December 3, 2025 Meeting Minutes

Village of Bishop Hill, County of Henry, State of Illinois web page: bishophillil.gov

The regular meeting of the Village of Bishop Hill board was held at the Municipal Bldg. The meeting was called to order by Village President Mike Funke at 6:00 p.m.

ROLL CALL: Mike Funke, Patrick Light, Lisa Nordstrom, Ben Strand, Mike Keup, Jim Nolan, Amanda Laub , Sharon Wexell & Terri Wigant were all present.

MINUTES: Laub motioned to accept the minutes, seconded by Nordstrom. Voice vote, motion carried.

TREASURER’S REPORT: Laub motioned to accept the Treasurer’s Report, seconded by Nolan. Voice vote, motion carried.

PAY BILLS: Wigant stated there were no additional bills or corrections. Light motioned to pay bills, seconded by Nordstrom. Voice vote, motion carried.

OLD BUSINESS: Meyer and Whittington decided to postpone the new connections of residential water services to the new water main until next spring; it was getting too late in the year. Meyer said he had all the supplies needed to do the connections. He got the supplies from the Galva water department, and that Galva would be sending the Village a bill for the items. Funke said a man connected with the Peoria Correctional Center came and sealed 1/3 of the Municipal Building roof. The man will come back in the spring and finish, but he told Funke not to worry about having any leaks, the unfinished side is still sealed pretty good. Funke also stated the man donated his time and materials. No news on the Cemetery Relief Grant. Wigant talked to Keith Holland about installing a camera on the pole by the dumpsters. Holland said we could run a line underground over to the pole and either buy another camera or use an existing one. He would come and look at what we need. Wigant said she doesn’t want to do anything until spring. Wigant had not heard back from the Galva man that wanted make a donation to get a wind tower bench for his business. Wexell had not heard back from the couple that did not want their cemetery plot anymore, #581, all 8 graves, that they purchased in 2003.

NEW BUSINESS: Wigant had a letter for a donation request from the Arts Council to raise money for the annual Henry County Tourism Bureau membership; the membership cost is $1000 per year. No one on the village board knew how much all the businesses raised last year, if they raised more than the $1000 the Arts Council would apply it to the 2026 membership. Nordstrom motioned for the Board to donate $100. After more discussion Light motioned to donate $200. Nordstrom withdrew her motion and Laub seconded Light’s motion to donate $200 to the Henry County Tourism Bureau membership. Voice vote, motion carried. Wigant said someone tore down the discarded TV she made into a sign and hung on the light pole. It stated that electronics cannot be dumped there. The person threw it on the ground by the dumpster. Wigant wondered if the Trustees would revisit the idea of having door to door garbage pick-up so we don’t have to deal with these problems. The Board all agreed no one wants to have blue barrels sitting around in a historical town. Wigant agreed also, it just gets so frustrating having people dump things that should not be dumped there. Wigant said all Illinois employers are required to provide Sexual Harassment Training annually; it is due by the end of December and we have to have a policy. Wexell had sent out an email for online training and Wigant did training at the meeting having all members sign their certificate saying they completed the training. This has to be filed with the clerk as the state can request to see the certificates and policy at any time. Whittington did not have to sign our paper because he does the training through his full-time job with the city of Geneseo. The Board talked about the Village meeting dates and time for 2026. Strand motioned to keep it the first Wednesday of each month at 6:00, seconded by Keup. Voice vote, motion carried. Massie’s office emailed Tax Levy for 2025-2026 to the Board to review. Strand motioned to pass Tax Levy Ordinance #2025-02, seconded by Light. Voice vote, motion carried. Wexell advised the board of a General Fund CD coming due in December worth $127,040.88. We already paid $15,000 out of the General Fund in October to Rock River Electric for a down payment on the new back-up generator; we should take out the remaining $45,000 to pay for the generator in full. Wexell also asked about putting any money towards the flagpole project. Wigant stated the GoFundMe is not raising enough money to even order the wood, which takes about 3 months to get. Between donations, the bench raffle, and the GoFundMe; we have raised $6666.22. Wexell said Jeff Carpenter, who is going to refurbish the colony flag pole, needs at least $22,000 to order the wooden poles. Funke said we have discussed getting the flagpole fixed for years we should just get it done. Wigant said it is getting to the point it might fall and someone gets seriously hurt or damage to property. Wigant thought this year would be a good year to get it done for the 250th anniversary of the United States and 180th anniversary of Bishop Hill and it is our parade year. After discussing the situation, Strand motioned to pay for the generator and reinvest the rest in a new CD, seconded by Nordstrom. Voice vote, motion carried. Light motioned to pay $16,000 out of the General Fund, so Jeff Carpenter can order the wood. Nolan seconded the motion. Voice vote, motion carried. Wexell also said she applied for a grant through Big Bluestem Wind for the flagpole. She said we should find out if we receive the grant at the end of December. Wexell told the Board she had talked to an auditor from the Moline area about doing our audits. Teresa Welch from Blucker & Kneer are no longer doing municipal audits. There was no further business Light motioned to adjourn, seconded by Strand. Voice vote motion carried.