Mt. Morris Village Board members on Tuesday selected a company to demolish the second downtown building destroyed in a fire six months ago.

Mt. Morris officials hope to have Zickuhr Park renovations started — and completed — next year. In January, the village of Mt. Morris received a $152,600 OSLAD grant to redevelop Zickuhr Park; the total cost of the project is $305,200.

The village of Mt. Morris on Monday closed on the purchase of 1 N. Wesley Ave., Village President Phil Labash said. The village did not purchase 3 N. Wesley Ave., he said.

Mt. Morris Village Board members voted to purchase 1 Wesley Ave., which was one of two buildings destroyed in an April 16 fire. The purchase price was not listed on the publicly accessible portion of the ordinance.

Justin Coltrain addressed the Mt. Morris Village Board during the public comment portion of its Tuesday meeting.

A Mt. Morris resident threatened to sue the village for removing “tens of thousands of dollars'” worth of tools from the site of an April 16 fire that destroyed Sharky’s Sports Bar and a next door building.

The Sunset Lane Project involves the reconstruction of the entire 5.5-block street, starting on its eastern end and moving west. Village officials have paused work on the project for 2024 while they explore financing options.

Mt. Morris officials’ efforts to improve blighted properties in the village are continuing.

Over the past several months, Mt. Morris Historical Committee members have worked to move Mt. Morris Historical Museum items to a space in College Hall – formerly the Kable News building – on the Mt. Morris College Campus.

On June 25, Mt. Morris Village Board members unanimously approved raising the monthly base rate for water service from $12.26 to $22, effective July 1. The base rate will rise to $27 on July 1, 2025; to $32 on July 1, 2026; and to $37 on July 1, 2027.

Mt. Morris Village Board members unanimously approved TIF funding not-to-exceed $44,000 for Skills on Point to renovate the former Kable News Company building’s entrance to make it Americans with Disabilities Act-compliant. The building soon will house the village's museum.

Around 40 Mt. Morris residents gathered at the village hall on Aug. 1 to hear about the plan for redeveloping Zickuhr Park with the help of a state grant.

Mt. Morris Village Hall computers were hacked earlier this week, Village President Phil Labash announced at the Jan. 25 board meeting.

Mt. Morris is seeking a $1.8 million state grant to revitalize the business side of downtown. “This would be our commitment as a village to the downtown business district saying, ‘We’re there. We get it and we support the work that you’re doing,’” Village President Phil Labash said.

Mt. Morris trustees have voted to lock in an electricity rate for the wastewater treatment plant six months prior to the end of the village’s current contract.