Residents complained to the Minonk City Council at their meeting Monday night about the litter problem in the city. Life long resident Norma Turner asked the council if there is anything they can do to require her neighbors on Short Street to clean up their yards. Ms. Turner said that she is proud to be a resident of Minonk but is concerned that the city is losing its appeal because of the litter and junk in the city. Mayor Mark Spencer said that it is difficult to draw the line as to when disorderliness becomes a litter violation. Mary Hartzler agreed with Ms. Turner saying that there is litter in her neighborhood on West Eighth Street. Jerry Welch said that the tall grass at the Caroline Development presents a bad image to people who come off the interstate. City Admininstrator Trent Smith said that the city ordinance specifies that grass must be kept under 10 inches tall in residential areas but that this is not strictly enforced in commercial areas like the Caroline Develoment. Mayor Spencer said that the city is in the process of beefing up its litter ordinance and hopefully it will address the issues.
The council tabled the bids to demolish the old Kent Lumber Building at Sixth and Oak Streets after determining that the bids were not based on a consistent basis. The highest bid was $36,250 and the lowest was $4500. The lowerst bidder, Bounds Backhoe and Demolition Service, said that it would only remove the lumber and bury the concrete. Other bids offered to carry away the concrete. Alderman Bill Koos said the city should be more specific in its bid specifications so that they can compare apples to apples. The council agreed to rewrite the bid to make it more specific and republish the bid.
Barabara Boucher and Carol Hughes gave a presentation to the council on the "Relay for Life" cancer fund raiser held each year in Eureka. They stated that the first relay was held in Eureka in 1996 and raised $80,000 for cancer research. Since then over $2 million has been raised from the event. The next relay will be held on June 24-25 at Eureka High School. There is a registration fee of $10 per person. For more information, call 1-800-ACS-2345 or Team Development Co-Chair Jennifer Peterson at 309-923-7094.