The Hancock-Henderson Quill, Inc.
By: Shirley Linder, Quill Editor
Jade Parker was present at the Village of Stronghurst board meeting held on September 9th, to inquire about comments or concerns on the spray park which had been opened for a week in the village park.
They will hold a grand opening on Memorial Day weekend along with the Dr. Pogue 5K Memorial Run. By that time they hope to have the sidewalk in, benches placed, a sign with rules and times the park is open, and the commemorative brick walk laid.
A discussion was held regarding the sign with rules and times and Parker said they would take care of that, however, Ronnie Gittings expressed that the board should have input and final approval of the rules posted.
Gittings said the board needed to make a decision on how much water they wanted the spray park to use in a day, his recommendation was 10,000 gallon per day, which if the water were purchased would be a cost of $20.
He then discussed ways in which this could be accomplished by adjusting the water flow on the jets, setting the amount of time the park is in use, etc.
The meter for the water will be installed soon and then they can monitor how much is being used and make adjustments accordingly. The jets runs for four minutes when activated, with 3 or 4 running at a time.
Yvonne Knapp presented the board with a resolution to be approved and signed, which the board did, to support the effort to prepare a Village of Stronghurst Community Plan for the next five years, for the growth and development of opportunities for its residents and businesses.
The steering committee met on August 31st and noted the following items have been completed: Spray Park installed; basketball court lights installed; video security equipment installed; and planters purchased for business district and park. The group determined that Business Development and Beautification/Appearance should be top priorities.
Under Business Development projects the priorities are: 1. Develop a community center/event hall and 2. Business recruitment. Under Beautification/Appearance the top priorities are: 1. FaŤade improvement project and 2. Business district light poles.
Diana Taylor had purchased 12 large pots for the downtown area at a cost of $305, which she asked the board to pay for. The Stronghurst Booster Club had brought 4 for the village park. Taylor asked if the board was willing to purchase ornamental trees for the pots, which they agreed to plus paying for the pots. Taylor said she has a recipe for the planting soil mixture and she would be responsible for keeping the trees trimmed. Gittings volunteered to keep them watered.
Terry Myers was present to ask the board about cutting down two trees in front of the property his daughter, Jackie, had bought from Randy Jarvis. The board will check into it. Myers also said they would like to put up a privacy fence around their back yard because their dogs, which are in a fenced pen, are being teased. He was told he will need to get a permit and also the fence must be placed 42" from the property lines.
Randy Jarvis asked the board for a 4 foot variance off the alley at his house so that he could build a garage. No decision was made. He also inquired if he were to build another house on his property next to Jim Spiker if he would have to pay for the installation of the septic tank and hook up. The board will check into an answer on this.
Steve Haring from MSA was also present with a contract to be signed by the board. The contract includes payment of $75,500 for the final designs, all the plans, detailed specs, bidding documents, bidding process, looking at bids and making recommendations, helping formulate construction between the village and vendors, managing all the paper work and all the payout invoices, change of orders, administrative work, plus 15 visits to the site when construction begins. The board approved the contract. The cost should take it to the end of the project unless unforeseen problems arise.
Gittings reported on trouble with one of the generators that would not start automatically. Travis Winters who installed the generator could not get it to work so a representative of the company came and it had to be rewired due to faculty wiring.
The police report for August included: 139.5 hours worked; 859 miles on squad car; 1 traffic stop; 1 verbal warning; 4 uniform traffic tickets; 8 service call; 3 assist calls; 2 warrant arrests; 2 criminal arrests; and 25 business checks.
In other business:
Present were: Mayor Gary Root; Trustees, Brendan Schaley, Mike Bohnenkamp, Amanda Kane, Betty Waterman, Jim Spiker, David Vancil arriving at 8:05; Employees, Lou Ann Nortrup, Ronnie Gittings, and Arbry Vancil arriving at 7:30; Guests, Yvonne Knapp, Jade Taylor, Diana Taylor, Terry Myers, Bob Morrison, Steve Haring, and Shirley Linder
The next meeting will be held on October 5th at 7:00 p.m. at city hall.