Mayor Koos said that "It has been a long road to get to this point and there was no template for us to follow here. What I think we have done here is put together an agreement that limits the social, financial, and infrastructure risks to the City of Minonk and at the same time we have allowed and given basically the go ahead to three developers to run a successful business and hopefully a very profitable business."

Koos said the city did not want to make this development agreement so restrictive that the developer could not move. The mayor added that "We knew from the very beginning from things we heard, from concerns that had been brought to our attention, that there was some social, economic, and infrastructure concerns. We have come to an agreement here tonight that limits our risks in those areas."

Koos thanked the developers, Randy Hellyer and Joe Spence, for their patience and understanding of the city's concerns during the process. Koos said that it has been a long road getting here, but in the long run of this whole process we will be able to look back and say that we did our job and provided a very strong pro business atmosphere for our developers and anyone else wishing to locate in those out lots. Koos added, "The City of Minonk is open for business and we can come to fair agreements with all parties concerned and try to address their needs as businesses and try to address our needs as a city government."

For more information on the proposed raceway, click here.

Purchase of SMF Property Discussed

City Administrator Trent Smith said that in city had budgeted to build more storage for the city's vehicles and equipment. Smith made the following points:

• We currently do not have enough room to keep all of our equipment out of the weather.
• We had planned on constructing a 2400 square foot addition for storage at an estimated cost of $100,000.
• That addition would have given us 8400 square feet of public works space of which only 1200 square feet was heated.
• We are proposing to purchase the SMF buildings A and B on Tenth Street for $135,000.
• Both buildings are steel frame with concrete floors and together total 15,600 square feet at a cost of $8.65 per square foot.
• Building A is 12,000 square feet and includes 2,300 feet of office space.
• Building B is an additional 3,600 square feet and with it we can keep all of our pipe and other material inside and out of the sun which degrades the material and it would be out of sight.
• The office area of A may be utilized by our ambulance department. They currently have only 1,300 square feet of space. The ambulances themselves will barely fit through the doors. This would give them an additional 1,000 plus square feet to use for training and classes.
• The police department could then expand into the current ambulance bay as they do not have enough space in their office either.
• SMF will also be giving us the first right of refusal to purchase the remainder of the buildings if there is an interest at a later date.

Mayor Koos said that we have to get the legal teams involved to start putting forth the option agreement, legal description, and so forth. He said that the purchase of those buildings is overhauling the public infrastructure of the community. Koos added, "We are out of space and we have an opportunity to not only purchase the buildings, but also with the option agreement it will give us pretty much authority on the north entrance to our community. This will turn from a more industrial look into a more pleasant look." He said it will give the ambulance department more room, give the police department more room, and the public works department will be able to store things out of sight and the weather.

Alderman Sean Cunningham moved that the City Council move forward with the agreed upon language with SMF and to be put into a legal document for the purchase of SMF buildings A and B for $135,000 and an option for 2 years to purchase buildings C, D, and E from SMF with first right of refusal at the price of $150,000, seconded by Alderman Petersen. The council unaminously approved the motion.

Sound System for Council Chambers

City Administrator Trent Smith said he obtained a price estimate from Pro Sound of Normal, Illinois last year. Smith said it is a pretty elaborate system, but it would require microphones at every table and would also need an extra microphone for anyone giving a presentation. The speakers would take out any background distortion and noises. Smith said it was a real good system, but for a real good price. The price at that time last year was $11,235 and at that time it was decided decided not to go ahead.

Alderman Fortner said that we need to get another bid for the system. He also reported that most people sit in the back of the room and that does not help either. He further stated that the people that always sit up front can always hear.

Alderman Petersen said that he thought the purpose can be served with not quite an elaborate system. He felt that we should let the other bidders know that we are not looking for something that elaborate.

Mayor Koos asked the Council how soon they wanted bids for the sound system back and all were in agreement to bring this item back to the floor at the October 16, 2006 meeting.

TIF money approved for roofing downtown building

City Administrator Comments

City Council Comments

Alderman Fortner said that we need to look into the next budget year about getting some money together and hire a professional to come in and re-grade it and drain the ball diamonds. These diamonds bring a lot of money to town.

Alderman Petersen thanked Trent for his work on the two grants and thanked the race track developers and everyone involved in the process. He also gave a special thanks to Gerdes Wholesale Nursery for coming upevery year with trees for us.

Mayor's Comments