DANVILLE — Danville Village Council remains one member short due to the departure of finance chairman Brent Kaylor in December. In its first meeting of the year, Mayor Robert Dile requested anyone interested in filling the vacant seat to send a letter of interest or attend any regularly scheduled council meeting. The council has until Jan. 30 to appoint a new member before Dile will be required to appoint someone without a vote.
The council voted Todd Didinger to remain council president-pro-tem for 2008 and Dile appointed the heads of each council committee. Sandy Ridgway will remain in charge of parks, Jim Holmes for police, Gary Moreland for solid waste, Didinger for streets, Jean Stachler will temporarily take over finance, and village administrator Robert Shipley will temporarily chair the water and wastewater committee. The council also voted to extend the contract of Noel Alden, village solicitor.
In committee reports, Dile reported the village snowplows have been repaired and are properly equipped for the winter. He added that salt supplies are still adequate.
Ridgway proposed her goal to establish a weekly farmers market at Memorial Park.
Holmes said that due to the loss of a key grant, the village will have to find an alternative source of funding for a second police officer. Dile said Holmes will chair a committee to investigate options for paying the police officer’s $36,000-a-year salary. Some of the ideas discussed at Tuesday’s meeting include a possible village sales tax or a November tax levy.
Gary Moreland proposed the planning committee take up the previously tabled junk vehicle legislation. Council agreed, and will discuss the proposed ordinance at its next meeting Feb. 7 at 7 p.m. Dile said any Danville resident with an interest in the junk vehicle legislation is welcome to attend.
Moreland and Dile both said the village will begin to send out informal letters to local residents and business reminding them of village signage ordinances. Moreland said several people and business appear to be in violation of local signage laws. Dile called the letter “friendly reminders to let people be aware of the ordinance.”
Shipley said Danville’s second public well had passed its final inspection, and was up and running. Shipley said the new well is pumping about 500 gallons per minute, nearly twice as much as Danville’s other well. Shipley added that because of a missed monthly test, the village is required by law to announce it will take another routine sampling. The test, he said, is not expected to cause any disruption to service.
Due to the Martin Luther King holiday, the council’s next meeting is scheduled for Tuesday, Jan. 22, at 8 p.m.