Pingree Grove board approves zoning, sign-code changes and multiple contracts; pays wastewater invoice

The Pingree Grove Village Board on March 17 approved a series of ordinances, contracts and payments including a zoning text amendment that bars standalone tobacco and vape shops and a consolidated sign code, and authorized several multi‑year service agreements and a large construction pay application.

The actions streamline commercial permitting and set baseline rules for future development while the board also signed off on routine maintenance contracts and a pay application tied to the village wastewater treatment plant improvement project.

The zoning text amendment removes a broadly worded “other similar uses” clause from the zoning code, adds grocery stores and pharmacies as special uses in commercial zones, and expressly prohibits establishments primarily engaged in tobacco or vape sales. Planning staff told the board the Planning & Zoning Commission recommended the amendment and that the change is intended to make future commercial permitting clearer and more objective; existing annexation or planned unit development agreements would not be preempted by the ordinance.

The board also approved a consolidated sign regulation text amendment. Staff said the draft combines and simplifies sign provisions (definitions, measurements, general regulations, temporary signs, exemptions, nonconforming signs, permit fees and penalties) and drew from nearby municipal codes for baseline language. Staff clarified homeowners associations and private annexation agreements that contain specific sign standards would continue to govern those private areas; the village code provides the minimum standards.

In other business the board approved a consent agenda that included minutes from the March 3, 2025 meeting, a warrant list in the amount of $552,959.69, and pay application No. 17 for the wastewater treatment plant improvements project in the amount of $2,768,578.97.

The board authorized a three‑year aquatic maintenance agreement with McLeod Aquatics in an amount not to exceed $27,000 (the contract covers fountain installation/removal and nutrient management for existing ponds plus one new pond known as Pond 9). It approved a one‑year landscape maintenance contract with Yellowstone Landscape at $80,713 for 2025 (with an option to continue year‑to‑year), a three‑year fireworks display agreement with Mayand Inc. (Mad Bomber Fireworks) not to exceed $21,000 per year (the vendor will maintain a base price of $19,500 annually, with up to $21,000 only if tariffs are imposed), and a three‑year master software licensing agreement with Dacra Tech LLC for e‑ticketing and municipal adjudication in an amount not to exceed $28,100 in year one.

Board members discussed the aquatic contract in the context of 41 village ponds, noting seven ponds currently receive chemical treatment, and that aerators and other treatments address fish kills and low‑oxygen events but do not eliminate invasive weeds. On landscaping, staff said the selected vendor reduced pricing from prior cycles and the village sought an all‑in vendor for operational efficiency; trustees asked staff to monitor pollinator garden upkeep closely after prior planting investments.

Public works staff gave a detailed update on the wastewater treatment plant project. Contractors are installing a bypass pipe and will discharge to wetlands while the sand filter building is out of service; staff said they have intentionally kept lagoon storage high to maintain irrigation reserves. Staff said the sand filter building work is scheduled to be operational later this year (targeting November) and that the phased work will require more frequent wetland sampling and occasional short interruptions during pipe connections. The board discussed scheduling a later rehabilitation of Well 1 to fall after the pump manufacturer’s delays and to reduce the risk of a simultaneous peak‑season outage.

All motions taken during the meeting passed on roll call votes. The board recessed into executive session under 5 ILCS 120/2(c)(1) and 5 ILCS 120/2(c)(2) and had no further business after returning.