there, but that the Village would have to complete a request for proposal (RFP). The Committee thanked Mr. Grimes for coming and answering some of their questions in regards to the grant preparation proposal.

MAYOR – JOHN PETERSON

Mayor Peterson advised the Committee that Rockton Food & Spirits will be taking down signs in their parking lot soon to allow for public parking.

Mayor Peterson said that he and Atty. Szeto had a teleconference with Richard Barnes, owner of the Red Barn Golf Course, along with his attorney last Thursday. Mayor Peterson said that the Red Barn Golf Course put up signs that states they have a zero tolerance for golf balls hitting the condos.

Mayor Peterson stated that he spoke with Chief Wilson from the Rockton Fire Protection District in reference to them using the Village fire hydrants for training. Mayor Peterson said that he would like the fire department to give 30 days notice of their training and pay to have a Village employee present at their training to turn on the fire hydrant and shut if off properly.

COMMUNITY DEVELOPMENT – SCOTT DANIELSON, CHAIRMAN

Motion by Mr. Danielson to approve the annual membership dues for the Rockford Area Convention & Visitors Bureau in the amount of $5,000, second by Mr. Winters. Roll call. All ayes. Motion approved 3-0.

PUBLIC SAFETY & LEGAL – DAVE WINTERS

None.

ADMINISTRATION – JUSTIN YORK

None.

THE CHIEF– MATT HOLLINGER

Chief Hollinger advised the Committee that at the last meeting they talked about updating security at Village Hall. Chief Hollinger stated that he met with Deputy Chief Jobst, Dan Barber and Jake Costello to discuss this further. Chief Hollinger said that he came up with some options with MGT Films and Verkada. Chief Hollinger stated that the Village currently uses Verkada for its security system and they have a solution for the front door entry system. Chief Hollinger discussed the security equipment and how staff would need to be trained on how to use it. Chief Hollinger added that this expense was not budgeted for. Mr. Barber stated that this could come out of the budget for buildings and grounds. Ms. Diduch stated that there may be grants available through the Illinois Municipal League (IML) for this as well. Mr. Winters asked for a consensus for Verkada for the front door entry system in the amount of $5,778 and for MGT Films for the 3M film in the Village Hall entrance in the amount of $2,844. The Committee was okay with this. Ms. Diduch added that if we are doing this, the Village really needs to put in handicap buttons for the front entry doors as well. Ms. Diduch also suggested that administration should have active shooter training because there hasn’t been any training in regards to this.

PLANNING & DEVELOPMENT ADMINISTRATOR – TRICIA DIDUCH

Ms. Diduch stated that “Summerpalooza” went well on Saturday even though it was a very hot day.

Ms. Diduch said that she was extremely busy last week and that she will have a draft IT policy for the first meeting in August.

EXECUTIVE SESSION

None.

ANY OTHER BUSINESS ALLOWED BY LAW

None.

ADJOURN

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

https://docs.google.com/document/d/1xHQI5l5QnvM99jEFH_R8-T70ME29dy5DldPo96lHyyc/edit