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Oquawka Board and County Board Member Discuss Possible Alternative Truck Routes to CGB

by Jeff Tee - River Rat News

The Oquawka Village Board held its regularly scheduled meeting on Tuesday, January 5th.

County board member Kurt McChesney was present to discuss possible alternate truck routes for trucks going to and from CGB (Consolidated Grain and Barge) Oquawka facility.

Kurt stated he had recently joined the county board and had been selected to the bridge and road committee. He went on to say that during his first committee meeting there had been discussion of CGB truck traffic on the Lock and Dam road and some damage that had been caused by the trucks. He said the conversation turned to damage caused by truck traffic on Schuyler Street in Oquawka.

Kurt explained that as a farmer and a truck owner, he felt there were some safety concerns with truck traffic on Schuyler and was interested to see if the Oquawka Village Board along with the County board, and possibly CGB, might be able to come up with an alternate truck route.

The discussion turned to running trucks down Calhoun Street to utilize the south levee as an entrance to CGB.

Several residents who live along that route were in attendance to speak out against using Calhoun Street.

After Trustees Brenda Tee and Tammy Bundy stated they would not be in favor of running trucks trough a residential neighborhood, the conversation turned to the Galesburg Water Well road.

After some discussion about easements and water line locations, it was decided that with proper permissions from GWW, and grant money, the road could be elevated and widened to accommodate truck traffic.

Kurt stated his committee was set to meet next week. He said he would get back to the board after it was discussed at committee and at the regular county board meeting and said that he might try to meet with representatives of Galesburg Water Well and CGB, as well.

The board invited Kurt to the January work session on the 21st to continue the discussion.

ZONING REPORT

Zoning Officer John Newton presented the 2020-year end totals to the board. 20 permits were written throughout the year resulting in $3256 in fees collected for $581,025 in total construction.

POLICE REPORT

Police Chief Clifford Adam was not present but had previously submitted a request for snow tires for his squad car, stating he had become stuck in the snow several times during the last storm. After some discussion, the board opted to switch tires from the old wrecked squad to get by while waiting for grant money to be awarded for a new police SUV.

UPDATE: HWY 164 CONSTRUCTION AND SIDEWALK

Rice stated the new road will get another lift in the spring and the approaches to the affected side streets should be fixed at that time. He also suggested the Village wait to replace any sidewalks in the area until that time.

JACKIE CAIN TO DISCUSS INSURANCE

Jackie Cain was present via Zoom Meeting to discuss insurance renewal. After Ms. Cain's explanation, Tee made a motion to approve the renewal of the Village's insurance. Second by Lain. All members voted yes.

CLOSED SESSSION

Although it was on the agenda, there was no closed session.

Meeting Adjourned. Present were Trustees Don Rice, Shawn Lain, Tammy Bundy, Brian Collier, Brenda Tee, Village Clerk Jacqui Smith, and Village President Nancy Bundy. Trustee Scott Ray, and Village Attorney Andy Youngquist were absent.