Fairbury City Council meets

(The map of a proposed street closure at Fairbury Speedway in May)

The Fairbury City Council approved the Consent Agenda, including the last meeting minutes, financial reports, police reports, and sidewalk requests during Wednesday's regular meeting at City Hall.

 Superintendent Brett Ashburn reported that an application for a grant for up to $300,000 to upgrade the Stafford Community Center is being submitted.

Alderman Jim Tipton reported the Fairbury City Crew is renovating the northwest room of Old City Hall. Demolition is complete, and rebuilding is underway. The City Crew refurbished the east side of the building in 2023.

The City Council voted to approve the purchase of a new door from Gutwein Quality Doors for the northwest room project in Old City Hall. The new door will match the front door installed in 2023 when the east side of the building was refurbished. Old City Hall was placed on the National Register of Historic Places back in 1996.

The Council also voted to approve a request from Fairbury Speedway to close a street adjacent to the track for a specific race this year on May 23, 24 and 25. The closure starts at 5:30 p.m. each night until the end of the races.

There are currently several options for citizens to pay their utility bills. These options include personal checks, setting up an automatic payment from a checking account, and online bill payment. The Council voted to change the online payment vendor to a company named Doxo. This company offers more payment choices than the current supplier.

The Council voted to approve a new ordinance titled "An Ordinance Relating to Rules and Regulations for Stopping, Standing, Parking, and Discharging Passengers of Unscheduled Intercity Buses Within the City Limits of Fairbury." The new ordinance imposes a fine of $750 per passenger on the bus owner for violating this ordinance. The new ordinance also empowers the City to seize and impound the bus with a penalty of $5,000 to the bus owner.

The Council voted to go into Executive Session after the regular meeting. There were no actions to report as a result of the Executive Session.