Turbine to be removed

Fairbury’s sewer plant wind turbine will soon be a thing of the past as city council members approved deconstruction and removal of the structure.

Sewer Superintendent Brad Duncan acknowledged it looked like a good deal initially, but costs have gone up over the years for remote monitoring, maintenance and repairs. Just keeping the turbine operational costs the city $12,000-$13,000 a year, according to Duncan. PowerGrid Partners will handle the removal which will cost the city nothing.

“They will come take it down and decommission it,” he said.

Mayor David Slagel noted the turbine has been offline for six months and this has not changed the city’s bill at all. The city had the turbine since late 2012. Alderman Gary Norris made the motion for deconstruction.

In a separate matter, City Superintendent Brett Ashburn reported the city tends to field several complaints when solicitors are around. He suggested the possibility of closing the city to solicitors altogether.

“People just don’t like knocks at the door,” said Ashburn.

Norris shared information about a call he received regarding parking concerns. The woman wondered if streets needed to be closed so soon on days of special events downtown which don’t often start until noon. Many of her customers are elderly and have to park far away.

During the public comment portion of the meeting, citizen Dave Shepherd asked for an update on his neighbor’s dog situation, which has been a nuisance to some. He wondered if the owners will still clean up the property if the dogs are removed. City Attorney Steven Mann said there is a claim against them to clean everything up.

Alderman Jerry Hoffman requested a finance committee meeting to discuss employee reviews, which will likely be in closed session. The meeting was scheduled for Wednesday, Feb. 26 at 6 p.m.

Also at Wednesday’s meeting, the Fairbury City Council:

-Approved the sewer project pay request in the amount of $551,794.29.

-Authorized an application for alcohol sales and consumption on city property from Dave’s Supermarket on Friday, May 15 from 4-7 p.m. The Big Green Egg tasting event is known as “Dave’s Egg Fest 2020.”

-Okayed downtown road closings for the Fairbury Area Chamber of Commerce during the community sale May 2, Local Taste on Sept. 19 and the Christmas parade on Dec. 5.