The Fairbury City Council approved building the new D2 basketball courts at Marsh Park, dedicated to the memories of Drew Fehr and Dylan Bazzell, during Wednesday’s regular meeting.
The community raised $25,000 in contributions for this project. Prairie Lands Foundation matched the amount to give a total project funding of $50,000.
Several locations for the new basketball courts within Marsh Park have been proposed. The latest proposal is for the two courts to be side-by-side on the west side of Marsh Park, north of the existing West Pavilion. This location will require the removal of one large tree.
Alderman Steve Endres and Alderman Jim Tipton supported the idea of the new basketball courts, however both aldermen expressed concerns about the proposed location in Marsh Park.
They noted that if one court was north of the West Pavilion and one was south of the West Pavilion, it would be less crowded, and the large tree would not need to be removed. The Council voted to approve the proposed side-by-side court arrangement presented at the meeting.
Council members approved the Consent Agenda, including the last meeting minutes, financial reports, police reports, and sidewalk requests.
During the public comment portion of the meeting, Deb Moran announced the next disaster drill will occur November 20 at 6 P.M. at the Fairbury Fire Station. These drills are held periodically to better prepare the city to respond to a community disaster.
Rebekah Fehr thanked the City Council for renovating her Chamber of Commerce office in old City Hall. She now has a better office with an improved heating system.
A citizen who lives at 811 West Oak reported that traffic on Route 24 travels too fast on the west side of Fairbury. The citizen asked for the speed limit to be reduced from 40 to 30 miles per hour and heavier police enforcement of the speed limit.
Mayor David Slagel replied that Fairbury is only responsible for enforcing the speed limit. Mayor Slagel suggested the citizen contact his Illinois State Representative about lowering the speed limit because the State of Illinois controls this. Alderman Jerry Hoffman reported that he also has concerns about excessive speed on Route 24 and he would be contacting his Illinois State Representative.
Alderman Gary Norris thanked Martin Steidinger, a City Superintendent, and his crew for doing a great job of pouring the new concrete sidewalk by the Bank of Pontiac. Alderman Jon Kinate reported that he was delighted to see the progress made tearing down the old Fairbury Hospital.
The City Council voted to approve a request from Ron Fehr to annex land into the city on East Elm Street behind the CVS drug store. The Council also voted to approve an updated agreement for mutual aid for the Fire Department. A resolution to abate fire bonds was also approved.
A recent property survey near Janssen Tire and Auto Service on Eighth Street found an error had been made many years ago concerning an alley. The Council voted to resolve this error by vacating the alley.
The quote to upgrade the loudspeaker system used to play Christmas music on Locust Street was $32,000. After much discussion, the Council decided not to pursue this upgrade because of its low usage and relatively high cost.
Following an executive session, the council approved a settlement agreement with a former employee. No further information was released on the matter.
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