The Minonk City Council approved a TIF application of $75,000 for Greentree Pharmacy, owned by Heritage Enterprises.  The funds wil be used in construction of a new 18,500 square foot  facility at 1305 Carolyn Drive at the intersection of Carolyn Drive and County Highway 2.  Ben Hart of Heritage said the company has outgrown its current location at 568 Chestnut Street and is planning for the expected future growth in its business of providing prescription drugs and medicine for nursing homes in the Central Illinois area.  The company currently employs 75 people and will be expanding its staff.  The TIF funds will be distributed in five annual installments of $15,000 each with the first distribution to be made in the 2012-2013 fiscal year.  Mr. Hart thanked the City Council for their support of Greentree Pharmacy.

Mill Street Revisited

Attorney Tom Janssen, representing Larry Hill, submitted a request to the Council asking that they vacate the alley next to Mr. Hill's property between Johnson & Lincoln Street.  In return, Mr. Hill will agree to give up Mill Street.  He also will agree to sell land that is north of Mill Street to the City for $.65 a square foot. 

Judy Davis, who resides at 228 W. Mill Street, asked the Council not to close down her street.  She said by closing Mill Street, nobody will be able to find her house as the address will no longer exist.  Ms. Davis said the front of her house faces Mill Street.  She said Mill Street has always been maintained by the city and she wants her street back.

The Council went into executive session to decide on the requests but no action was taken.

NonProfit Donations

Mayor Koos said the Council must decide on a policy for making donations to nonprofit organizations.   The Mayor said the City Administrator gets a lot of request for donations.  Historically, the City has given funds for the Fourth of July celebration and other Minonk events.  Koos said the Council should decide if all donations should be stopped or should there be a policy on which organizations should receive donations or just continue as it has in the past.  The council is expected to decide on a policy next month which will become part of the City's ordinances.

Storm Sewer Project to Start

CIty Administrator Doug Elder said the storm sewer project will be starting next week. He expected the ground breaking to occur on June 16.

Other Business

Midstate Asphalt Repair Contractors was awarded the contract for the Spray Patching for $19,350 and Road Oil, Inc. was awarded the Seal Coating contract for $24,157.  City Administrator Doug Elder said the spray patching should be completed by August 1 and the road oil application by August 31.

Shawn Modro was appointed to the Parks & Recreation Board.

City Administrator Doug Elder said the City has two options for selling the abandoned properties at 322 N. Chestnut, 828 N. Jefferson, and 736 N. Johnson.  Elder said the first option is to advertise the properties for bids and then accept the sealed bids and award it to the highest bidder.  The second option is to list the property with a realtor or attempt to sell it outright through the City.  This option requires the City to get an appraisal on the properties and then sell the properties for at least 80% of the appraised value.  The City's attorney recommended this option.  Councilman Justin Faulk made a motion to advertise the properties for bidding and then accept the highest bid with no minimum value specified.  The council approved the motion and the bids will be advertised next month.

Mayor's Comments

Mayor Koos said there is an issue with the metal recyling dumpster.  The dumpster was refused at the metal recyling center because there was too much garbage and non-metal items in the dumpster.  Therefore, the dumpster contents had to be taken to the landfill instead.  The City has agreed to re-imburse the owner of the metal recyling bin the landfill fee.  The Mayor is asking Minonk residents to not put non metal items in the metal recycling bin because the City has not budgeted for paying landfill fees to get rid of the dumpster contents.  If the metal dumpster is filled again with garbage, the service will probably be terminated.

Public Comments

Dave Uphoff asked if it is possible for Greentree Pharmacy to provide a public pharmacy at its new location so people from Minonk would not have to go out of town to get their prescriptions.  Uphoff mentioned that the City is supporting Greentree with a $75,00 TIF grant and thought it might be a gesture of good will for Greentree to provide a pharmacy outlet for Minonk residents.  Ben Hart of Heritage said there currently are no plans to provide a local pharmacy for Minonk residents but said things may change in the future.  Mayor Koos says the City has recruited pharmacies in the past to come to Minonk but plans never materialized.

Tom Janssen told the Council that it is not a good policy for the CIty to make donations to nonprofit organizations.  Janssen said it is taxpayer money and the choices the City makes for donations may not meet the approval of some of the taxpayers.