Troy Council Meets, Discusses Upcoming Public Work Projects
By Devese Ursery
The Troy Village Council met on Tuesday, July 19, with little on the agenda. There were a few items discussed during this meeting. There was no participation or comments from the public, the Mayor, or city administrator.
In the Consent agenda section the monthly treasurer’s report was made by City Administrator, Jay Keevan, and he went over funds held by the Village, sales tax for 2022, and the gaming revenue collected in St. Jacob. In the Building and Zoning section monthly reports were made for the month of June 2022 on code inspections, building permits issued, rental inspections and fees inspections. There was no new business to report on in business registration for June 2022. Rob Hancock reported nothing new with the water plant. All items on the agenda were approved by the Council.
The Council approved the Aged Obligation report and the motion to bills for the months of June and July from the Finance and Economic Development Committee. The Village approved the hire of Miranda Wilkinson for the position of Water Clerk at an hourly rate of $20.67 an hour. There was nothing new to report from the City Treasurer.
Chief Brent Shownes reported that the police department made 331 traffic stops and issued out 145 citations. The police department also made six felony arrests and 41 misdemeanor arrests. They collected a total of $620.00 in fines.
There are several projects on slate for Public Works, but here are some of the key topics that were discussed. The MEPRD Bicycle and Pedestrian Grant, a $220,000 grant to extend the trail from the park to West Clay Street along Wynona.The grant will be voted on by the MEPRD Board and the village of Troy would be notified by August 10. Another project that was discussed in detail was the Zenk Road Culvert and Creek Restoration. Residents from the area came to the last Council meeting and reported erosion around the culvert under Zenk Road and along Shurrwood Court. This area is downstream of the Bargraves drainage area. Rip rap was done in the area and Public Works applied and received a $100,000 Madison County Community Development Block Grant to extend the detention pond at Bargraves and IL-162. The project is expected to cost $235,000. Keevan has discussed getting ARPA (American Rescue Plan Act) funds from Madison County to cover the remaining $135,000. Nothing has been affirmed as of yet, according to reports. The biggest topic of discussion in the meeting was the work to be done on the pond south of the Serenade into more of a nature preserve with a fishing dock. The Mayor and other village officials met MERPD on July 15 to talk about changing the $300,000 grant from a splash pad to a water feature playscape with lake beautification, which was approved. The lowest bid for the project came from PDS at $676,000. There were two other bids that came in, one for $984,035 from Keller Construction and another one from Byrn & Jones construction for $1,591,130.00.
“It’s not realistic what they put there and we can’t afford it anyway, so I think we just got to get our minds wrapped around that dock will have to be done later, if ever,” said City Engineer Tom Cissell. “We don’t have to give it up out of our minds, we can put it in later.”
The last topic of the evening to be discussed before adjourning, the Council approved several ordinances that would provide water service to the areas of 4 Sequoia Drive, 29 Sequoia Drive, 70 Lake Shore Drive, 8572 Country Lane, 9003 and 9007 Blue Haven Drive, upon an annexation agreement. All resolutions and ordinances were approved.
The next Troy City Council meeting will be held on Monday, August 1, at 6:30.
