September 2, 2026 Meeting Minutes
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, Ben Strand, Mike Keup, Jim Nolan, Carsen Meyer, Sharon Wexell & Terri Wigant were all present. Lisa Nordstrom was absent.
MINUTES: Strand motioned to accept the August minutes, seconded by Light. Voice vote, motion carried.
TREASURER’S REPORT: Light motioned to accept the Treasurer’s Report, seconded by Nolan. Voice vote, motion carried.
PAY BILLS: Wexell had an additional bill for Cameron Meyer for installing two culverts on Cemetery Street, removal of the old sidewalk by the cemetery and stump grinder rental, totaling $2,240.00. Light motioned to pay all bills including Meyer’s additional bill, seconded by Nolan. Voice vote, motion carried.
OLD BUSINESS:
Funke let Todd DeDecker from the Bishop Hill Heritage Association speak first. DeDecker was there to ask permission to close Christina St for food vendor. He would also put No Parking signs on both sides of Bergland St. and by the fire station entrance in case of an emergency. Keup motioned to let DeDecker close Christina St. and put up the necessary No Parking signs, seconded by Light. Voice vote, motion carried. DeDecker also told Wigant that he would collect the vendors fees for her ($15 per day per vendor) and get a check to her. DeDecker reported that next spring the BHHA will be restoring the outside of the Dairy Building, tear off the cement plaster, install new bricks, fix facias, and tuck point the chimney. The bricks are being made in Manchester England, they will be replicas of the original colony bricks. He said they sent several of the original handmade bricks for them to make molds. The project will cost $366,000; we are sending a payment of $146,000 just for the bricks. BHHA will be having fundraisers, although the building endowment will cover the cost. The Board thanked Todd DeDecker, and he left for other business.
Cameron Meyer said they would be connecting water services on N. Olson St the weekend of September 5,6,& 7th. He would also put down rock on Church Street around the Methodist church. Meyer did not recommend putting rock down on Cemetery St. and advised waiting until Spring when we could grind, oil and chip. Meyer also reported that Bjorklund St. aprons will be oiled & chipped tomorrow, 9/3/26.
NEW BUSINESS:
Wigant said that the commemoration for the new monument in the cemetery would be at 1:30 September 13th by the monument, before the church ice cream social; then we would have the commemoration for the flag pole at 3:30, right before the cruise in. Wexell asked Funke to read the speech at the commemoration that she had written, Wigant said Jeff Carpenter is giving a short speech on the restoration, and Paul Collinson, because of his generous donation and support for the project, recite the words to the “March of the Stars & Stripes”, then he will raise the flag at the end of the ceremony.
Wigant had asked if the flagpole would be insured, since it cost so much to restore it. Wexell thought it would be automatically insured, but she would call the insurance company and make sure.
Funke asked Cameron Meyer if he wanted to continue snow plowing for the Village for the 2026-2027 season, Meyer said yes, and he would do the job for the same price as last year, $650 for first plow and #2 chippings for ice on highway intersections, then $110 per hour on additional plows. Light motioned to rehire Cameron Meyer to snowplow for the 2026-2027 season, seconded by Nolan. Voice vote, motion carried.
Wexell asked if Board members could see their street signs on their block. Trees and weeds have grown so tall around some of them, that a person cannot see the signs. She thought it would look better for the Old Settlers Parade if signs were cleaned up. There is a sign on the corner of Maiden Lane & N. Bishop Hill Street that definitely needs trimmed back, also at the corner of Kronberg St and N. Olson St., a person has to pull way out into the intersections to see if a vehicle is coming.
There was a question on who can vote on the Historical Zoning Board. Nolan said Dehler, the secretary, can vote, along with Mike Rabis, Courtney Stone, and Aaron Chase. Nolan, Patrick Light, Village representative, State Representative Ryley Lamb cannot vote.
Funke asked to go into closed session to discuss a matter involving a Board member. Strand motioned for closed session at 6:30 p.m.
The Board came out of closed session at 7:03
The Board decided the Clerk will send another letter to the water/garbage customer, stating that the resident has until September 14th to pay the full bill or their water will be turned off. Funke said there are other customers that are always behind on the water/garbage payments, we need to do something different, the $25 per month late fees are not working. He suggested sending a letter when they are 2 months late and state that if they are not paid in full by the 4th month their water will be turned off, and it will cost them $150 to have it turned back on. The Board agreed and said that is following the policy of Water Ordinance 2023-05. Strand said there should be a work order from the Board authorizing Meyer to shut off any water connections, especially non-pay shut offs.
There was no further business Light motioned to adjourn, seconded by Meyer. Voice vote motion carried.