Plenty of things to do in 2003

Some good things happened this past year in Minonk. We now have a Dollar General Store that is bringing more shoppers to Minonk. It appears to me that the Minonk Foods grocery is doing well in spite of the fact that the Dollar General does sell some food items. Just Stuff Antiques opened for business in the remodeled Kent Lumber Building. Currently, only the south end of the building is occupied but there are plans to expand into the north end sometime this year. Part of the building is occupied by V. P. Circle of Quality, which provides nursing home consulting.

The Millenium Committee received a $300,000 grant from the State to help develop a recreational park at the north edge of the city. Several storefronts are being remodeled with the help of TIF funds from the city. This is a good way to improve the appearance of the downtown area. I hope that the city makes sure that remodeling done with TIF funds is for restoring the building to its original look as much as possible.

While 2002 was a good year for the city in terms of growth, there is still a lot of growth that needs to be achieved. The city needs more sales tax revenue for providing basic services and for funding those extra projects. The Caroline Development at I-39 needs to be developed further. A fast food restaurant is needed. If El Paso can support a McDonald's, Hardee's and a Subway, Minonk should be able to support at least one fast food restaurant in addition to the Subway already located at the I-39 interchange.

Another project for the Caroline Development is to landscape the retention pond next to the Motel 6. With proper landscaping, this pond could become a focal point for the whole development complex and at the same time draw more customers to the Motel 6 and maybe even new businesses into the complex. The city council should be reminded that the previous city administration promised Mr. Patel, the owner of Motel 6, that the city would install a fountain in the pond.

The city needs to get Chuck Feeney, owner of the Shell Truckstop and the land to the north, to clean up his property. It is an unkempt mess of piles of dirt and weeds that certainly is not inviting to any potential businesses, not to mention customers of the motel and the restaurant.

While improving our infrastructure is a never ending process, the city must realize that some money must be put into developing sales revenue for the city so that we can afford to improve the infrastructure. In other words, the Caroline Development should be the horse that is going to pull the infrastructure cart, not the other way around.

Another goal the city must pursue is to preserve the downtown area of Minonk. The bakery building on Oak Street still stands empty. It is still in good shape and efforts should be made to put the building in use again.

Several of the older downtown buildings are for sale. This includes the old City Hall on Fifth Street, the Hewitt building and the former Palmer Jewelry Store on Chestnut Street. The Hewitt building would be ideal for a Minonk History Museum as it has a lot of space and is located on Main street. I would like to see a Minonk Historical Society organized that could buy a building in which Minonk memorabilia could be displayed. Does anyone out there have any interest in such a venture?

The Minonk nutrition dinners is in danger of being lost if they don't find a new place to cook and serve their meals. I think alderman Dean Barth's suggestion to investigate the possibility of buying the empty WigWam restaurant building at the south edge of town to house the nutrition dinner is an excellent idea. The building has sat empty for years and is still in good shape and could also be used as a senior citizens center and a place to house the food pantry.

The ambulance squad needs more volunteers to help an overworked crew. A citizens committee has been organized to help address this problem. It doesn't appear that residents are aware of the severity of the problem.

Finally, there is still a need for candidates to run for city council in the upcoming election in April.

There is plenty of work to be done this year. Minonk has the potential to grow again. Make 2003 the year that you decide you want to be a part of this new growth and make Minonk a better place to live. The quality of the community is determined by the quality of the people who get involved.