Community News
Wilsonville hires ordinance enforcement officer, approves annual tax levy
(L-R): Pam Zaksas, Trustee John Veres and President Annetta Veres (Archived photo)
Members of the Wilsonville Village Board voted unanimously Monday night to hire Bob Reimann of Sawyerville as an ordinance enforcement officer, and approved the Village’s annual appropriations ordinance and tax levy for the upcoming fiscal year.
On a motion by Bob Carr, seconded by John Veres, the board voted unanimously to hire Reimann at a cost of $75 per month with Reiman working four days monthly to issue ordinance violation citations. The action followed a 20-minute executive session to discuss Reimann’s possible employment. Reimann, a former law enforcement officer, has worked as the ordinance enforcement officer for the Village of Sawyerville since 1997.
Addressing the board earlier in the meeting, Reimann said he doesn’t play favorites when it comes to ticketing alleged violators.
“If it’s one of your kids,” he said, “you’d better expect a ticket.”
[pullquote]I don’t write a ticket unless I have absolute proof and can back it up with pictures and so on.[/pullquote]”If I have to take them to court, I take them to court,” Reimann told the board. “The only thing that I ask is that you back me up. I don’t write a ticket unless I have absolute proof and can back it up with pictures and so on.” He said he would need to have a copy of the Wilsonville ordinance book in order to correctly code ordinance violation citations, and he asked for occasional payment to help pay for gas used in the performance of his new duties. “I use my personal truck,” he said. “My truck is my office.”
He suggested the village might want to follow the example of Sawyerville and revise the structure of fines imposed for repeat offenders. In Sawyerville, he said, a first offense results in a $25 fine, but subsequent offenses result in increasing fines with some escalating to as much as $700. “I’ve had one guy in court five times for the same thing,” he said, “and he has paid fines up to $700.”
If the council determines later that his services are needed more than four days a month, Reimann said he would be willing to negotiate payment for additional service.
“I’m an easy dog to hunt with,” he noted.
APPROPRIATIONS AND LEVY
In other action, the board unanimously approved the Village’s annual appropriations ordinance and tax levy ordinance.
The appropriations ordinance, which sets spending ceilings for specific line items for the fiscal year starting May 1, 2016, authorizes expenditures of $87,340. Specifically, the ordinance sets appropriations for the General Fund in the amount of $45,840, $2,000 from the audit fund, $10,000 from Motor Fuel Tax, $25,000 for Water Operations and $4,500 for Sewer Operations.
The property tax levy ordinance approved Monday night totals $19,050 and is broken down as follows: General Corporate Tax, $3,900; Police Protection Tax, $1,370; Fire Protection Tax, $3,880; Audit Tax, $4,000; and Insurance Tax, $5,900. The levy sets the amount of revenue to be raised from property taxes. The tax rate, the amount by which the Village’s total equalized assessed valuation must be multiplied to generate the levy, will be set by the County Clerk upon review of the levy ordinance.
As presented by Village Clerk Tena Cerentano, the levy ordinance originally called for a $1,900 for the annual audit, but Trustee Deno Filippini questioned whether the levy was enough to cover the cost of the audit.
“How much did the audit cost last year?” Filipinni asked.
Trustee Pam Zaksas said the audit has cost about $4,000 for the past few years. Based on that information, Filipinni asked that the audit levy be increased before approval.
SUMMER LUNCH PROGRAM
After some discussion, the board voted unanimously to authorize use of the Wilsonville Civic Center for a potential summer lunch program for Community Unit School District 7 youths. Village President Anetta Veres told council members that her participation in an “Improving Our Community One Step at a Time” sponsored by the Illinois Coalition for Community Services earlier this month had raised enough money to implement the lunch program this summer. A similar program was previously hosted at the Wilsonville Assembly of God Church.
Veres said the Civic Center is the logical location for the lunch program, but before the program can be implemented there, the facility must be inspected by the Macoupin County Public Health Department and certified for food service. It’s likely that upgrades, including installation of food service equipment, will be required.
Veres said she contacted MCPHD and had arranged for an inspection visit this week, but she asked for the board to authorize the use of the facility if it can be brought into compliance.
“I’d like to know what it’s going to cost first,” said Zaksas. “There’s going to be mucho deniro go into this to bring it up to standards.”
Veres, however, said the action she sought would simply give the lunch program the “ability” to use the center if it can be improved for food service.
Ultimately, the board voted 3-0 to approve the measure. Trustees John Veres and Keith Mohr abstained from the vote because of their affiliation with the Wilsonville Community Organization that manages the Civic Center.
WATER LIEN
With one dissenting vote, the board voted to waive an $865 Water Department lien against property in the 400 block of School Street that recently was purchased at auction by Donald Benjey. The measure is contingent upon Benjey making adequate progress toward cleaning up and improving the property within six months.
Earlier in the meeting, Benjey addressed the board, asking for some relief on the lien, noting that a reduction of the lien would free up money for him to put toward property improvement.
Zaksas, who cast the sole dissenting vote, objected to the plan, saying that the Village has previously refused to reduce or waive water liens on other properties. She specifically cited a similar situation, also on School Street, where the board refused to negotiate on an existing lien.
“They were landlords,” said Trustee Veres. “They were going to be making money on the property. Benjey is going to use this as his house. It’s apples and oranges.”
“Why even put liens on if this is what we are going to do?” Zaksas commented.
WATER METERS
Village President Veres asked board members to be thinking about ways the village can pay for new water meters to replace upward of 300 aging meters over the next 10 years. While not asking for formal action Monday night, Veres said one idea that has been discussed is the possibility of imposing a $3 monthly surcharge on water bills to build a meter replacement fund. Currently, the cost of replacing a meter runs about $75 each, excluding labor.
Also on the topic of infrastructure improvements, Trustee Veres reported on the possibility of improving manholes with a product called SpectraShield to prevent water infiltration. He said any potential project would focus only on manholes most in need of improvement and would be contingent upon the village receiving grant money to cover most of the cost. Estimates for installing the product, he said, run $300 per vertical foot for manholes and more than $300 per foot for lift stations.
ANIMAL CONTROL
Board members voted unanimously to formally name the Village President and each of the Trustees as contact persons for the county’s Animal Control Officer. Village officials will notify the Animal Control Officer of the decision and provide her with contact information for each of the village officials.
Earlier in the meeting, the board heard from a resident complaining about dogs running at large and the difficulty the resident allegedly has had in getting county officials to respond to her complaints.
RENTAL PROPERTY INSPECTIONS
While taking no formal action, the board discussed the possibility of amending current ordinances to impose a fine on the owners of rental properties who fail to have those properties inspected between tenants. Current ordinance requires an inspection for such properties after a tenant moves out and before another tenant moves in. President Veres suggested an initial fine of $75 for a first offense and fines that increase incrementally for subsequent violations.
“I think that is going to get their attention,” she said.
The issue was referred to the Ordinance Committee and is likely to be brought back to the full board for action at a later date.
President Veres also tabled action on imposing a fee for water usage when the fire department responds to fire calls.
“I want to get more feedback from other communities and fire chiefs first,” she said.
In other action, the board:
- Set the board meeting schedule for 2016 for the first Monday of each month at 6 p.m., except for July and September when the meeting will be on the first Tuesday to avoid conflict with the Independence Day and Labor Day holidays. Dates for All-Committee meetings are set for 7 p.m. on the fourth Monday of each month, except for May when the meeting will be on Tuesday, May 31, to avoid conflict with the Memorial Day holiday.
- Agreed to donate $100 to buy gifts for a Christmas raffle at BenGil Elementary School, and $50 for the school district’s Adopt-A-Class program.
- Acknowledged a $100 donation for the Community Center in memory of Gilbert and Virginia Meldi.
- Approved a $50 holiday bonus for maintenance worker Mike Campagna.
- Approved the purchase of a rubber stamp to maintain the village’s postal permit for mailing water bills.
- Referred to the Street and Alley Committee the issue of researching a source and pricing for new street signs.
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Gillespie will host a Community Blood Drive with ImpactLife, the provider of blood components for local hospitals. The blood drive will be from 1:00 pm to 6:00 pm on Monday, May 11 at 900 Broadway, inside Gillespie Methodist Church Gym.
To donate, please contact Brenda Lowe at (217) 7101336 or visit www.bloodcenter.org and use code 60020 to locate the drive. Appointments are requested. You may also call ImpactLife at 800-747-5401 to schedule.
Potential donors must be at least 17 years of age (16 with parental permission form available
through www.bloodcenter.org) and weigh more than 110 pounds. A photo I.D. is required to donate.
For questions about eligibility, please call ImpactLife at (800) 7475401. Donors who last gave blood on or before March 16, 2026, are eligible to give at this drive.
Blood donation is a safe, simple procedure that takes about 45 minutes to one hour. Individuals with diabetes or controlled high blood pressure may be accepted as eligible donors.
ImpactLife is a nonprofit community organization providing blood products and services to more than 100 hospitals and emergency medical service providers in Illinois, Iowa, Missouri, and Wisconsin, as well as researchers and resource sharing partners across the country.
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Members of the Community Unit School District 7 Board of Education on Wednesday night approved a package of four capital improvement projects totaling more than $160,000 in value. Work will start on the projects after the end of the current school year and is expected to be completed before the start of the 2026-27 academic year in August.
The board met on Wednesday night after Monday’s inclement weather forced the district to reschedule the board’s regular monthly meeting.
The board approved entering into a contract with Fisher Tracks, Boone, Iowa, to resurface the district’s all-weather track at a cost of $105,209. Supt. Shane Owsley told the board the district will use about $50,000 from an all-weather track activity fund, with the remainder to be paid with proceeds from an alternate revenue bond issue approved last year for capital improvements.
Great Western Abatement, Jerseyville, was retained to remove flooring containing asbestos from the choir room floor and middle school gymnasium school at a cost of $40,700. Great Western’s bid was the lowest of seven bids, ranging up to $65,000, submitted for the work. Additionally, the district is paying $8,900 to Reliable Environmental Services, Springfield, for engineering and design work associated with the asbestos removal.
All-purpose rubberized flooring material will be installed on the middle school gym floor by Dynamic Sports Construction, Leander, Texas, at a cost of $51,424.
For the first time in a number of years, the high school gymnasium floor will be sanded and refinished with new artwork. Blast Technologies, St. Louis, was hired to sand the 4,200-square-foot floor at a cost of $5,250. Designs Unlimited, Pinckneyville, will paint game lines and logos on the floor before sealing it with a clear stain at a cost not to exceed $18,738.
The board also accepted a bid of $33,890 from DeLaurent Construction, Wilsonville, to resurface the 118,700-square-foot parking lot at Benld Elementary School.
Though no action was taken, Board President Mark Hayes reported that the Building and Grounds Committee had directed Owsley to investigate the cost of replacing the CUSD 7 administrative building.
“This building is very much in need of replacement,” Hayes said. “It’s beyond its time.” During Monday’s torrential rainfall, Hayes said water came in through windows and water seeped in under the sill plate, bringing displaced nightcrawlers into the building. Staff members ran fans after the storm in an effort to dry out the interior.
According to Hayes, the school has been in contact with the local Baptist Church to investigate the possibility of acquiring the former Trinity Baptist Church for use as an administrative building. Church officials, however, have not yet made a decision about the fate of the former sanctuary after Gillespie’s two Baptist churches merged.
Owsley said the current administrative building comprises about 6,000 square feet. Current estimates are $400 per square foot for new construction which would translate into about $2.5 million to replace the administrative facility. The district might be able to shave some dollars off that estimate by reducing the size of the building.
“There’s a lot of unusable space in this building,” Owsley said, suggesting a more efficient floorpan could reduce cost. He also mentioned the possibility of a basement to provide storage space for outdated documents.
In addition to construction costs, Owsley noted, the district would be responsible for tearing down the existing building.
“I have no idea what’s in this building,” Owsley said, raising abatement concerns. “I’m guessing disposal of this building is going to be expensive.”
Hayes said Kevin Wills, the district’s bond issue advisor, will attend the June board meeting to discuss the possibility of refinancing some existing bonds to free up enough revenue to build a new administrative building. The administration currently is housed in a “temporary” structure that has served as the administration building for several decades.
MINE SUBSIDENCE STUDY
After several minutes of discussion, the board took no action in relation to entering into a contract with Marino Engineering and Associates to assess the district’s risk for incurring damage from a mine subsidence event. Owsley said existing maps show that portions of Gillespie Middle School are undermined. While the high school is not undermined, a major subsidence would likely damage the high school as well as the middle school. In recent months, more than one residential home on Elm Street near the school property has experienced damage from mine subsidence.
Marino’s $94,000 Phase I proposal would “determine the likelihood of something happening to one of our buildings,” Owsley said. The problem is that too much information could negatively impact the district’s ability to purchase subsidence insurance. “Information is great until it’s not.”
The district currently pays about $300,000 for mine subsidence insurance on the middle school, high school and vocational arts building. The school carries no subsidence insurance on BenGil Elementary because mine shafts under the building were grouted before the school was built.
“If we find out there’s not a major concern,” Owsley noted, it could reduce the district’s subsidence insurance costs.
On the other hand, if the study reveals a high risk of experiencing mine subsidence, the insurer could drop the district at the end of the current policy’s term. With only two companies in the country offering subsidence insurance, the district could end up with no insurance at all to cover damage from mine subsidence.
The only way to avoid that scenario would be to implement whatever options Marino might recommend to reduce risk. Those recommendations would likely include grouting (backfilling) mine shafts under the middle school. Grouting for the elementary school cost $4 million. To grout under the middle school would likely run as much as $6 million or more.
The only way the study would make sense, Owsley suggested, would be if the district was “comfortable making the corrections the study is going to make.”
Moreover, $94,000 would cover only a preliminary assessment.
“To get a full understanding of what’s going on underground, we’d be looking at a half million dollars,” said Owsley.
The issue was allowed to die when no board member moved to consider the contract.
COMMUNITY SOLAR PARTICIPATION
On a motion by Bill Carter, seconded by Weye Schmidt, the board voted unanimously to enter into a contract with Summit Ridge Solar to participate in a community solar project. Under terms of the 15-year contract, the district will realize a 13 percent savings on electrical power bills. The contract is automatically renewable for five years unless the district chooses to withdraw.
“Illinois provides a number of incentives for using solar,” Owsley said. “However, not everyone likes the look of having solar panels on their property. This will get us the benefits without putting up solar panels on our property.”
Summit Ridge’s proposal was the most lucrative of the proposals the district received. Other companies offered shorter terms with savings of five percent.
After 20 years, it’s likely the savings would drop to five percent. Owsley said he was told the district was better off going with the longer contract to get 13 percent in savings for as long as possible.
The school district was able to secure such favorable rates, according to Owsley is because there is an issue with solar fields storing the power they generate. “Our main usage time is during their maximum production time.”
DISTRICT FOCUS
During a District Focus segment, the board recognized sophomore Matrix Wright, whose art was the only entry from the United States included in the 2026 TOLI International Student Art Exhibition. The exhibition is a project of The Olga Lengyel Institute for Holocaust Studies in New York. The exhibit includes student art relating to themes associated with the Holocaust.
Wright’s work, entitled “An Immortal Continuum,” attempts to portray “the constant entrapment a Holocaust survivor might feel.”
Exhibition organizers received more than 250 entries from around the globe.
BUDGET PROCESS
On a motion by Peyton Bernot, seconded by Board President Hayes, board members voted unanimously to begin work on developing a district budget for fiscal 2027. Board members also approved a routine measure to permit expenditure of fiscal 2027 funds after July 1, pending approval of a new budget.
The school district’s fiscal year runs from July 1 to June 30 but new budgets typically are approved two to four months after the start of the fiscal year.
The current fiscal year’s $19 million budget was approved in September last year.
PERSONNEL
Following a one-hour executive session to discuss personnel and other issues, the board voted unanimously to approve the request of long-time middle school English and language arts teacher Kim Henderson, effective at the end of the 2028-29 school year.
Board members also voted unanimously to hire Andrew Crook as a first-year, non-tenured high school English teacher for the 2026-27 school year, pending documentation of certification and a routine background check. A graduate of Gillespie High School, Crook earned his teaching certificate at Illinois College, Jacksonville and for the past two years, he taught English at North Mac High School.
In separate actions, the board made multiple assignments to staff the district’s summer school program. Those hired include: Jessica Kelly as a middle school teacher, Ashlee Gibbs as a high school math teacher, and Jennifer Brown and Rob Macias as high school drivers’ education instructors. Each of the positions are contingent upon adequate student enrollment to offer the classes. In addition to academic staff, the board hired Andy Hirstein as a summer school food service worker.
The board voted unanimously to accept the resignation of Foli Seferi as high school paraprofessional and as assisted football coach. Both resignations are effective immediately.
In other personnel action, the board appointed Cate Plovich as the BenGil Elementary School yearbook sponsor, and appointed Josh Ross as a volunteer assistant football coach, pending documentation of certification and a routine background check.
OTHER ACTION
In other action, the board:
• Approved a mens highs school soccer coop with the Carlinville School District, with the provision Carlinville will dissolve the agreement if it pushes its program into a higher competitive classification.
• Approved an intergovernmental agreement with Lewis and Clark Community College under which the college will recognize some high school courses as college level credits.
• Approved early graduation requests for an undisclosed number of students, provided all graduation requirements are met.
• Approved renewing the district’s membership in the Illinois Elementary Schools Association.
• Approved the final calendar for the 2025-26 school year pending no further emergency days. Barring the use of emergency days, Monday, May 18 will be the last day of student attendance, with graduation ceremonies set at 2 p.m., Sunday, May 17.
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One of the greatest annual events in American sports is the Saturday is the Kentucky Derby, which will be run for the 152nd time this Saturday. One past champion was bred in Macoupin County.
This week marks 137 years since the victory of Spokane, who captured the 1889 Kentucky Derby during the infancy of the event. The horse was bred at “The Meadows,” the farm of Gen. Richard Rowett one mile north of Carlinville.
Rowett horses, and their jockey colors of orange jacket and blue cap, were on tracks throughout the west and south. But Spokane was the greatest production of The Meadows, a nationally recognized breeding ground for thoroughbreds.
In 1885, a prized dark brown horse named Hyder Ali was standing at The Meadows when Rowett bred him to one of his top mares, Interpose. This pairing had produced favorable offspring in the past, including Grey Cloud, a fine racer owned by Noah Armstrong of the Doncaster Ranch near Twin Bridges in the Montana Territory.
Armstrong’s famous stable included such horses as Lord Raglan, the third-place finisher in the 1883 Kentucky Derby. When Rowett offered Interpose for sale late in 1885, Armstrong, familiar with the high quality of Rowett stock, purchased the pregnant mare and her suckling filly, Madelin, for the price of $1,000 and shipped the brood to Montana.
The Doncaster Ranch was known for its spectacular, three-story round barn that featured an indoor track. While in Spokane in the Washington Territory on business, Armstrong received word of the birth of Interpose’s colt. In honor of the city, he named the colt Spokane.
Spokane showed great promise as a two-year-old, winning two of five starts in 1888, and Armstrong entered him in the 1889 Kentucky Derby. Although a premier race, the Derby had not achieved the monumental status it enjoys today.
The race was run on May 9, 1889–a Thursday–in front of a crowd of 25,000, a fraction of the throngs that fill Churchill Downs today.
Home state favorite Proctor Knott was the overwhelming favorite at 1-to-2, while the relatively unknown Spokane was listed at 10-to-1 odds. That was enough for Frank James, brother of outlaw Jessie and a regular at countless tracks.
James, flush with a windfall of $2,400 from an earlier race that day, asked a bookmaker of the odds on Spokane. The reply was “Ten-to-one and the sky’s the limit.” James threw down $5,000 on Spokane, causing the bookmaker to reply, “As far as I’m concerned, that’s the sky!”
Under jockey Thomas Kiley, Spokane edged Proctor Knott by a head, setting a record at 2:34 ½ over the mile-and-a-half layout (it was changed to a mile and a quarter in 1896). He remains the only Kentucky Derby winner ever born in Montana.
Proving the win was no fluke, Spokane again beat Proctor Knott five days later at the Clark Stakes in Louisville. On June 22, Spokane won another key race of the era, the American Derby at Washington Park in Chicago, to become the first horse to win both races in the same season.
Back in Illinois, Rowett did not live to see the triumph of Spokane, as he died on July 13, 1887. His death was covered on page one of the New York Times the following day.
In addition to breeding, Rowett is also remembered as the first to introduce the true-bred beagle hound to this country from his native England. Prior to that, he was a Civil War officer and state politician.
The only horse actually born in Illinois to win the Kentucky Derby was the 1970 champion, Dust Commander.
Tom Emery of Carlinville, who wrote the award-winning biography Richard Rowett: Thoroughbreds, Beagles, and the Civil War, may be reached at 217-710-8392 or ilcivilwar@yahoo.com.
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