CRESTON — At its monthly meeting Tuesday, the Creston Village Board of Trustees heard a report from Village Engineer Kevin Bunge on a planned storm sewer project that may take place before the end of the year.

Bunge said plans and a map for the work are completed and his employees will soon start work on talking with property owners about easements to allow for the work. The project will consist of 36-inch storm sewer pipe being put in to replace broken drain tile and improve drainage in Creston.

The storm sewer work will consist of adding pipe on both sides of the railroad tracks, but the current phase of it will not go under the tracks. The work was suggested due to issues with stormwater overflow.

Bunge said the work could be done this year, and if not it would begin in the spring of 2025. He's estimated in the past that the project could roughly cost $180,000-200,000.

"We're getting more water underground with this plan than we're getting underground now," Bunge said. "We're looking to make the current situation better."

Golf carts

The board discussed its golf cart/ATV ordinance during the meeting and potentially making changes to it. Creston currently requires golf carts to register with the village for a fee and to have certain features such as turning signals, insurance, and slow-moving vehicle signs.

The village has encountered issues with enforcement, people not registering their golf carts, unlicensed drivers, and speeding. 

The board discussed doing away with registration fees or doing away with the golf cart ordinance completely, which would make every golf cart in the village illegal. The board took no action Tuesday.

"It's an issue where a lot of people aren't paying the fees, and we have no mechanism to enforce them not paying the fees, so you're penalizing the people that are paying the fees," Trustee Curt Ward said. "It's an unfortunate issue all around. What we really need to figure out is enforcement.”

The village does not allow four-wheelers, dirt bikes, mini bikes or go carts.

Fireworks

The board unanimously approved a contribution of $2,500 towards the Creston Booster Days fireworks this year. The festival will take place Sept. 13-15.

Landfill

Village Attorney Dave Tess said during the meeting that a land transfer between the Rochelle Landfill and the village that was part of an agreement in recent years is nearly finalized and will see Creston acquire 111.3 acres. The village originally planned to receive 83.1 acres in the agreement. Most or all of the land will be leased out as farmland by the village in the future. The village will receive the money from the current farm lease the landfill has this year.

The land deal stems from an agreement that Creston, the Rochelle Landfill and City of Rochelle came to back in 2021 that would result in the closing of the Rochelle Landfill by or on Dec. 31, 2040.

Website

Village Clerk Jennifer Payton said during the meeting that design work is underway on Creston's new website and the hope is for it to be completed and online by Creston Booster Days in September.

In June, the village board unanimously approved an intergovernmental agreement with Dement Township for the new website designer that the entities will split. The site will include information on other organizations in Creston. The village's current site is in need of an update due to its age.

The total cost of the website update, which will be split between the organizations, is $3,795 for the first year and $2,595 yearly.