OPENPUBLICA · PUBLIC MEETING RECORD
Record of Proceedings

Oswego Village Board Regular Meeting - September 2, 2025

Village Board & Commissions — Tuesday, September 2, 2025
BodyOswego, Illinois
SessionVillage Board & Commissions
DateTuesday, September 2, 2025
StatusFILED
Video Record
0:00 / 43:24

Transcript — Verbatim
0:00

Is going to be leading us in tonight's Pledge of Allegiance.

0:04

Chad served in the United States Navy on active duty from 1995 to 2001, achieving the rank of E5 Petty Officer, second class.

0:13

He was stationed at Naval Training Command, Great Lakes, Illinois, Naval Submarine Base, Kings Bay, Georgia.

0:20

Naval Station, Norfolk, Virginia, and NATO satellite ground terminal Keflabic, Iceland.

0:28

In 2001, he transitioned to the Active Reserves and was attached to Special Boat Unit 13 out of Great Lakes, Illinois, until going on inactive reserve in late 2002.

0:39

Vargas's military service awards include the National Defense Medal, the Navy Good Conduct Medal, the Navy Achievement Medal, and the Navy Overseas Service Medal.

0:50

He is currently a full-time police officer of 22 years, 20 of which have been in service with the village of Oswego.

0:58

If you'll all please rise and join Officer Vargas.

1:13

And to the Republic for which it stands one nation, your God, indivisible liberty, and justice for all.

1:27

Thank you, Chad.

1:28

And thank you for your service.

1:32

Roll call, please.

1:33

President Kaufman.

1:34

Here.

1:35

Trustee Cooper.

1:36

Here.

1:36

Trustee Hughes.

1:37

Here.

1:37

Trustee Koenig.

1:38

Here.

1:39

Trustee Novi.

1:40

Here.

1:41

Trustee Torres.

1:42

Here.

1:42

Trust McCarthy and Lang, Ampson.

1:45

Trustee McCarthy Lang had would like to electronically attend tonight's regular village board meeting.

1:50

She has submitted the necessary documents to the village clerk.

1:53

So I'll accept a motion to approve Trustee McCarthy Lang to electronically attend the September 2nd, 2025 regular Village Board meeting.

2:01

So moved.

2:02

Second.

2:04

Roll call, please.

2:05

Trustee Koenig.

2:06

Yes.

2:07

Trustee Torres.

2:08

Yes.

2:08

Trustee Novi.

2:10

Yes.

2:10

Trustee Hughes.

2:11

Yes.

2:11

Trustee Cooper.

2:13

Yes.

2:15

All right.

2:15

Next up, we have some really cool employee service awards.

2:19

First up, we have Chad Vargas.

2:21

Chad, can you join me down front?

2:23

And uh Chief Basson, join me as well.

2:45

Welcome.

2:46

Um, we're recognizing Chad.

2:48

He already had a lot of accolades for his military service.

2:51

Um, he's done a lot with the police department as well.

2:54

I I actually have to, even though Chad and I have served together for the last 20 years, I had to write all this down because he's done so much.

3:01

Chad is currently our detective sergeant overseeing our investigations division.

3:06

Before he came to the Oswego Police Department, he actually started with the um IU police department.

3:13

He was there for a couple of years, but luckily we were able to get him to come to Oswego PD, partly thanks to a sergeant we used to have that I think was your advisor in the academy, correct?

3:25

And one of his mentors.

3:26

So we were very lucky that we had set up those uh that relationship and got Chad to come here.

3:32

Uh some of the things Chad's done since he's been here, he's been a bike officer.

3:36

He was uh one of our undercover officers in our CPAT drug unit.

3:41

Um he was a traffic unit officer, one of the first you were the first one we ever had on nights, I believe, if I remember correctly.

3:50

Um he was a detective, he was a school resource officer at OHS.

Discussion Breakdown — Share of Meeting
Personnel Matters█████████████████████████████████33%
Engineering And Infrastructure██████████████████████████26%
Procedural████████████12%
Community Engagement███████████11%
Public Safety████4%
Water And Wastewater Management████4%
Parks and Recreation████4%
Public Health████4%
Public Works██2%
Summary of Proceedings

Oswego Village Board Regular Meeting - September 2, 2025

The Village Board met on September 2, 2025, at 7:00 PM at Oswego Village Hall. The meeting included recognitions for employees with 20 and 25 years of service, proclamations for cancer awareness months, approval of a consent agenda, and a major new business item authorizing a joint funding agreement for the reconstruction of the Wolfs Crossing & Douglas Road intersection as a roundabout, with federal funding covering 71% of the $14.855 million project.

Consent Calendar

  • Approved the August 19, 2025 Committee of the Whole minutes, Regular Village Board minutes, and Closed Session minutes (approve but not release).
  • Authorized disposal of surplus equipment (Public Works #54 - 2014 LCT600 Extreme Leaf Vacuum).
  • Authorized an intergovernmental agreement with Fox Metro Water Reclamation District for investigation and repair of sanitary sewers at various locations.
  • All items approved unanimously via roll call vote (6-0).

Public Comments & Testimony

  • No members of the public spoke during Public Forum.

Recognitions and Proclamations

  • Employee Service Awards:
    • Chad Vargas (Police Department) – 20 years of service. Chief Basson highlighted his roles including detective sergeant, bike officer, undercover officer, school resource officer, and de-escalation training instructor.
    • Lisa Klatt (Finance Department) – 25 years of service. Described as utility billing coordinator who managed growth from 4,000 to 12,781 accounts; she plans to retire September 2026.
    • Billie Robinson (Finance Department) – 25 years of service. Assistant finance director praised as a go-to expert with deep knowledge. Both received congratulations from board members.
  • Proclamations:
    • September 2025 proclaimed Childhood Cancer Awareness Month – noting that cancer is the leading cause of death for children and 1 in 6 children with cancer do not survive five years.
    • September 2025 proclaimed National Ovarian Cancer Awareness Month – noted as fifth leading cause of cancer deaths in women, no reliable early detection test, and 20% of cases have hereditary predisposition.

Discussion Items

  • J.1 – Joint Funding Agreement for Wolfs Crossing & Douglas Road Roundabout:
    • Staff (Kurt) presented: Estimated construction cost $14,855,000, with $10,583,459 in federal Surface Transportation Program funds and $4,271,541 local share. Project out for bid, scheduled for September 19 IDOT letting. Limits extended west to Piper Glen (previously not included). Water main project from Fifth to Dell will also occur and may start sooner. Construction expected to start after first of the year, with Wolfs Crossing remaining open except intermittent closures. Board members expressed strong support, noting 71% federal funding saves taxpayer dollars. Credit given to staff (Kurt and Jen) for securing funds and keeping project shovel-ready.
  • Trustee Reports:
    • Trustee Cooper: Congratulated awardees, expressed excitement for Wolfs Crossing project.
    • Trustee Hughes: Thanked employees, encouraged community input and attendance at meetings.
    • Trustee Novi: Praised Lisa Klatt’s customer service and Billie Robinson’s fiscal diligence; announced retirement of Robert King from Public Works; highlighted progress on Wolfs Crossing segments (3 of 10 done); urged continuation of dog park to avoid service gap.
    • Trustee Koenig: Congratulated employees; reminded about First Responders Run/Walk/Ruck on Sunday; promoted Fox River Cleanup on September 20.
    • Trustee Torres: Congratulated employees; acknowledged the challenge of multiple administrations for staff; encouraged vaccinations and health precautions; noted absence due to moving child to college.
    • President Kaufman: Thanked employees, encouraged vaccinations (shared own recent COVID infection), looked forward to strategic planning session.

Key Outcomes

  • Approved Trustee McCarthy Lang’s request to electronically attend the meeting (6-0).
  • Approved consent agenda as read (6-0).
  • Approved Bill List dated September 2, 2025, in the amount of $2,148,491.34 (6-0).
  • Approved Resolution R-25 authorizing the joint funding agreement for the Wolfs Crossing & Douglas Road roundabout reconstruction, appropriating $14,855,000 with $10,583,459 in federal STU funds and $4,271,541 local share (6-0).
  • Meeting adjourned unanimously at approximately 7:45 PM.

Meeting Transcript

Is going to be leading us in tonight's Pledge of Allegiance. Chad served in the United States Navy on active duty from 1995 to 2001, achieving the rank of E5 Petty Officer, second class. He was stationed at Naval Training Command, Great Lakes, Illinois, Naval Submarine Base, Kings Bay, Georgia. Naval Station, Norfolk, Virginia, and NATO satellite ground terminal Keflabic, Iceland. In 2001, he transitioned to the Active Reserves and was attached to Special Boat Unit 13 out of Great Lakes, Illinois, until going on inactive reserve in late 2002. Vargas's military service awards include the National Defense Medal, the Navy Good Conduct Medal, the Navy Achievement Medal, and the Navy Overseas Service Medal. He is currently a full-time police officer of 22 years, 20 of which have been in service with the village of Oswego. If you'll all please rise and join Officer Vargas. And to the Republic for which it stands one nation, your God, indivisible liberty, and justice for all. Thank you, Chad. And thank you for your service. Roll call, please. President Kaufman. Here. Trustee Cooper. Here. Trustee Hughes. Here. Trustee Koenig. Here. Trustee Novi. Here. Trustee Torres. Here. Trust McCarthy and Lang, Ampson. Trustee McCarthy Lang had would like to electronically attend tonight's regular village board meeting. She has submitted the necessary documents to the village clerk. So I'll accept a motion to approve Trustee McCarthy Lang to electronically attend the September 2nd, 2025 regular Village Board meeting. So moved. Second. Roll call, please. Trustee Koenig. Yes. Trustee Torres. Yes. Trustee Novi. Yes. Trustee Hughes. Yes. Trustee Cooper. Yes. All right. Next up, we have some really cool employee service awards. First up, we have Chad Vargas. Chad, can you join me down front? And uh Chief Basson, join me as well. Welcome. Um, we're recognizing Chad. He already had a lot of accolades for his military service. Um, he's done a lot with the police department as well.

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