The Minonk City Council was given an overview of the 2010 Storm Sewer Project at the city council meeting Monday night. Bob Kohlhase of the Farnsworth Group presented the proposal with a map of the proposed routes for the storm water sewer. Kohlhase said the council must determine the priorities of the alternative solutions presented. He said the city is embarking on the last major project in its effort to upgrade its storm water sewer system following the other major projects - the 2002 Chestnut Street separation project and the 2008 Locust Street separation project.
Kohlhase stated that the city should include an ordinance that prohibits the connection of down spouts and sump pumps into the sewer system because this adds to the flooding problems whenever there is a big rain.
The main item in the proposal is to run a 18 inch tile down West Fourth Street from Jefferson Street east to tie in with the new tile at Chestnut Street. An alternate route would have the tile turn north at Walnut Street and run up to Eighth Street where it would then run east into the Chestnut Street tile.
The project will be turned over to the Public Works Committee to review the plans and determine the priorities of the project. $908,000 has been budgeted for the the sewer expansion.
Oil and Chip Contracts Awarded
The council approved the awarding of the Motor Fuel Tax Spray Patch bid to Midwest Asphalt of Eureka in the amount of $18,300 and approved the awarding of the Motor Fuel Oil and Chip bid to Road Oil, Inc. of Granville in the amount of $28,987.50, who received the contract last year as well.
New Councilman Seated
Nick Fiorini was sworn in as the new councilman to replace the seat in Ward 3 vacated by David Jenkins who resigned a few months ago.
Public Comments
Rodney Ruestman suggested that the city send out a questionnaire with the city water bills to get a survey on whether residents think that the $44,000 budgeted for the proposed Miners Nature Trail to the jumbo north of Minonk would be better spent on sidewalk repair in the city. Ruestman added that the area by the jumbo is dangerous. Councilman Sean Cunningham said that the proposed nature trail will be a huge benefit to the residents of Minonk. He said only $20,000 is allocated for the nature trail to the jumbo and that he doesn't believe in sending out questionnaires. Cunningham said the councilmen were elected to make the hard decisions.
Harold Tjaden asked the city if it could get involved in getting a huge dead tree removed that is standing in the back yard of a home on 110 Elm on private property. Tjaden said the tree is going to fall over some day and there is a backyard swimming pool nearby that could be hit by the falling tree. Mayor Bill Koos said the city has no jurisdiction on matters of public safety on private property and that action to remove the tree will have to come from private sources.
Dave Uphoff suggested to Bob Kohlhase, who presented the sewer project proposal, that plans are made to make sure that the bricks on Fourth Street and Walnut Street are replaced rather than paving a concrete strip down the middle as was done in the sewer project on Locust Street. Uphoff said the brick streets have been in Minonk since 1915 and require no maintenance. By putting a concrete strip in place of the bricks the appearance of the street is ruined and the concrete will eventually crack and break up and need to be replaced. He said the brick streets are a symbol of Minonk and should be preserved.
City Council Comments
All city council members thanked Harold Tjaden for sponsoring the Sutton Garden's sign painted on Pop's Sweet Shop building last week.
City Administrator Comments
City Administrator Doug Elder said that the recycling program has been very successful and additional bins are being added for plastic containers. However, Elder stated that the metal dumpster is receiving many non-metallic items including things such as a stuffed sofa. The City Administrator said this action has to stop. If not, it is very likely that the owner of the metal dumpster will remove it.
Mayor's Comments
Mayor Bill Koos thanked Harold Tjaden for his sponsoring of the Sutton Garden's sign on Pop's Sweet Shop building. The mayor extended his condolences to the family of John Longman of El Paso who was killed in a motorcycle accident on Saturday. The mayor said that Longman was a dedicated EMT from El Paso who helped trained the Minonk Ambulance Squad.