Tuesday, July 05, 2005

Police Chief Butler to resign July 1, 2006

Tuesday, July 05, 2005 - Posted 6:42:01 PM by Dave Uphoff

Police Chief Bill Butler announced his retirement to the Minonk City Council at the council meeting Tuesday night.  Butler said that he will turn 55 on June 25, 2006 and will be eligible for retirement and will retire on July 1, 2006.  Mayor Bill Koos extended Butler's appointment as Chief of Police until that time, an action approved by the council.  The announcement ended speculation on the status of Butler's appointment as Chief of Police.  At previous council meetings, discussion centered on whether to buy Butler's last year of retirement, an action that would have cost the city $40,000. 

Carolyn Develoment Drainage Problem

The council approved a motion to spend $2100 to shoot spot elevations at the Carolyn Developmentat the I-39 interchange and at Fourth and Locust in hopes of finding a solution to the drainage problem at both places.  The survey would be performed by Farnsworth & Wylie engineers.  Mayor Koos and City Engineer Charlie McGuire met with the new owner of the Shell Truck Stop at the Carolyn Development who wants to expand the truck stop at the location but is concerned about the drainage problems. 

Mayor Koos said that if the city wants to encourage development at the Carolyn Development it must determine how to alleviate the drainage problem.  An elevation survey will be the first step in that process.   Mayor Koos said the construction of I-39 dictated the grade at the I-39 interchange and the city has to somehow address the problems that the I-39 grade creates for the truck stop.  Some of the options include creating another retention pond either north or east of the truck stop.

Chestnut Street Garbage Pickup

The council approved a request to send a letter to each resident on Chestnut Street asking if they would be willing to have their garbage picked up in the alley instead of in front of their residence on the street.  The placement of garbage along the main street in town has created problems of containers being blown into the street and also creates an unsightly entrance into town.  Tomlinson Disposal, the local garbage collector, said they do not have any problems with picking up the garbage in the alley as long as every one goes along with it.  Garbage will not be picked up in both the alley and the street.  If the residents response is positive, the change will be made according to Mayor Koos.

Heritage Manor Sign

The council approved a request by Heritage Manor Nursing Home to have a sign attached to the "Welcome to our Community"  sign at the corner of Fifth and Chestnut Streets.  Currently, only churches have a sign on the Welcome sign.  Heritage Manor will pay for the sign and will be the only business on the Welcome sign.

City Administrator Comments

Steffens 3-D will do their oil and chip work around August 8th.  They wil be doing the Moran Street extension, the strip on Maple Avenue between 7th and 8th Street next to the new curbing that was put in and the parking lot across from City Hall.  The bid, to be paid from MFT funds was $16,583.60.  The Millennia Park Committee is also planning on hiring Steffens to oil and chip the roadway into the park as well as both parking lots.

The Public Works department is progressing with many of their projects including the sidewalk replacement program and the walking trail across from Sutton's Park from Millennia Park to Veterans Park.  At this point they are laying the "grindings" from the Chestnut Street overlay project the were stockpiled as a base for the path.

The MInonk Ambulance Squad passed their annual state (IDPH) inspections with flying colors and were again commeneded for the cleanliness of the ambulances.  The inspectors commented that they noticed a big difference in the ambulances since the squad has gone to full time staffing.

The Fourth of July Committee deserves a huge pat on the back for another very successful celebration.  The beer tent was packed with people on Sunday night.  The parade on Monday had over 100 entries and was very entertaining.  Sutton's Park was filled with spectators despite the slight rain shower to listen to the entertainment and enjoy a tremendous fireworks display.

Also, congratulations to the MInonk baseball teams.  The two girls teams placed 1st with only one loss and 3rd with two losses respectively in their 6 team league.  The 9/10 and 11/12 year old boys took part in a Bi-County Little League Tournament.  In an 11 team tournament, the 9/10 year old teams took home 2nd and 4th place.  There were 10 teams in the 11/12 year old age bracket and the Minonk teams placed 1st and 2nd.  This is a huge accomplishment for all teams showing hard work and dedication by the players and great coaching.