Mayor Bill Koos said the $900,000 from the sale of Section Six will be used to repair and improve the city's water and sewer system. At Monday night's city council meeting, the Mayor said the city's overburdened sewer system is the result of too much storm water going into the sewer system. Koos said the improvement of the sewer system will be a "pay as you go" project with funds from the Section Six sale. There will be no passing of debt to future administrations. Koos said the Farnsworth Group will be contacted to plan the project. He indicated the project will start at the critical point in the sewer system and will proceed from there. The Mayor stressed that a good water and sewer system is vital to the community and this will be money spent wisely.
Speaking of the Section Six sale, the Mayor gave credit to Waste Management, the company who enabled the city to purchase the land from them and then sell it to the highest bidder resulting in a $900,000 profit. Koos said Waste Management was a class company. They asked what did the City of Minonk want? This big multi-national firm was concerned about the welfare of the small community of Minonk, said the Mayor. He said there was no pressure on their part and that patience was very important and contributed to the success of the project.
The Mayor said even though Section Six was sold to a farmer, the publicity surrounding the project means that it may eventually be sold for development. The land is still in a TIF district and is in the city limits, factors which may draw potential developers.
The Mayor concluded by thanking aldermen Cunningham, Fortner, Carls, and Ruestman for their efforts and support in the project. Finally, he thanked the residents of Minonk for their patience. He said the project would not have been successful without the support and patience of the citizens of Minonk.
Alderman Sean Cunningham said the Section Six project consisted of 3 plans. The first plan was to sell the land to Randy Hellyer who planned to develop a raceway park on the parcel. When that plan failed, the city then attempted to market the land to a developer. That plan almost succeeded when Minonk was one of the two finalists for a hardware distribution center which would have employed 100 people. Cunningham said the distribution center went to a place in Missouri, partly due to the difference in the tax laws and wage scales between the two states.
Cunningham said the final plan to sell Section Six was initiated when the economy soured and developers were not to be found. He said the sale of the land was delayed until the city could get an easement on the land from Waste Management as part of the sewer development completed last year. He said the community should be proud of the outcome of the project as the city was able to make a profit of $900,000 while spending $92,000 in legal fees and other miscellaneous expenses. Cunningham said you have to spend money in order to make money.
Sale of Inoperable City Trucks
The council was given a first reading on an ordinance authorizing the city to give an inoperable 1987 Ford truck and an inoperable 1991 GMC truck to Greg Frei. The trucks were put out for bids but no bids were received. This ordinance would enable the city to basically get rid of the trucks.
Garbage Fee Increase
The council was given a first reading on an ordinance that would approve the increase of the garbage pickup fee from $12.35 to $12.80 a month.
Demolition of Houses
The council approved a bid of $26,380 to demolish 3 vacant houses at 322 N. Chestnut, 726 N. Johnson, and 828 Jefferson to Ben Hulse Excavating of Flanagan. This bid was republished to comply with recently enacted prevailing wage regulations. Hulse was the only bidder and was the lowest bidder in the previous bid.
Veterans Park Concession Stand
Parks and Recs Chairman Roger Gaspardo said the concession stand under construction at Veterans Park should be completed in 6 to 10 days. Gaspardo said the bathrooms are in working order. What remains to be done is to connect 6 electrical outlets, hook up a few kitchen appliances and do some dirt fill.
City Administrator Comments
City Administrator Doug Elder said that anyone who needs a census form can get them at City Hall. He stressed the importance of completing the census forms since the revenue the city gets from the federal and state government is based on population.
The budget has been completed and will be posted at City Hall on Thursday, April 8. There will be a public hearing on the budget at 6:45 on April 19 for public comments prior to the normal city council meeting.
A new recycling system will be in effect on April 28th with a new recycling bin to be maintained by ADDWC of Woodford County. There will be separate bins labeled for paper, cardboard, aluminum and plastic. In addition, there will be a bin for metal of all kinds, including scrap metal as well as tin cans that will be picked up by Thomas Equipment. Elder stressed that glass will not be recycled and suggested that residents can either put glass in their normal garbage pickup or take it to the recycling centers in Bloomington.
The City Administrator is working with ComEd to get lights installed on Moran Avenue running east from Chestnut Street to Maple Avenue. He said there is a sidewalk and bicycle path which are dark at night and need to be lighted.
The Fieldcrest FFA class will farm the 20 acres of city land east of the sewer plant. This is land the city purchased from Waste Management and will eventually be used for sewer expansion. The FFA class will farm the ground and will keep it free of weeds and will be able to keep the revenue from the crops taken from the land.
An emergency generator has been installed at the ambulance shed which will be used in case of a power outage to provide electricity and to open the large doors to the shed.