Village of Oswego Board of Trustees met June 27.
Here are the minutes provided by the board:
CALL TO ORDER AND PLEDGE OF ALLEGIANCE
President Ryan Kauffman called the meeting to order at 7:01 p.m. Ken Periman led the Pledge of Allegiance to the Flag of the United States of America.
Ken Periman enlisted in the Air Force in 1966. He was in Vietnam from 1966-1968 and worked in explosives in the bomb dump. He went to Luke Air Force Base from 1968-1969. Ken has been a resident of Oswego since 1996 and is a member of Montgomery VFW Post 7452.
ROLL CALL
Board Members Physically Present: President Ryan Kauffman; Trustees Tom Guist, Kit Kuhrt, Karin McCarthy-Lange, and Jennifer Jones Sinnott.
Board Members Absent: Trustee Andrew Torres (attended at 7:04 p.m.)
Staff Physically Present: Dan Di Santo, Village Administrator; Christina Burns, Asst. Village Administrator; Tina Touchette, Village Clerk; Jennifer Hughes, Public Works Director; Jason Bastin, Interim Chief of Police; Andrea Lamberg, Finance Director; Rod Zenner, Community Development Services Director; Joe Renzetti, IT/GIS Director; and Dave Silverman, Village Attorney.
CONSIDERATION OF AND POSSIBLE ACTIONS ON ANY REQUESTS FOR ELECTRONIC PARTICIPATION IN MEETING
President Kauffman noted that Trustee Torres would like to electronically attend tonight’s meeting. Trustee Torres submitted the necessary documents to the Village Clerk.
A motion was made by Trustee McCarthy-Lange and seconded by Trustee Guist to approve Trustee Andrew Torres to electronically attend the June 27, 2023 Regular Village Board Meeting.
Aye: Tom Guist Kit Kuhrt
Karin McCarthy-Lange Jennifer Jones Sinnott
Nay: None
Absent: Andrew Torres
The motion was declared carried by a roll call vote with four (4) aye votes and zero (0) nay votes. Trustee Andrew Torres attended electronically at 7:04 p.m.
RECOGNITIONS/APPOINTMENTS
D.1 Village Trustee Appointment- this item was moved to after Public Forum
a) Appoint a Village Trustee from June 27, 2023 Until the Conclusion of Their Term in 2025.
b) Swearing-In of Village Trustee
D.2 Oath of Office
a) Christopher Biggs- Deputy Chief
Interim Chief Bastin briefly spoke about his history and duties with the police department; very happy to have him on the command team. President Kauffman swore him in; pictures were taken.
b) Andrew Most- Sergeant
Interim Chief Bastin briefly spoke about his history and duties with the police department; he told the ice cream story; members of his family were in attendance; President Kauffman swore him in; pictures were taken. His wife pinned him. Deputy Chief Biggs spoke and thanked Interim Chief Bastin for his support and trust; most important thing is moving from Officer to Sergeant; thank you to the CSO’s; thank you to the civilian staff; Sergeants are the mortar that holds the team together; congratulations to Sergeant Most; I’m proud of you and love you.
c) Timothy Blake Jr.- Patrol Officer
Interim Chief Bastin briefly spoke about his history; members of his family were in attendance; dad is a Cook County Deputy, and his grandfather was on the Chicago PD; President Kauffman swore him in; pictures were taken.
Interim Chief Bastin thanked the Police Commission for their time and due diligence; they spend a lot of time hiring officers.
d) Matthew Gedraitis- Patrol Officer
Interim Chief Bastin briefly spoke about his history; members of his family were in attendance; previously worked for the Union Pacific railroad; President Kauffman swore him in; pictures were taken.
D.3 Adjudication Appointments
a) Appoint Richard W. Warner for a Term to Expire April 30, 2024
b) Re-Appoint Linda Salfisberg for a Term to Expire April 30, 2024
A motion was made by Trustee Jones Sinnott and seconded by Trustee McCarthy-Lange to approve the Appointment of Richard W. Warner for a Term to Expire April 30, 2024; and approve the Re Appointment of Linda Salfisberg for a Term to Expire April 30, 2024.
Aye: Tom Guist Kit Kuhrt
Karin McCarthy-Lange Jennifer Jones Sinnott
Andrew Torres
Nay: None
The motion was declared carried by a roll call vote with five (5) aye votes and zero (0) nay votes.
PUBLIC FORUM
Public Forum was opened at 7:23 p.m.
Budd Bieber addressed the Board regarding the removal of trees on Main Street and Van Buren Street; going to have a lot of upset people. Staff will send him the plans for the project that includes the removal of eight trees. President Kauffman asked staff if they could plant the same number of trees, somewhere else, for the ones being removed.
Ted Clauser addressed the Board regarding the parking lot property at the corner of Madison and Van Buren; current owner of 113 Main owns the property; he thanked the Board, Village President and property owners of 113 Main and the Dairy Barn; fears of neighborhoods being reduced to parking lots; he provided the history of the property and surrounding properties; there is an ancient tree in the middle of the parking lot property; look up the information at the Little White School Museum; he asked not to pave over land for parking lots; thank you for the stop lights going in on Washington Street; Preservation Commission designated the downtown as a historical district; don’t want the downtown surrounded by a sea pf parking lots; think of landscaping.
There was no one else who requested to speak. The public forum was closed at 7:33 p.m.
RECOGNITIONS/APPOINTMENTS
D.1 Village Trustee Appointment
a) Appoint a Village Trustee from June 27, 2023 Until the Conclusion of Their Term in 2025. Swearing-In of Village Trustee
President Kauffman noted this was an extremely rigorous and transparent process; he shared the list of interested residents, with the current Trustees, two weeks ago; thank you to everyone who took the time to apply; all Trustees had time to interview the recommended appointments and provide him with feedback; unfortunately, there was not a consensus. He is recommending the appointment of Karen Novy as Village Trustee; he explained what Karen does in the community and her experience and knowledge.
Board discussion focused on the Village President just now bringing to the Board’s attention on who he was going to appoint; the appointment information should be shared with the community; Trustee Jones Sinnott recommended the appointment be tabled so the community knows who the Village President is recommending as the appointment for Trustee; can hold a Special Board meeting as there is an urgency; want to get community feedback; Special meeting needs to comply with the Open Meetings Act with the agenda posted within 48 hours of the meeting; hold a Special meeting after the 4th of July; the appointment has already been delayed; responsibility to have a full Board; it’s a disservice for not having a Trustee appointment; the reason it took so long was from a request by current Board members to meet the individual(s) and provide feedback to the Village President; appreciate the process for this appointment versus the previous appointment; didn’t think we would be at 4:00 p.m. and not having a decision; aspect of the community to know who the appointment is; give the community an opportunity to comment; not on board with delaying the appointment further; every other appointments has had the name on the agenda; liked how information was sent out during the first appointment process; supposed to go in with an open mind; important that the person is in line with what the constituents wanted; all current Trustees had a chance to talk to the candidates; whether the input of the community and the extra time is going to change your mind on the appointment; need to involve the community and information to be shared; disappointing and disheartening; no more delaying as we need to appoint Karen Novy; in line is not enough; seems counter intuitive; community deserves the right to present itself; for transparency, we announced Karen Novy as Trustee; the current Trustees knew about the appointment.
A motion was made by Trustee Jones Sinnott and seconded by Trustee Guist to table to a Special Village Board meeting being held on July 5, 2023 at 6:00 p.m. for the purpose of appointing a Village Trustee.
Aye: Tom Guist Kit Kuhrt
Karin McCarthy-Lange Jennifer Jones Sinnott
Nay: Andrew Torres
The motion was declared carried by a roll call vote with four (4) aye votes and one (1) nay vote.
Administrator Di Santo noted that Assistant Administrator Burns will share the information regarding the appointment.
Trustee Torres asked for a motion to approve the appointment of Karen Novy. Trustee McCarthy-Lange seconded the motion. There was no roll call vote taken as the motion to table was made previous to the motion to approve the appointment of Karen Novy.
STAFF REPORTS
Director Hughes provided a presentation regarding water conservation due to the drought conditions and the long- and short-term impacts. There is a forecast of drought through September; moderate to severe doubled from last Thursday.
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