Munz scholarships presented

Sheldon Riedel, right, is presented with a Munz Memorial Scholarship by Jim Munz.

Three Brian J. Munz Memorial Scholarships were presented at Wednesday’s regular meeting of the Fairbury City Council.

Scholarship recipients include Sheldon Riedel, Audrey Leman and Tyler Hanson.

Jim Munz acknowledged Fire Chief Josh Hoselton and Dave Hammer from the Prairielands Fund for their efforts with the scholarships.

Also at Wednesday’s meeting, City Superintendent Brett Ashburn gave an update on the Route 24 construction project from the state. Concrete patching is expected to begin Monday before curbs are ripped out and intersections are redone starting July 14.

Crews are expected to pause work during the Prairie Dirt Classic race week with milling beginning July 28.

“They will have many of the side streets closed during that time,” Ashburn explained.

Flaggers will be located at First, Seventh and Clay streets letting motorists through on those intersections. Once asphalt is finished, they will be working on sidewalks.

“We can plan on them being in town for probably at least two months,” added Ashburn.

Ashburn says the pause of road work during the big race week should “alleviate stress.”

Diminishing sand at the North Park volleyball area came up again at the meeting. Street Superintendent Lonnie Rhoads estimates about 200 tons of sand would be needed to fill that area, coming out to about $30 per ton for delivery.

“The wind has taken it to the east a lot,” said Alderman Gary Norris.

“We need a wind block of some sort,” stated Alderman Steve Endres.

Norris praised the staff at the swimming pool for doing a good job this summer.

“Faith (Bachtold) has done a super job as have the guards,” Norris observed.

Additional security cameras around town and the installation of automatic door locks for park restrooms were also discussed Wednesday, though no action was taken. The entire proposal would include cameras at the fire station, the dump, North Park pavilion and updates for City Hall and the street shed. The grand total is $27,000.

After council discussion, Mayor David Slagel said they could break down the proposal and do fewer cameras. Aldermen talked about illegal dumping taking place at the site on west Locust Street and vandalism at North and Marsh parks. While the vandalism times are random, it has been observed mostly during the day.

An agreement with the Rural Fire District was approved. While there used to be a set rate of $18,000, this changes it to 55 percent of what is levied and to make sure they are levying the maximum amount of money they can every year. The fire district is over 90 square miles.

Marcia Walter was reappointed to the Dominy Library Board while Jason Whitfill was appointed.

A new street named Westfield Drive was approved between the new Steidinger Brothers and Sealtite buildings on the west edge of the city.

The project and OSLAD grant services agreement was approved with Farnsworth Group for future park acquisition and development.

Alderman Bill Schmidgall acknowledged the recent passing of Fire Chief Josh Hoselton and Alderman Charlie Hoselton’s mother, noting it has been a hard year with their father passing away prior to that.

The consent agenda was approved, which included the voucher invoice register, minutes and overtime report.

Ryan Hanson, left, accepts a scholarship on behalf of his son, Tyler Hanson.