Hillcrest Village President Rick Rhoads resigned from his position at Wednesday’s monthly village board meeting.
Rhoads had served as village president since winning election to the position in April 2023. Prior to that, he served two terms on the board as a trustee.
Village Attorney Paul Chadwick said Wednesday that Rhoads notified the board prior to the meeting of his intent to resign and all resignation paperwork was executed.
Village Trustee Dan Potter said during the meeting that the board acknowledged Rhoads’ resignation and directed that he be removed from all village financial accounts, authorizations and executive authorities associated with the office of village president.
Ogle County sheriff’s deputies arrived before the meeting while Rhoads was in the building, signed his resignation paperwork and left. Deputies remained at the meeting for about 20 minutes before departing.
Ogle County Sheriff Brian VanVickle said a village representative requested a deputy to be at the meeting due to the pending resignation, and he assumed it was with the intent of ensuring interactions stayed peaceful.
The board voted unanimously to appoint Potter to serve as president pro tempore going forward. Potter was presented with the choice of vacating his trustee position and voting privileges to serve as president, but he opted to retain and not vacate his trustee position as he serves as president pro tempore until the next election in November.
Hemstock Road bridge
Village Engineer Kaitlin Wright of engineering firm Baxter & Woodman presented a report during the meeting regarding the currently closed Hemstock Road bridge, which is owned by the village.
The bridge was closed by the Illinois Department of Transportation in mid-October. In July, Ogle County inspected the bridge and found that its load rating declined sharply, from a 7 to a 4.
After seeing those numbers, IDOT inspected the bridge in October and determined that steel piles that support it had deteriorated and that it should be closed. Baxter & Woodman inspected the bridge Nov. 6 and found that all eight steel piles are corroded, with two severely corroded and no longer supporting the bridge.
A short-term repair of the bridge to reopen it by this summer or sooner would cost $100,000, Wright said. That project would need permission from IDOT and would be a temporary fix that could only extend the bridge’s life by “a couple of years,” Wright said.
Corroded parts of the two failing steel piles would be removed and then encased in concrete. That work would not take place until the spring at the soonest due to weather conditions for pouring concrete. Village officials resolved Wednesday to direct Wright to bring a proposal for a short-term repair for a vote at its April meeting.
The 50-year-old bridge will require a long-term, full-scale replacement. Wright presented two potential options for that at Wednesday’s meeting. The first would involve 80% federal funding for construction, with Hillcrest paying $600,000 total for the remaining 20% of construction and all of the engineering cost. The village would fund the entirety of the project before being reimbursed. That project wouldn’t take place until 2028 or 2029 due to the federal funding system.
The second option Wright presented for full replacement would be the village funding the project itself for a cost of $900,000 and the work being done by 2027. Village officials resolved to consider both options.
Wright said during the meeting that the village is paying $3,500 a month for signage rental while the bridge is closed.
Water lines
Wright said during the meeting that Hillcrest still has 60 unknowns remaining on a state-mandated water service line inventory project. Over the past 2.5 years, the village was required to check to see if water lines running into homes were made of lead or galvanized pipe for future replacement.
The village’s next inventory submission to the state is due April 15, and by 2027 it must provide information on all lines or they will all have to be replaced. No lead has been found in Hillcrest thus far.
Investment
The board voted unanimously to invest an additional $500,000 into Illinois Funds. Last July, the village invested $1 million into Illinois Funds and has seen returns of $21,000 since.