ORIGINAL
Page
1
1
2
ILLINOIS POLLUTION CONTROL BOARD
RECEIVED
CLERK’S OFFICE
COUNTY OF VERMILION,
)
SEP
032004
STATE OF ILLINOIS
5
)
Pollution Control Boar
Complainant,
6
v.
)
AC
04-22
7
)
(County No.
03-03)
VILLAGE
OF TILTON,
)
(Administrative
8
)
Citation)
Respondent.
9
10
11
12
13
THE following
is the transcript
of
a hearing held in
14
the above-entitled
matter,
taken stenographically by
15
Jennifer
E.
Johnson,
CSR,
RMR,
CRR,
License
No.
16
084-003039,
a Notary
Public in and for the County of
17
Tazewell
and the State of
Illinois,
before Carol Sudman,
18
Hearing Officer,
at the Vermilion County Courthouse Annex,
19
6 North Vermilion
Street,
Room
319,
Danville,
Illinois,
on
20
the 27th day
of August,
A.D.
2004,
commencing
at
10:00
21
a.m.
22
23
24
Page
2
1
PRESENT:
2
HEARING TAKEN BEFORE:
3
ILLINOIS
POLLUTION CONTROL BOARD
1021 North Grand Avenue
East
4
Springfield,
Illinois
62794-9274
(217)
524-8509
5
BY:
CAROL
SUDMAN,
ESQUIRE
6
APPEARANCES:
7
8
OFFICE OF THE STATE’S ATTORNEY
VERMILION COUNTY
9
BY:
JENNIFER RIGGS,
ESQUIRE
Assistant
State’s Attorney
10
7 North Vermilion
Street
Danville,
Illinois
61832
11
(217)
554-7750
On Behalf
of the Complainant.
12
13
MEACHUM
& MARTIN LAW OFFICES
BY:
JOHN
F.
MARTIN,
ESQUIRE
14
Attorney
at Law
110 North Vermilion Street
15
Danville,
Illinois
61832
(217)
442-1390
16
On Behalf of the Respondent.
17
ALSO PRESENT:
18
19
Douglas
Toole,
B.S,
R.S.
Vermilion
County Health Department
20
Mayor David A.
Phillips
21
Village
of Tilton
22
Mark Goodwin,
Esquire
23
24
Page 3
1
INDEX
2
PAGE
3
OPENING
STATEMENT
4
By Mr.
Martin
5
5
WITNESS
FOR
COMPLAINANT:
6
DOUGLAS TOOLE,
B.S.,
R.S.
7
Direct Examination by Ms.
Riggs
6
Cross-Examination by Mr. Martin
13
8
Redirect Examination by Ms. Riggs
20
Recross-Examination by Mr. Martin
21
9
WITNESS FOR RESPONDENT:
10
MAYOR DAVID A.
PHILLIPS
11
Direct Examination by Mr. Martin
22
12
Cross-Examination by Ms. Riggs
30
13
CLOSING STATEMENTS
14
By Ms.
Riggs
35
By Mr. Martin
36
15
16
EXHIBITS:
17
People’s
1
8
18
People’s
2
9
People’s
3
9
19
Respondent’s
4
16
Respondent’s
5
16
20
Respondent’s
6
21
21
22
23
24
Page 4
1
HEARING OFFICER StJDMAN:
Good morning.
My
2
name is Carol Sudman,
and I’m a hearing officer with the
3
Pollution Control Board.
This is the hearing for
4
AC
04-22, Vermilion County versus Village of Tilton.
It
5
is August
27th,
2004.
We are beginning at 10:00 a.m.
6
I’ll note for the record that there are no
7
members of the public present.
Members of the public are
8
allowed to provide public comment if they so choose.
9
At issue in this case is the County’s
10
allegation that the Village violated Section 21(p) (3)
of
11
the Environmental Protection Act
at a site located at
12
1st Avenue and 15th Street in Tilton, Vermilion County.
13
You should know that
it is the Pollution
14
Control Board and not me that will make the final decision
15
in this case.
My purpose is to conduct a neutral
--
16
conduct the hearing in
a neutral and orderly manner so
17
that we have a clear record of the proceedings.
•I will
18
also assess the credibility of any witnesses on the record
19
at the end of the hearing.
20
This hearing was noticed pursuant to the Act
21
and the Board’s rules and will be conducted pursuant to
22
Sections 101.600, Rule 101.632 of the Board’s procedural
23
rules.
24
At this time
I would like to ask the parties
Page
5
1
to please make their appearances on the record.
2
MS.
RIGGS:
Jennifer Riggs for Vermilion
3
County.
4
MR. MARTIN:
John Martin for Village
of
5
Tilton.
6
HEARING
OFFICER
SUDMAN:
Thank you.
7
Are there any preliminary matters that you
8
wish to discuss on the record?
9
MR. MARTIN:
Not for us,
Your Honor.
10
MS. RIGGS:
No, Your Honor.
11
HEARING
OFFICER
SUDMAN:
All
right.
12
Ms. Riggs,
would you like to give an opening
13
statement?
14
MS.
RIGGS:
No.
15
HEARING
OFFICER
SUDMAN:
Mr.
Martin?
16
MR. MARTIN:
Only,
Judge,
that
I don’t believe
17
that we
--
we’re dumping or operating a dump and that this
18
is not the type of case that the statute was designed to
19
address.
20
HEARING OFFICER
SUDMAN:
Okay.
Thank you.
21
The County may present
its case.
22
MS.
RIGGS:
The County would call Doug Toole.
23
HEARING OFFICER
SUDMAN:
Thank you.
24
Would the court reporter please swear in the
Page
6
1
witness?
2
(Witness sworn.)
3
DOUGLAS
TOOLE,
B. S.,
R.S.,
4
called
as
a
witness,
after
being
first
duly
sworn,
was
5
examined and testified upon his oath as follows:
6
DIRECT
EXAMINATION
7
BY
MS.
RIGGS:
8
Q.
Can
you
state
your
name,
please?
9
A.
My
name
is
Doug
Toole.
10
Q.
And
can
you
spell
your
last
name?
11
A.
T-o-o-l-e.
12
Q.
What
is
your
occupation?
13
A.
I’m
a health inspector with the Vermilion
14
County Health Department.
15
Q.
And how long have you been so employed?
16
A.
Since January of 1992.
17
Q.
And what do you do
for
the Vermilion County
18
Health Department?
19
A.
I
work
in
the
Environmental
Health
division,
20
the division that handles restaurant inspections and well
21
inspections
and
some
nuisance
complaints.
Since
1993,
22
I’ve worked primarily with solid waste nuisance
23
complaints.
24
(Whereupon,
Mr. Goodwin entered the room.)
Page 7
1
Q.
And what do you do to handle those complaints?
2
A.
I investigate complaints, determine their
3
validity,
and then contact the responsible people
to get
4
them to address the matters, then confirm that the
5
matter’s been brought
into compliance even if that
6
requires enforcement.
7
Q.
And drawing your attention to August 25th of
8
2003,
did you inspect some property in Tilton?
9
A.
Yes,
I did.
10
Q.
And what property
was that?
11
A.
Mildred Butler’s property near the corner of
12
15th
and
1st
Street
in
Tilton.
13
Q.
And
why
were
you inspecting that property?
14
A.
I was conducting a follow-up inspection.
I
15
had contacted her in June of 2003 about some tires and
16
some truck trailers and a derelict building and some other
17
refuse on the property,
and I had given her a compliance
18
date;
so,
I wanted to follow up and see
if it had been
19
brought
into compliance.
20
Q.
And what did you find upon arrival
at the
21
site?
22
A.
When I got there,
I found there had been some
23
work done.
The items that had been scattered around
24
seemed to be centralized in one pile that was smoldering
Page
8
1
when
I got there.
2
Q.
And what was in the pile?
3
A.
When
I
walked
up
on
the
pile,
I
saw
some
4
brush, branches and things.
I saw some scrap metal,
some
5
demolition debris,
boards and things like that,
some
6
fencing, and what appeared to be the rims and steel belts
7
from tires.
8
Q.
And what did you notice about the tire
--
9
about the pile?
Excuse me.
10
A.
It
was smoldering and definitely had been
11
burning for a while.
I could
--
I could smell the smoke;
12
I
could
see
the
scorch
marks
on
it.
13
Q.
And
what
did
you
see
scorch
marks
on?
14
A.
On
the
boards,
on
the
tire
rims
and
some
of
15
the
metal
that
was
there.
Also
some
of
the
branches,
I
16
think,
were
partially
burned.
17
MS.
RIGGS:
May
I
approach?
18
HEARING
OFFICER
SUDMAN:
Yes.
19
BY
MS.
RIGGS:
20
Q.
I’d
like
to
show
you
what
has
been
marked
as
21
People’s
Exhibit
1.
And
what
is
that?
22
A.
That’s
one
of
the
photos
I
took
that
day
of
23
the
smoldering
pile
of
debris.
24
Q.
And that would be August 25th?
Page 9
A.
Yes
Q.
And
does this picture fairly and accurately
present what the pile looked like on the day of
August 25th?
A.
Yes
Q.
Okay.
And
what
--
can
you
see
anything
specific in that picture?
A.
I
can
see
some
of
the
brush.
I
can
see
some
there,
some
scrap
metal.
And
I
can
see,
from
this
looks like three of the tires,
tire rims.
Q.
Okay.
Now I’d like to show
you
what
has
been
as People’s Exhibit
2.
Do you recognize that?
A.
Yes
Q.
A.
same
day.
And
what
is
that?
This
is
a
closer
shot
of
the
same
pile,
the
Q.
Okay.
And what,
if
anything,
can
you
see
specifically
in
that
picture?
A.
You
can
start
to
see
some
of
the
belts
around
some
of
the
tire
rims.
You
can
see
the
fencing
more
clearly
and
some
of
the
scorch
marks
on
the
ground.
can
also
see
the
smoke
coming
up,
as
you
could
in
the
first
photo
Q.
And then I’d like to show you Exhibit
3.
Do
You
boards
angle,
marked
1
2
3
4
5
6
7
8
9
10
11
12
13
14
15
16
17
18
19
20
21
22
23
24
Page
10
you
recognize
that?
A.
Yes
Q.
And what is that?
A.
This
is an even closer shot from a slightly
different angle of the same pile
Q.
And this was also taken August 25th?
A.
Also
the
same
day,
right
Q.
What,
if
anything,
did
you
do
after
you
had
inspected
the
property?
A.
When
I
got
back
to
the
office,
I called the
Village
of
Tilton
and
asked
if
they
knew
which
contractor
had been doing the work out on the site.
I had a previous
conversation with the mayor and knew the Village of Tilton
was involved in the property
Q.
And how did you become aware
Tilton was involved with this property?
A.
Through a prior conversation with Millie
Butler and also with the mayor of Tilton
Q.
Okay.
And the,
the mayor of Tilton would be
Dave
Phillips;
is
that
correct?
A.
Yes
Q.
And
what
did
your
conversation
consist
of
in
speaking
with
this
property
before
the
date
of
the
inspection?
of
that the Village
1
2
3
4
5
6
7
8
9
10
11
12
13
14
15
16
17
18
19
20
21
22
23
24
Page
11
1
2
3
4
5
6
7
8
9
10
11
12
13
14
15
16
17
18
19
20
21
22
23
24
A.
We
talked
on
the
phone
on
July
7th.
Ms.
Butler
had
said
that
the
Village
of
Tilton
was
involved
in
the
property,
and
I
should
talk
to
them
about
any concerns
I had with it
When
I spoke with Mayor Phillips on the 7th of
July,
he
said
that
the
village
had
an option to purchase
the property,
didn’t legally own it, but had agreed on a
price,
and said that the village was trying to make
arrangements for a local
fire department to burn the house
as part of a training exercise,
and had talked with Thomas
Excavating about maybe doing some of the work to remove
the debris out there
Q.
Did
you
then
talk
to
Mayor Phillips after your
inspection
on
August
25th?
A.
On
the
25th,
I
gave
a
call
to
village
hall
and
spoke
with
a
village
--
whoever it was who answered the
phone
at
the
village
hall
who
said
it
was
village
workers
who had piled the stuff up and burned it
MR.
MARTIN:
Objection.
Hearsay,
Judge.
doesn’t know who it
is
MS.
RIGGS:
I’ll withdraw
HEARING OFFICER
SUDMAN:
Okay.
Thank
you.
BY MS.
RIGGS:
Q.
Did
you
speak
with
Mayor
Phillips
concerning
He
Page
12
the
inspection
on
August
25th?
A.
Not on the 25th.
The following day,
the 26th,
I
was
able
to
reach
him
by
phone
Q.
Okay.
And
do
you
know
approximately
when
on
that
day
that
you
spoke
with
Mayor
Phillips?
A.
I
remember
it
was
the
afternoon.
If
I
could
refer
to
my
notes,
I
can
give
you
a
time.
But
off
the
top
of
my
head,
I
just
remember
it
being
in the afternoon.
Q.
And
how
did
you
know
it
was
Mayor
Phillips
that
you
were
speaking
with?
He
identified
himself
as
Mayor
Phillips.
Had
you
ever
spoken
with
him
on
the
phone
before?
A.
Q.
I am fairly
A.
I’ve spoken with him in person.
certain I’ve spoken to him on the phone
Q.
And
on
the
26th
when
you
spoke
to
him
on
the
phone,
did
you
recognize
his
voice
at
all?
A.
Yes
Q.
And what,
if anything,
did he indicate to you
about
the
property
in
Tilton
that
you
had
done
an
inspection on?
A.
He said that village workers had piled the
stuff
up
there
and
burned
some
brush
and
some
other
items.
We
started
talking
about
some
of
the
other
items
that
were
1
2
3
4
5
6
7
8
9
10
11
12
13
14
15
16
17
18
19
20
21
22
23
24
Page
13
1
in the pile.
And
I told him that the burning of brush
2
would be okay, but there was too much debris and refuse in
3
the
pile
to
be
legal.
4
Q.
So
he said that village workers had burned the
5
pile;
is that correct?
6
A.
Yes.
7
MS.
RIGGS:
I have nothing further.
8
HEARING
OFFICER
SUDMAN:
Thank
you.
9
CROSS-EXAMINATION
10
BY MR. MARTIN:
11
Q.
Mr.
Toole,
the
site
here
is
--
has
been
owned
12
by
the
Butlers
for
many,
many
years.
You’re
aware
of
13
that?
14
A.
I’m aware they own it,
yes.
15
Q.
There used to be a drive-in theater that Jack
16
and Mildred Butler owned,
right?
17
A.
That’s been my understanding.
18
Q.
It’s been more or less
--
I
think
it
closed
19
probably 20,
30 years ago,
didn’t it?
20
A.
I
don’t
recall.
21
Q.
Okay.
The place has been in disrepair for
22
some
time.
Would
you
agree
with
that?
23
A.
I’m
not
certain
if
I
drove
down
that
street
24
before June of 2003.
Page
14
Q.
produced in
A.
Q.
trailer
A.
Q.
Q.
or
Well,
do you have your photographs that you
discovery?
Yes.
Which
ones?
Well,
the pictures of the house,
of the
Yes,
I
have
photos
of
those
Okay.
Could
I have them,
please?
MS.
RIGGS:
I
would
object
as
to
the
relevance
of
the
other
items
on
the
property
MR. MARTIN:
This
is the site of the alleged
offense.
HEARING OFFICER SUDMAN:
I’ll allow it.
A.
I have photos showing the house and the
property on June 9th,
June
25th, August 25th,
and
October 17th.
Which ones
--
Q.
The only ones that were produced were
August
25th.
So,
you have other ones besides
the 25th?
Honor,
you ‘ye
evidence?
A.
Yes
Well,
let me see the photographs,
if
I may.
MR.
MARTIN:
Could I have these marked,
Your
should I just mark them?
HEARING OFFICER
SUDMAN:
Yes,
I
--
do you
--
not marked these?
Are you introducing these as
1
2
3
4
5
6
7
8
9
10
11
12
13
14
15
16
17
18
19
20
21
22
23
24
Page
15
1
MS. RIGGS:
No,
no.
I only looked at the
2
photographs from August 25th.
3
HEARING
OFFICER
SUDMAN:
Okay.
Are
you
going
4
to--
5
MR.
MARTIN:
I’d
like
to
offer
them,
Your
6
Honor.
7
HEARING OFFICER SUDMAN:
Okay.
Then yes,
8
please.
9
MR. MARTIN:
Do you want them to be
10
Defendant’s
or
Respondent’s
exhibit?
11
HEARING
OFFICER
SUDMAN:
Well,
what
--
I guess
12
I
don’t
know
what
numbers
we
have
so
far.
13
MS.
RIGGS:
1,
2
and
3.
14
HEARING OFFICER SUDMAN:
1,
2 and 3?
Do you
15
want to just make
it
4 and 5?
16
MR.
MARTIN:
Okay.
17
(Whereupon, Respondent’s Exhibit Numbers
4
18
and 5 were marked for identification.)
19
BY MR. MARTIN:
20
Q.
Mr.
Toole,
let
me
show
you
what
I’ve
marked
21
are,
I believe, two of your photographs,
and I believe
22
they
were
taken
probably
in
June,
is
that
correct,
of
23
2003?
24
A.
Yes.
Page
16
Q.
And
that
is
a
picture
of
the
area
--
what
we’re
talking
about
here
where
the
Butler
property
is
located?
A.
Q.
a trailer
A.
Q.
premises
A.
Yes
Q.
And
the
area
had
been
used,
I
guess,
as
a
haunted house
I assume around Halloween on a couple of
occasions.
Is that your understanding?
A.
That’s my understanding.
Q.
Do you know how long it had been used as a
haunted house occasionally?
A.
No.
No
Q.
Now,
what got
--
what brought your attention
to the property initially was a complaint by some neighbor
about the condition of the property,
right?
A.
I got an anonymous complaint on June 4th about
the property
--
of 2000-- June 4th,
2003,
about
the
property
Yes
Okay.
It shows,
I guess,
a bunch of tires and
in Exhibit Number
4,
right?
Yes
And then Number
5 shows a house on the
and,
it
looks
like,
another
trailer,
right?
1
2
3
4
5
6
7
8
9
10
11
12
13
14
15
16
17
18
19
20
21
22
23
24
Q.
Okay.
And that’s
--
so you went out then on
Page
17
--
looks
like, per
your
notes,
on
June
9th,
2003,
and
saw
the
tires,
a deteriorating house,
a semi truck trailer, a
camper,
scrap
metal,
and
other
refuse,
correct?
A.
Yes
Q.
Then you went out a couple of more times.
And
then you contacted Mildred Butler about the property,
right,
in June?
A.
I think
I returned to the property one time
I contacted Mrs.
Butler.
Q.
And
you
understood
her
to
be
the
owner?
A.
Yes
Q.
And she’s still the owner,
A.
Last time
I checked,
which
she’s listed as the owner
Q.
Okay.
And
you
--
I assume
up the property?
A.
I sent her a letter saying the property was in
violation of county ordinances and that she had till
August 26th
to bring it into compliance.
Q.
Okay.
And did she bring it into compliance by
August 26th?
A.
No
Q.
Then
when
you
spoke
to
the
mayor
--
that’s
Dave Phillips who’s with me today,
correct?
correct?
was
a
few
weeks
you asked her to
1
2
3
before
4
5
6
7
8
9
10
11
12
13
14
15
16
17
18
19
20
ago,
clean
21
22
23
24
Page
18
A.
Correct
Q.
And he had
told you that Thomas Excavating was
going
to
try
to
help
get
the place cleaned up,
right?
A.
That’s
what
he
told
me
on
July
7th
when
we
talked
by
phone
Q.
Okay.
Now,
the Village did not take anything
to
that
property
to
dump
there,
correct?
A.
I don’t know
Q.
You
have
no
--
you have no evidence,
no
information that the Village put anything on that
property,
correct?
A.
I don’t have any evidence to that,
no.
Q.
And as far as who may have piled up items
besides brush,
you don’t know who piled that up,
do you?
wrote
A.
Q.
when
A.
No
Then your next visit was August 25th,
and
you saw a pile smoldering,
right?
Yes
Q.
All right.
Then you eventually talked
--
or
Mildred Butler again on October 1st?
A.
Yes
Q.
And did she contact you back?
A.
Yes
Q.
And
had
she
done
anything
to
clean
up
the
1
2
3
4
5
6
7
8
9
10
11
12
13
14
15
16
17
18
that
‘
5
19
20
21
22
23
24
Page
19
1
property,
to
your
knowledge?
2
A.
She
said
she
--
when
I talked
to
her
after
3
October
1st,
she
mentioned
that
the
Village
was
taking
4
care
of
the
cleanup
for
her.
She
mentioned
that
she
5
thought she gave them a copy of the letter
I sent to her
6
back in June of
2003.
7
Q.
October 17th,
2003,
you went back out to the
8
site,
and the waste pile that had been there was gone
9
then,
right?
10
A.
Yes.
11
Q.
The tires were gone,
too?
12
A.
Yes.
13
Q.
Trailers
were
gone?
14
A.
There’s
--
at that
time,
there were two
15
trailers still on the site.
16
Q.
Okay.
Some trailers had been gone
(sic),
17
right?
18
A.
Yes.
19
Q.
Okay.
Other
material
that
had
been
on
the
20
site also had been removed;
is that correct?
21
A.
Yes.
22
Q.
And
I
guess
this
spring,
in
March
of
2004,
you
23
checked
again,
and
Mildred
Butler
still
owned
the
24
property,
right?
Page
20
A.
Yes
MR. MARTIN:
Okay.
That’s all
I have,
Your
Thank you
HEARING OFFICER SUDMAN:
Thank you.
Any redirect?
MS.
RIGGS:
Yes
REDIRECT EXAMINATION
BY MS.
RIGGS:
Q.
The pile that
--
of debris that you saw on
August
25th,
was that pile there upon your first
inspection?
A.
No
Q.
And your first inspection was June 26th of
‘03;
is that correct?
A.
First inspection was June 9th of 2003,
and
then
I did a reinspection on the 25th of June,
2003.
Q.
So,
on June 25th,
was the pile there on the
property?
No.
A.
Q.
And when did you have the conversation with
Mayor Phillips that they had received an option on the
property?
A.
Q.
July 7th.
And that was
--
1
2
Honor.
3
4
5
6
7
8
9
10
11
12
13
14
15
16
17
18
19
20
21
22
23
24
A.
BY MR. MARTIN
2003
Page 21
MS.
RIGGS:
Okay.
Nothing further.
HEARING OFFICER SUDMAN:
Okay
MR.
MARTIN:
Brief,
short recross, Your Honor.
HEARING OFFICER SUDMAN:
Okay.
RECROSS
-
EXAMINATION
Q.
Let
me
show
you
Exhibit
6
which
I
think
is
another one of your photos.
Is that one of the photos
taken
in
June
2003?
A.
Q.
Yes.
Okay.
That
shows
at
least
a
pile
of
debris
in
the background,
correct?
A.
Yes
MR.
MARTIN:
All right.
Thank you.
That’s all
I have,
Judge.
Thank you.
HEARING OFFICER
StJDMAN:
Would you like to
offer
your
exhibits
at
this
time?
MS.
RIGGS:
Yes,
Your Honor.
We would offer
Exhibits
1 through
3
HEARING
OFFICER
SUDMAN:
And I
know
Mr.
Toole
already testified.
Can you just summarize again what
Exhibits
1 through
3 which are
--
MS. RIGGS:
Piles of the smoldering debris
1
2
3
4
5
6
7
8
9
10
11
12
13
14
15
16
17
18
19
20
21
22
23
24
Page 22
1
that
was
found
on
the
property
on
August
25th
of
2003.
2
This would be the property southeast of the intersection
3
of 1st Avenue and 15th Street in Tilton,
Illinois.
4
HEARING OFFICER SUDMAN:
Is there any
5
objection?
6
MR.
MARTIN:
No,
Your
Honor.
7
HEARING OFFICER SUDMAN:
Okay.
Exhibits
1,
2
8
and 3 are accepted into evidence.
9
Mr.
Martin, you may present your case.
10
MR.
MARTIN:
Okay.
I
would
call
Mayor
11
Phillips.
12
HEARING
OFFICER
SUDMAN:
Would
the
court
13
reporter
please
swear
in
the
witness?
14
(Witness
sworn.)
15
DAVID A.
PHILLIPS,
16
called as a witness, after being first duly sworn,
was
17
examined and testified upon his oath as
follows:
18
DIRECT EXAMINATION
19
BY MR.
MARTIN:
20
Q.
Would you state your name, please?
21
A.
David
Phillips.
22
Q.
And
what’s
your
business
address?
23
A.
The new one’s 1001 Tilton Road.
24
Q.
And
what’s
your
business
or
occupation?
Page 23
Tilton?
house,
A.
Q.
A.
Q.
I’m
the
mayor
in
the
Village
of
Tilton.
How
long
have
you
been
the
mayor?
Three
and
a
half
years
And how long have you lived in the Village of
A.
All my life
Q.
Now,
you’re familiar with the property that’s
involved
in this case which is the Butler property on the
east side of Route 1?
A.
Yes
Q.
Okay.
What
was
that
--
what was the use of
that property in past years?
A.
Basically
where
that
was
at,
for
a
haunted
and an entrance to the drive-in theater.
Q.
All right.
And you’ve seen photographs
have
been
produced
in
this
case
of
--
and including
exhibits that have been admitted.
How long has the
property been in that type of condition with
•the haunted
house,
the
trailers
and
the
stuff
that
was
on
the
site?
A.
Since
she’s owned it
Q.
All right.
Now,
as
I understand
it,
the
Village has an option to
--
is that to purchase the
property?
Is that correct?
A.
That’s correct
that
the
1
2
3
4
5
6
7
8
9
10
11
12
13
14
15
16
17
18
19
20
21
22
23
24
at all?
Q.
Page 24
Why is the Village interested
in the property
A.
We’ve got a development going and ongoing with
a developer on that site
Q.
So,
the hope of the Village is that the
property can be used and developed into some development
for
the
Village
of
Tilton?
A.
That is correct
Q.
The property is inside the corporate limits of
the Village of Tilton?
A.
It
is
today,
yes
Q.
The Village does not own the property;
is that
right?
A.
Q.
is or was
items
there?
site?
A.
Q.
A.
Q.
2003, you
condition
That’s correct
In terms
of the materials or whatever was
--
on the site,
did the Village put any of those
No
Has the Village ever dumped anything on the
No
Now,
directing your attention to the summer of
were
contacted
by
Mr.
Toole
regarding
the
of the property?
1
2
3
4
5
6
7
8
9
10
11
12
13
14
15
16
17
18
19
20
21
22
23
24
Page
25
1
A.
That’s
correct.
2
Q.
And you told him that the Village was going to
3
try
to
help
clean
it
up;
is that correct?
4
A.
That’s correct.
5
Q.
Would
you
--
could you tell us what actions
6
the Village took to try to get the property cleaned up?
7
A.
Plowed
--
I don’t know if we have existing
8
pictures today, but it don’t look near like
it does today
9
on them pictures.
Plowed fence
rows out that was in there
10
so we could mow it and cut several semi trailers up,
took
11
it to Cultas
(phonetic)
for scrap.
12
Q.
Okay.
What’s Cultas?
13
A.
It’s
a
scrap
yard
down
in
Hegeler.
Took
53
14
tires down there that was on that site.
15
Q.
Okay.
And
where
did
the
tires
go?
16
A.
Cultas Recycling.
17
Q.
Were you able to get him to take the tires
18
from you?
19
A.
Yes.
We had to have a guy cut the tires
off
20
the rims because he was doing it for a favor for
US;
he
21
owed us a favor.
So,
I told him we
--
I didn’t want him
22
to have any expense, and we would have our guys remove the
23
tires
from
the
rims
so
he
would
take
them.
24
Q.
Okay.
You’re referring to Mr. Cultas?
Page 26
1
A.
Yes.
2
Q.
All right.
What else has been done by the
3
Village to try to clean up the property?
4
A.
We plowed the trees
out,
fence row,
and piled
5
it into a pile and then burnt
it.
6
Q.
The
--
in terms of the property at that
7
location
--
well,
let’s
talk
about
the
Butler
property.
8
Approximately how much money has the Village spent trying
9
to clean up the property?
10
A.
We
got
about
$7,000
on
that
site.
11
Q.
And
this
is
directly
adjacent
to
a
piece
of
12
property where
--
which is the former Douglas School;
is
13
that correct?
14
A.
Daniels School,
yes.
15
Q.
Daniels, rather?
16
A.
Yes.
17
Q.
Excuse me.
And approximately how much has the
18
Village
spent in cleaning up the entire area?
19
A.
About
$225,000,
including asbestos removal.
20
Q.
Now,
directing your attention to August of
21
2003,
what activity did the Village do relative to the
22
brush that was on the premises?
23
A.
We
--
it was all
growed-in
fence
rows.
There
24
was
existing
trees
growing
on
the
property.
And
for
Page
27
1
anybody to maintain it to mow it,
it was going to have to
2
be taken out.
And so did you have village employees do that?
With the help of Thomas and the village
yes, we did do that.
You said “Thomas.”
Who’s Thomas?
He’s
a
private
contractor
that
was
working
on
already.
He owns an excavating company?
Q.
A.
employees,
Q.
A.
the
site
Q.
A.
Yes.
Q.
And so the brush that was taken
--
the brush
that
was
there,
the
brush
that
was
taken
down
by
the
Village,
the trees,
the fence, that was burned by the
Village?
A.
Yes.
Q.
That was the village fire department who set
17
that on fire?
A.
Yeah.
Q.
In
terms
of
the
non--
the
stuff
that’s
not
brush,
not
trees
and
so
forth,
did
the
Village
stack
up
a
pile of debris of that stuff?
A.
We didn’t stack any pile of debris.
Q.
Then the
--
after the 25th of August 2003,
did
the Village continue to take action to try to clean up the
3
4
5
6
7
8
9
10
11
12
13
14
15
16
18
19
20
21
22
23
24
Page
28
1
site?
2
A.
We took three semi loads to the landfill.
3
Q.
And who did that for the village or what
--
4
was it village trucks,
or was it
--
5
A.
Well,
we used a semi tractor to do that,
so it
6
was Thomas’s
semi.
Our guys loaded it.
7
Q.
Thomas Excavating again helped you?
8
A.
Yes,
yes.
9
Q.
I note in Mr. Toole’s notes that on
10
October 17th,
2003,
he went back to the site again, and
11
the
waste
pile he had seen before had been removed.
Is
12
that the
--
did the Village remove that?
13
A.
Yes.
14
Q.
You mentioned the trailers.
Those had to be
15
cut up to be removed?
16
A.
Yes.
17
Q.
And the tires,
I guess they had to be cut off
18
rims?
19
A.
Yes.
20
Q.
And the rest of the tires that are shown in
21
photographs
4
and
5,
for
example,
they
were
taken
to
22
either
--
the recycler;
is that right?
23
A.
Yes.
24
Q.
And
besides
that,
there
were
barrels on the
Page 29
1
property?
2
A.
They was inside the trailer, yes.
3
Q.
Okay.
And they were removed also?
4
A.
Yes.
5
Q.
Anything
--
can you describe what else was out
6
there
that
the Village hauled off?
7
A.
Oh,
there
was
load
after
load.
I
mean,
it
was
8
--
everything that,
that we thought we should have been
9
hauling off
to the proper place was hauled off.
10
Q.
Under
the
village
ordinances,
is
it
acceptable
11
to burn brush within the village limits?
12
A.
Yes.
13
Q.
And at this point,
is the Village trying to
14
make arrangements to remove the house and trailer that’s
15
shown in the Exhibits
1 and 2?
16
A.
Yes,
we are.
17
Q.
And can you tell us what the Village’s
18
attempts are in that regard?
19
A.
We’re
--
one of the fire department officers
20
is applying for permits
for a training site
to burn that
21
house and trailer there that’s on the site.
22
Q.
Who do you have to get a permit from to do
23
that?
24
A.
From
the
State
of
Illinois.
It
comes
through
Page 30
1
the Historical Society to make sure we’re not burning down
2
a historical
site.
3
Q.
Okay.
During the
--
when the Village had the
4
--
burned the brush,
were there any complaints made to the
5
Village,
to your knowledge,
from neighbors?
6
A.
I
don’t
think
there
was
a
complaint
made
to
7
nobody.
8
Q.
Have
you ever had complaints by neighbors
9
about
the
property
in
the
past?
10
A.
Yes.
11
Q.
Regarding
--
I’m referring to its condition
12
and
so
forth.
13
A.
Yes.
Well, when West Nile started hitting,
14
they all started complaining about tires laying around.
15
MR.
MARTIN:
That’s
all
I
have,
Your
Honor.
16
Thank
you
very
much.
17
HEARING OFFICER SUDMAN:
Thank you.
18
CROSS-EXAMINATION
19
BY MS.
RIGGS:
20
Q.
At least
since July 7th of
‘03,
the Village of
21
Tilton has had an option to purchase the Butler property;
22
is that correct?
23
A.
That’s
correct.
We
still
have
that
in
place.
24
Q.
Okay.
And so the Village of Tilton has been
Page31
1
the operator of that property since
that time;
is that
2
right?
3
A.
No.
4
Q.
Why is that?
5
A.
They still
--
we just have an option to
6
purchase the property.
7
Q.
And the Village of Tilton has been
--
well,
8
village workers from Tilton have been working on the
9
property
since
that
time;
is
that
right?
10
A.
No.
11
Q.
And how is that not right?
12
A.
The only thing we done was the major site
13
cleanup and that’s it
--
since
the
time
we’ve
had
the
14
option.
15
Q.
So,
there has been work done by village
--
16
A.
Yes.
17
Q.
--
workers on the property?
18
A.
You’re
saying
today.
No,
it’s
not
--
we’re
19
not doing anything,
no.
20
Q.
Okay.
And the,
the pile of brush,
scrap
21
metal,
boards,
fencing
and
rim
that
was
all
seen
by
Doug
22
Toole
on
August
25th,
village workers actually burned that
23
pile;
is that correct?
24
A.
No.
Page 32
1
Q.
Do you recall having a conversation with Doug
2
Toole
on August 26th of 2003?
3
A.
Yes,
and I told him the fire department burned
4
it.
I
didn’t
say
anything
about
village workers burning
5
it.
6
Q.
So,
you’re
denying
that village workers burned
7
anything on the property?
8
A.
We didn’t
--
the village workers didn’t burn
9
anything.
The fire department done
it.
10
Q.
And
who
are
the
fire
department
--
who are
11
they employed by?
12
A.
By the Village of Tilton.
13
Q.
Okay.
And did you know that they were burning
14
the debris?
15
A.
Yes.
No,
not
the
debris,
but
brush
pile,
yes.
16
Q.
And so you deny that you told Doug Toole that
17
village workers had actually burned that pile?
18
A.
Tilton Fire Department burned the brush pile.
19
Q.
My question is, Are you denying that you told
20
Doug Toole that village workers burned the pile on
21
August
--
or the pile that he found on August 25th?
22
A.
We burned a pile out there
on August 25th, but
23
it was not the village workers.
The fire department
24
burned
it,
so
--
Page 33
BY THE WITNESS:
MS.
RIGGS:
I have nothing further.
A.
I
don’t
know
what
you’re
referring
to
village
workers.
We have several divisions.
It wasn’t the people
that helped clean it up burned it, no.
MS.
RIGGS:
I have nothing further.
HEARING OFFICER SUDMAN:
Okay.
Mr. Martin?
MR.
MARTIN:
I
have
no
redirect,
Your
Honor.
Thank you
Mayor
Phillips.
HEARING OFFICER
SUDMAN:
Okay.
Thank
you,
THE WITNESS:
Thank you.
HEARING OFFICER SUDMAN:
Would you like to
--
MR.
MARTIN:
We move to introduce the exhibits
we’ve marked,
4,
5 and
6,
the
three
photographs
which
I
believe
were
taken
in
June
of
2003
and,
I
believe,
June 25th,
2003,
as
I understand.
HEARING OFFICER
SUDMAN:
Okay.
Is
there
any
objection to
--
MS. RIGGS:
No, Your Honor
HEARING
OFFICER
SUDMAN:
Okay.
Thank
you.
Okay.
Exhibits
4,
5 and
6 are admitted into evidence as
well
1
2
3
4
S
6
7
8
9
10
11
12
13
14
15
16
17
18
19
20
21
22
23
24
Before we continue,
I’ll note that we did have
Page 34
1
a gentleman join us during the testimony.
2
Sir,
are you affiliated with either party, or
3
are you here
--
would you like to make a comment?
4
MR. GOODWIN:
No,
I’ll show my appearance.
S
I’m Mark Goodwin, attorney for Mildred Butler.
6
HEARING OFFICER
SUDMAN:
Oh,
okay.
But you
7
don’t wish to say anything at this hearing?
8
MR. GOODWIN:
No.
9
HEARING OFFICER
SUDMAN:
Okay.
Thank
you.
10
We’ll continue then.
Before we hear closing arguments,
11
I’d
like
to
go
off
the
record
to
discuss
the
transcript
12
availability
and
the
briefing
schedule
which
I’ll
then
13
read into the record.
So, we’re off the record now.
14
(A discussion was held off the record.)
15
HEARING OFFICER SUDMAN:
We’ve just had an
16
off-the-record discussion regarding post-hearing briefs.
17
The parties have agreed to a briefing schedule as follows:
18
The
transcript
of
these
proceedings
will
be
available
from
19
the court reporter by September 8th,
2004,
and will be
20
posted on the Board’s web site.
The public comment
21
deadline
is September 24th.
Public comment must be filed
22
in accordance with Section 101.628
of the Board’s
23
procedural
rules.
Complainant’s brief is due
24
September 29th,
2004.
Respondent’s brief is due
Page 35
1
October 20th,
2004.
And
Complainant’s reply is due
2
October
27th,
2004.
And
the
mailbox
rule
will
apply.
3
Ms.
Riggs,
would
you
like
to
make
a
closing
4
argument?
S
MS.
RIGGS:
Yes.
There’s clearly been a
6
violation of the Environmental Protection Act,
in this
7
instance,
on August 2Sth of 2003.
Doug Toole,
who is
8
employed with the Vermilion County Health Department,
9
viewed the property which is southeast of the intersection
10
of 1st Avenue and lSth Street
in Tilton,
Illinois,
11
Vermilion County.
At
--
upon arrival at the site,
he
12
viewed
a
large
debris
pile
consisting
of
brush,
branches,
13
scrap
metal,
boards,
fencing,
tire
rims
and
belts
around
14
the rims,
all
of which have been shown through People’s
--
iS
or, well,
the Exhibits
1,
2 and
3.
16
Doug Toole testified that he saw that many of
17
the items in the pile had been charred; they appeared to
18
have been burnt;
there was still smoke smoldering from the
19
pile.
It is clear that there was a violation of the Act,
20
in that open dumping resulted in open burning on this
--
21
on this property.
22
The Village of Tilton has had an option to
23
purchase this property at least
since July 7th of
2003.
24
They were in charge of
the,
quote-unquote,
cleanup of the
Page 36
property.
According to the testimony of Doug Toole,
he
spoke
with
Mayor
Phillips
of
the
Village
of
Tilton
on
August 26th of 2003,
and he had admitted to him that the
village workers had done the,
the
--
again,
quote-unquote,
cleanup and had burned the brush and fencing
There’s clearly been a violation,
and we would
ask that the Village of Tilton be held responsible for
that violation
HEARING OFFICER
SUDMAN:
Mr. Martin.
MR.
MARTIN:
Yes,
please the Court.
Your
Honor,
I think there’s no evidence that the Village dumped
anything
there
The
Village
doesn’t
even
own
the
property.
The testimony is that the
--
these items that
were
there
had
been
there
for
years.
It’s
a
junky
site.
I think that,
that the
--
without the proof of dumping by
the Village.
And they did not burn waste;
the testimony
was
they
were
burning
brush,
which
is
allowed certainly by
the village ordinances.
I think that what the statute
is
aimed
at
is
not
this
kind
of
situation.
What
the
Village
has been trying to do is clean up the site,
and they have,
and they’ve spent a lot of village money to do
it.
It’s
better off now than it was
I guess they didn’t have to
do it, but they did remove the SO tires and had them
disposed of.
They did remove the trailers.
They removed
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8
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10
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Page 37
I
other
debris.
There’s no evidence that they piled up
debris to burn other than brush,
and that’s what they
--
that’s what they did there
think
that
at
the
least
it’s
a
situation
of
what has been referred to in the statute as uncontrollable
circumstances.
I don’t think the Village is guilty of the
violation
of
the
Act.
Thank
you.
HEARING OFFICER SUDMAN:
Thank you.
At this
time,
I will again mention that there are no members of
the public here who wish to make statements on the record,
so
I will proceed to make a statement as to the
credibility
of witnesses testifying during this hearing.
Based
on
my
legal
judgment
and experience,
I find both of
the witnesses testifying to be credible
At this
time,
I will conclude the proceedings,
and I thank all
of you for your participation.
We stand
adjourned.
Thank you.
(Whereupon,
the deposition was concluded at
10:32
a.m.)
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Page 38
1
STATE OF ILLINOIS
SS
2
COUNTY OF PEORIA
3
4
I,
JENNIFER E.
JOHNSON,
CSR,
RMR,
CRR, and
S
Notary Public in and for the County of Tazewell,
State of
Illinois,
do
hereby
certify
that
the
foregoing
transcript
6
of proceedings
is true and correct
to the best of my
knowledge and belief;
7
That
I am not related to any of the parties
8
hereto by blood or marriage, nor shall
I benefit by the
outcome of this matter financially or otherwise.
9
10
JENNIFER E.
JOHNSON
14
License #084-003039
CSR,
RMR, CRR
15
Notary Public,
State of
Illinois
at
Large
16
17
My Commission expires May 8,
2005.
18
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24
