Alderman Steps Down As Trustee In Marine
By Ellen Proctor, Reporter
At the July 24 Marine Village board meeting, Trustee John Usher announced his resignation, effective at the end of August, resulting from a scheduled increase in travel for work.
“It’s been a pleasure,” Usher said.
Mayor John Molitor thanked him for his years of dedication to the village.
Village Clerk Amber Kapp opened the three sealed bids received for oiling and chipping the roads. Mike Maedge submitted the lowest bid, at $20,268.67 to win the contract. Also bidding were Piasa Road Oil, for $30,266.50 and JTC Petroleum Company, for $28,697.
Streets committee chairman Kenneth Moss asked Maedge, who was present at the meeting, when he would be able to start the work. Maedge said that it would be best to wait until after the K9 5K race and Chillin and Grillin event scheduled for the weekend of August 10. He told the board that the end of August would be a good time to get started.
Village residents Beth and Todd Maedge attended the meeting to discuss a matter regarding a dangerous dog and a related concern about a rental property.
The Maedges told the board about two incidents of a neighbor’s dog running loose and that it had attacked their dogs. They said they had called Madison County for assistance, but the county was unable to do anything because the village has its own ordinances. The county was able to search for vaccination records, and said that there was no record of this dog having received any shots.
The Maedges thanked Marine police chief Chris Singleton and officer Sydney Ahlmeyer for their handling of the second incident.
Singleton told the board that he had also handled a third incident while off duty, issuing a citation for Dog at Large. He said that previously three citations were issued: Dog at Large,
Vicious Animal, and No Rabies Shot.
“We don’t have a vehicle to pick up an animal in to enforce our ordinances,” Singleton told the board. “None of us are trained as dog catchers.”
Upon the mayor’s suggestion, Singleton said that he would look into the possibility of contracting with the county for animal control.
The Maedges emphasized that they had not showed up to complain, but to work with the board on looking at ordinances and to help find a solution for handling future incidents.
Beth Maedge told the board that they also have concerns about the lack of oversight of the rental property. She asked whether the village has an inspection ordinance for rental properties.
Molitor said that there is very little in the ordinance book, and that an update to the Chapter 40
Zoning Code will require a zoning board hearing.
“It’s not something we can directly go and do,” the mayor said.
He said that the zoning board would have to review and approve a measure, then bring it back to the village board.
Marine Parks committee chairman Mark Voigt reported that the park bathrooms had been vandalized with human fecal matter smeared on the walls and floors, and toilet tissue strewn all over. He said that Moss had locked the bathrooms as a temporary measure.
“We have beautiful bathrooms and parks. It’s senseless to have them locked,” the mayor said.
“It looks like every summer we have some vandalism there.”
Voigt suggested purchasing surveillance cameras to place outside the doors. He said that daily monitoring of the footage to see who is going in and out could help with an investigation of the vandalism. The mayor said that he wasn’t opposed to the idea. The police chief told the board that he could talk to Pro Alarm about adding outdoor cameras and Voigt suggested some other inexpensive cameras.
In his streets committee report, Moss told the mayor that two of the three weed eaters will need to be replaced. The mayor said that there is a line item in the budget for equipment. He told
Moss that he would prefer to buy the weed eaters in town.
Singleton told the trustees that his department had been working overtime on investigating allegations of criminal sexual abuse regarding juveniles. He said that they had interviewed twelve people as of July 24 and that he expected to submit more overtime hours.
Upcoming events in Marine:
August 10, K9 5K – Race begins at 8 a.m.
Saturday and Sunday, August 10-11, Chillin and Grillin (BBQ) at Marine Village Park
