Rockford Sun

Village of Rockton Administration Committee met May 5.

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

Also present: Dave Bennington

Motion by Mr. Winters, second by Mr. York to waive the reading of and approve the minutes of April 14, 2025. All ayes. Motion approved 3-0.

PUBLIC COMMENT

None.

MAYOR – JOHN PETERSON

Mayor Peterson advised the Committee that he is working on extending the garbage contract with Rock River Disposal and that the Village is working with South Beloit as well since they use Rock River Disposal as well.

Mayor Peterson said that the Village received some of the Chemtool settlement checks today and that more are coming. Mayor Peterson stated that the Village needs to decide what to do with the money and that we should be getting approximately $180,000 in total.

Mayor Peterson stated that the letters from the Village were mailed out in reference to the PFAS level in Well #5. Mayor Peterson said that the IEPA standard is 10 ppt and that the Well #5 is 12 ppt. Mr. Barber commented that Well #5 doesn’t feed the water system on the south side of the bridge, but all of the residents of the Village were sent a letter. Mayor Peterson advised the Committee that the federal EPA is researching this more and that the standards may change again. Mayor Peterson wanted to make sure everyone understood this in case residents ask questions.

Mayor Peterson said that the closing on the Goldie Floberg building is delayed another month and will be closing in June because they need to apply for a special use permit.

Mayor Peterson stated that the advertising was approved for the Village Administrator position and that it should be posted soon.

COMMUNITY DEVELOPMENT – SCOTT DANIELSON, CHAIRMAN

None.

PUBLIC SAFETY & LEGAL – DAVE WINTERS

Mr. Winters stated that Ordinance 2025-9: An Ordinance of the Village of Rockton, Illinois Approving and Authorizing the Village to Enter into a Lease Agreement with Cooper Olafson Land Development, LLC Regarding the Property Commonly Known as 122 E. Main Street, Rockton, Illinois is up for approval at the Village Board meeting on May 6, 2025. Chief Hollinger said that they added early termination to the lease and that the lease payment is the same as last year. The Committee was okay with this.

ADMINISTRATION – JUSTIN YORK

Mr. York went over the monthly report from Garcea with the Committee. Mr. York said that he had some questions about the activity codes and that he will talk to Jeff Garcea about this. Mr. York commented that he is also going to add Mrs. Bennett to the list of who receives the report from Mr. Garcea.

THE CHIEF– MATT HOLLINGER

Chief Hollinger stated that Officer Ryan Garst was sworn in on April 29th and that he started the police academy today.

Chief Hollinger added that he met with the new trustees last Thursday and encouraged them to do a ride along with the police department.

Chief Hollinger said that he met with a sergeant from the Verona Police Department last week in reference to the Ironman Triathlon. Chief Hollinger learned that the police department is eligible for reimbursement and that he is looking into this. Chief Hollinger stated that IDOT is going to be working on the bridge starting next Monday in preparation for the event.

Chief Hollinger advised the Committee that there were some burglaries over the weekend and that the police department identified the suspect from Rockford and will be wrapping this up soon.

PLANNING & DEVELOPMENT ADMINISTRATOR – TRICIA DIDUCH

Ms. Diduch stated that this is an extremely busy time of year with events. Ms. Diduch said that the “May Day Faerie Festival” was held this past weekend and it was a good event. Ms. Diduch added that “Pelican Fest” is coming up on May 17th and the Village will also be having a cleanup day to coincide with Keep Northern Illinois Beautiful’s (KNIB) Great American Cleanup.

Ms. Diduch said that a flyer was sent to Go Rockford for the Ironman Triathlon.

Ms. Diduch stated that the Rockton River Market (RRM) starts on June 21st and that there will also be the “Summerpalooza” event in downtown Rockton.

Ms. Diduch updated the Committee in reference to the Northern Illinois Council of Governments (NorthCOG) meeting that she attended. Ms. Diduch said that the Village should be thinking about short-term and long-term (shovel ready) projects if funds become available. Ms. Diduch added that they also discussed having all of the surrounding municipalities pass the 1% grocery tax in July. Ms. Diduch stated that other municipalities sent out PFAS letters to their residents and that everyone is frustrated with how the IEPA handled the situation.

Mayor Peterson commented that he went to a press conference for Joe Chiarelli, Winnebago County Chairman, and how they are looking to give more power back to the chairman. Mayor Peterson said that he doesn’t know much about this and that he wasn’t included in the conversations.

Mayor Peterson added that he received something from the Zoning Board of Appeals (ZBA) that they are renewing the gravel extraction on the Schlichting property where they were talking about having the asphalt plant, but they are just doing the gravel. Ms. Diduch verified this with Winnebago County and stated that it’s just for renewing the mining operation on the property.

EXECUTIVE SESSION

None.

ANY OTHER BUSINESS ALLOWED BY LAW

None.

ADJOURN

Motion by Mr. Winters, second by Mr. York, to adjourn at 6:08 pm.

https://rocktonil.gov/vertical/sites/%7B5EFC50B8-A3D6-48DC-ACA0-E05F307CFA0B%7D/uploads/5-5-25_Administration_Minutes.pdf