January 7, 2026 Meeting Minutes

Village of Bishop Hill, County of Henry, State of Illinois

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, , Sharon Wexell & Terri Wigant were all present. Amanda Laub was absent.

MINUTES: Nordstrom motioned to accept the December 2025 minutes, seconded by Nolan. Voice vote, motion carried.

TREASURER’S REPORT: Nordstrom 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.

Funke had Jeff Carpenter present his Colony Flag pole information first. Carpenter was asked by

Wigant to restore the Colony Flagpole. He said laminated lumber would be stronger; it is what companies use to build ship masts. Carpenter would use epoxy glue and bands to hold the spliced lumber together and paint it with epoxy paint. He said the pole would have the same shape it does now. He could assemble it in the parking lot and would rent a man lift to take down the old pole and to put up the new one. Nolan said traditionally the poles would be solid wood at the top for rigging, hollow in the middle portion for flexibility, and solid wood on the bottom for stability. Carpenter said he should be able to get it done by the 4th of July. Funke wondered if the Bishop Hill Heritage Association would want any part of the old pole for historical display. Light asked if Carpenter could document the restoration for future reference. Wexell wrote Carpenter

a check from the General Fund for $16,000 so he could order the wood, Carpenter said he would place the order the following day, as there is a 6 week wait. The Board thanked him for coming to the meeting and for accepting the job. Mr. Carpenter left the meeting.

OLD BUSINESS:

No news on the Cemetery Relief Grant. Wexell stated that there is a Cemetery Memorial CD worth $871.86; she did not know when or who started it. Wexell wanted to know if it can be closed out in September when it comes due and put it towards the monument or fixing stones. Light motioned to cash out CD #12456 and put it towards the cemetery monument and/or to fix broken stones; seconded by Nolan. Voice vote, motion carried.

Wigant talked to the Galva man that wanted to make a donation to get a wind tower bench for his

business. She told him the Board was asking $500 for one benche or $750 for two. The gentleman said that was more than he wanted to pay. The Board said to call the City of Galva, have them come and pick them up the two benches.

NEW BUSINESS:

The Mid-Century Communication team did not make it to the meeting to talk about Wi-Fi for the

Village.

Wigant said that Todd DeDecker from the Bishop Hill Heritage Association forwarded an email to the Village from the Environmental Corporation of America. A company, called TowerNorth was asking if they could install a 199’ tall lattice style tower just across the bridge North of Bishop Hill on the West side of the road. The ECA wanted to know how it would impact the Village historically. Meyer, Nordstrom, and Wexell had all been contacted by this business about putting this cell tower on their properties. The Board agreed that Bishop Hill is in a dead zone for cell service. Funke wanted to know why TowerNorth had not contacted the Village Board to put an antenna on top off our water tower. Funke said we could also get some revenue from it and it would be cheaper than installing a 199’ tower. Ms. Mackenzie, from the Environmental Corp. was waiting for Wigant to send an email with the Board’s opinion the day after this meeting.

Wexell did not have any news from the Blue Stem grant for the flagpole.

Meyer said the people that own the house trailer on the curve of W. Knox St. /S. Park St, called him, wanting the water turned off to the trailer. He stated that he could not turn it off because the shut-off is either bent over or broken. The Board agreed to have Meyer dig it up and see what was going on. If it needs a new shut-off, we will have to replace it.

Wigant said there has been several problems with the VFD shutting off at the 2nd well. Whittington called Peerless and Rock River Electric to check it out. Everything they checked was fine. Then on the evening of New Year’s Day, Meyer’s saw sparks flying from the overhead electric lines caused from lines blowing and making connection. Ameren IL had to come out and install spacers in between the electric lines. Meyer said hopefully this was what was kicking out the VFD and we won’t have any further problems. Whittington emailed Peerless Co. and Rock River Electric and both companies said we should have an enclosure around the 2nd well facility to keep out dust, dirt, and debris from the area. This fall the VFD kicked out because it was clogged with stuff from picking the crops in that area. Whittington said he could get a

few quotes to have one built.

There was no further business Light motioned to adjourn, seconded by Nordstrom. Voice vote motion carried.