March 5, 2026 Local Stories in and Around St. Joseph, Illinois

Live at Ogden Village Board, August 4, 2022

Ok so the blog crashed and the convo for the first 15 minutes was pretty heated. But the basic gist of the first 15 minutes is former Trustee Sonja Vickers had a petition with 79 signatures asking the board to revisit their decision to allow Ted Hartke to use the alley near his business for parking. Vickers said it’s not fair to other businesses and blocks access to a door on the mason building.

Jim Acklin is not in favor of revisiting it. He said signatures on a petition don’t mean much to him. Sue Esposito asked if he wanted 80 people to come into the board meeting and he said yes.

Acklin said he doesn’t agree with every board decision but he doesn’t go out and try to gather public support for overturning it. Esposito said she does if she feels strongly about something.

A village employee signed the petition and Vickers asked that they not hold it against him. Ben Smith found it insulting that she would think they would do that.


They are going to invite Hartke back in September to discuss it further but I honestly can’t see it changing.

The NE drainage project went to bid and the bids came back at more than a million dollars. The engineer is saying that means the companies didn’t really want to do it. Multiple companies said since it was funded by federal grant dollars they didn’t want to bother with it. They will put it out to bid again in the winter.

Beautification: Little Library is going to be put up soon. They are discussing a welcome sign.

Back to the petition. Acklin claimed residents had told him they didn’t know what they were signing but the petition clearly states: : The below legally registered voters of the Village of Ogden are petitioning the village of Ogden trustees to reverse the decision to rent two parking spots in the alley between the masonic lodge, 111 S. East Street and Ted Hartkey’s building, 109 S. East St. We believe that public street parking, which is less than eight feet from the front of Mr. Hartkey’s building is more than adequate to serve any parking needs his tenants may have. The ordinance passed was unnecessary and should be reversed.

Vickers collected signatures from July 26 to August 4.

Discussing sewer rates now. Haan is suggesting is adopting the $13 fixed feet and the $1.25 cent rate. Basically, if I remember last time the ordinance and the bills don’t match so this will make them match.

The board seems to think this is too complicated. The board keeps saying it’s a computer glitch but the Clerk is saying it is not a glitch the program is only set up for two costs but needs three or more.

They are discussing spring riders at the park. They need to be replaced.

The board has a lot of questions about things that probably could have been asked before the meeting. Like how the replacement options were chosen or how they came up with this company.

MAPPING OGDENS FUTURE CHECKING ACCOUNT TIME. They want a checking account. St. Joe did MAPPING previously and so did Homer. Is it worth the time? I guess it depends if you implement it or not. Basically, Haan doesn’t want checks made out to him because he doesn’t want to be taxed. This makes it all nice for the audit.




Banner
Related Posts

Village to look at signage for downtown, parks

July 9, 2024

July 9, 2024

The Village of St. Joseph is considering adding wayfinding informational signs to the town. Wayfinding informational signs provide directions, identify...

Live at St. Joseph Village Board Feb. 9, 2021

February 9, 2021

February 9, 2021

My hot spot failed me so I posted this a little late. #WHYVERIZONWHY????????? Also, it’s National Pizza Day. What is...

Live at St. Joseph Village Board, Nov. 9, 2021

November 9, 2021

November 9, 2021

I am here at village board. Terri Cummings, Jeff Van Buskirk are not here. Wagner is on zoom. The Hitts...

Storm cleanup to take place this week

July 11, 2023

July 11, 2023

Help has arrived. The cities of Champaign, Effingham and El Paso, in addition to Champaign County Highway staff and various...

Live at St. Joseph Village Board, Jan. 9, 2024

January 9, 2024

January 9, 2024

MX electric is sponsoring our live blogs. Relax and call Max! They are discussing a bid for tree clearing. This...

Live at St. Joseph Village Board on March 9, 2021

March 9, 2021

March 9, 2021

Bills. Fun paperwork stuff. No public comment. This could be a short meeting. Luke Fisher is getting an employee appreciation...

St. Joseph Village Board, Sept. 26, 2023

September 26, 2023

September 26, 2023

You can watch on Youtube. Public comment:Dana Dow lives on Douglas.“I had a neighbors tree, dead, refuse to take it...

Study looks at economic impact of hotel in village

April 1, 2024

April 1, 2024

A hotel feasibility study has found that a hotel is sustainable in the Village of St. Joseph.  The study, conducted...

Live at St. Joseph Village Board, March 26, 2024

March 26, 2024

March 26, 2024

Pickleball and Tennis are here tonight. PB nets got damaged over the winter. PB Is asking where they see PB...

VeoRide hopes to expand to St. Joseph

February 11, 2019

February 11, 2019

Soon there could be shareable bikes in St. Joseph—if VeoRide has it way. Linda Jackson, spokesperson for VeoRide said the...

Business owners thankful for community support after break-ins

January 25, 2022

January 25, 2022

Around 6 a.m. this morning the owner of Country Chics, Stacy Cast, got a notification. The notification told her that...

Live at St. Joseph Village Board, Nov. 8, 2022

November 8, 2022

November 8, 2022

Happy Election Day! There are a lot of people here tonight and I am not sure why. While we wait,...

Live Blog April 13, 2021

April 13, 2021

April 13, 2021

They are supposed to discuss food trucks. #MAKEITHAPPEN And give an update on the village administrator. Doing investments. Doing bills....

Live at St. Joseph Village Board, Nov. 14, 2023

November 14, 2023

November 14, 2023

I am here so you don’t have to be. Doing the consent agenda. Basically, they approve the minutes, ect. all...

Live at St. Joseph Village Board, April 9, 2024

April 9, 2024

April 9, 2024

It’s a full house tonight with the girl scouts presenting, the Baptist Church being honored for donating their building and...

Comments
Leave a Reply