The Creston Village Board of Trustees on Tuesday, Nov. 4, discussed the potential purchase and placement of a digital sign somewhere within Creston in the future.

Village President Tom Byro presented trustees with a concept drawing of a 4-foot-by-8-foot digital sign and discussion was held on potential locations for the sign, which would feature information such as planned village events and messages such as hydrant flushing days.

Potential locations for the sign include North Main Street, or on Illinois Route 38 on the north or south side. The board resolved to talk to property owners to decide a permanent location. No sign has been purchased yet.

“We want to do the sign, we just need to determine where,” Village Trustee Reid Elliot said.

Comprehensive plan meeting set

The board resolved to hold a public meeting at Village Hall at 6 p.m. Tuesday, Dec. 2, before its regularly scheduled meeting at 7 p.m. in an effort to update its comprehensive plan.

Creston has started the process of updating its outdated comprehensive plan, which includes the future vision for the village including infrastructure, business development, housing and codes.

Byro and Elliot have worked with the Ogle County Economic Development Corporation and the University of Illinois Extension on a framework of a plan. The public meeting will allow residents and other Creston entities to provide feedback.

The village’s last comprehensive plan was done before 2000, and municipalities typically update them every 10 years. By law, comprehensive plan updates must be done following boundary agreements, and Creston agreed to one with the city of Rochelle in recent years.

“It needs to be what the village wants,” Elliot said. “It needs to be realistic and what we see in the village’s future.”

Water tower

Village Engineer Kevin Bunge provided an update to the board on ongoing work to install a mixer in Creston’s water tower.

The mixer installation project was put into motion following rust issues that have been seen in Creston’s water system. The village found difficulty hiring an electrician for the project and approved an $11,725 bid for the work. The electric work will be done in coming weeks and will involve new lighting and an electrical box up on the tower. The mixer may not be installed until the spring due to the village needing to apply for an Illinois Environmental Protection Agency permit.

Sidewalk

Trustees discussed needed sidewalk replacement in Creston on Tuesday along with a possible sidewalk improvement program with dedicated funds each year.

Village Trustee Mark Hibshman said “most of” the sidewalks in Creston need replacement. Any sidewalk that hasn’t been replaced in the village since its installation will need replacing, due to meeting ADA requirements.

The top of the village’s sidewalk replacement plan list is work in the area of Depot and South streets, along with Main Street. Byro said he would discuss a budget with Village Treasurer Penny Payton for the initial projects and for each year going forward.

Village Trustee Curt Ward estimated that sidewalk replacement on the full length of Main Street could cost $80,000-$100,000 or more.

Water line

Bunge said during the meeting that the village would be going out for bids in the coming days for a water line replacement project on South Street to attempt to alleviate rust issues in Creston that would include upsizing four-inch mains, shutoff valve work and hydrant work including removing dead-end lines.

The work would likely be the first phase of a multi-phase project. Bunge has theorized in the past that rust issues are likely due to four-inch mains with not enough capacity.

Bunge said the work could be done in the winter or spring depending on bids received, and trustees gave him approval to accept winter work proposals if the project could be finished sooner.

Downtown grants

Byro expressed desire during the meeting to see the village apply for grants for infrastructure work in Creston’s downtown after speaking with the OCEDC and hearing about grants that neighboring communities have received. Mt. Morris recently received a $3 million grant to improve its downtown.

The Illinois Transportation Enhancement Program (ITEP) streetscape grant awards state and federal funds every two years and covers 80% of projects that improve underground infrastructure, roads, sidewalks and parking lots.

“I’d like to see us apply for this,” Byro said. “It’s something I want to keep looking into and pursue.”