Collinsville Township Receives CARES Funding

Stephanie Malench

smalench@timestribunenews.com

The Collinsville Township held its first meting since the April 6 election on April 13.

The required Annual Town meeting was cancelled for the second year in a row. Supervisor Dan Hopkins said the meeting was cancelled due to the Governor continued the emergency order on April 4, capping attendance at meetings to 50 people.

Hopkins said that he did not want to decide who could and could not attend the meeting and made the decision to cancel it.

There was only one call for public comment by Babette Cox, who called in to express that she was bothered by social media during the weeks leading up to the election, citing several township employees were making comments during working hours about the candidates.

Cox named one employee who she believes broke confidentiality stating that one of the candidates had only been into the assessor’s office to protest his taxes.

Cox also asked if the time clocks that were approved were ever installed, and Hopkins said no because he could not find a vendor to bring samples during the pandemic. Hopkins said the motion is still on the table if Derrick Cox, who was recently elected Supervisor wishes to pursue the purchase.

The only action item on the agenda was voting to approve the annual sponsorship of the Maryville “Movies in the Park for $150. The motion passed unanimously.

During comments from trustees, outgoing trustee Rob Milam wished the new supervisor and trustees good luck beginning with the May 11 meeting.

Trustees Cox and Ashley Stewart  expressed their disappointment in the Town meeting being cancelled. Stewart hoped maybe it could be rescheduled for a later date.

The approval of bills was tabled until a special meeting that was held on April 16 due to Cox finding the amount of bills paid by the departments was different than the amount Supervisor Hopkins was asking the board to approve.

Assessor Peter Poletti was not on the call to give a report.

Road and Bridge Commissioner Jim Truccano reported that mowing has begun for the year and the department is considering their repaving projects for the summer. So far, Lakeview Acres and Dittering are on the list.

In the Supervisor’s Report, Hopkins said 135 residents applied for LiHEAP assistance and 50 for General Assistance. Hopkins also reported that the Township received $71,345.09 in CARES Reimbursements since all of the employees worked through the pandemic.

The township was also notified they were approved for the 2021 PEP Grant from Madison County.

At the April 16 meeting Hopkins said that the bills were correct but the check register was filled out wrong. The bills were unanimously approved at that meeting.

The next meeting will be held on May 11 at 6:30 p.m.