CRESTON — At its monthly meeting Tuesday, the Creston Village Board of Trustees discussed rust issues that have been seen in the village's water system. Trustee Mike Kerns brought up complaints that he's been hearing from village residents. 

"It's bad," Kerns said. "It's definitely a problem. People call me all the time about it. We need good water for the residents and if new houses are built here. It definitely makes a mess."

Reasons for the rusty water being seen by residents could include dead-end water lines, hydrants needing to be flushed more, and the village's water tower needing maintenance. Trustees discussed possible solutions Tuesday included continuing to flush hydrants regularly or doing it more often, adding an expensive iron removal plant, changes to the layout of the village's water system, and having the village's water tower cleaned. Trustees estimated that water tower cleaning hasn't been done in the past 4-5 years. 

"I will speak with our village engineer and see what kind of a plan we can get going to get up there and get the tower cleaned," Village President Tom Byro said. "That will help. It might not be the full answer, but it will help. And we'll see what we can find out about the village water system in these problem areas."

Subdivision

Village Building Inspector Casper Manheim said Tuesday that a new home is currently being built in the Creston Commons subdivision.

Hayden Real Estate closed on the ownership of the subdivision at the end of December. The village has hoped in recent years to see clean up, new homes and a new agreement with the subdivision's ownership. Tim Hayden, owner of Hayden Real Estate, has attended recent village board meetings and has detailed plans to start building homes in the subdivision.

"It's starting to fill up, but this is the first one," Manheim said. "They have the footings in and they're setting up for the walls. I'm still getting my feet wet on the fee structure and all that. They got going right away and got their permit in."

Library

Manheim said Tuesday that construction of the new Creston-Dement Public Library in the village is "coming together." The roof was recently put on the building. 

The project broke ground March 15 at the corner of Main and Cederholm Streets. A referendum passed in June 2022 that allowed the Creston-Dement Public Library District to issue $2.2 million in bonds to build a new library building on the land that was donated years ago for just that purpose. The main reason for the desire for a new building is the library outgrowing its current space at 107 S. Main St. The library board hopes for a fall 2025 opening.

Golf carts

Byro asked the board Tuesday to review Creston's current golf cart/ATV ordinance for possible changes at a future meeting.

Last month, the board discussed the ordinance 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 does not allow four-wheelers, dirt bikes, mini bikes or go carts.

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

"I'd like you all to think about it," Byro said. "Let's come up with some ideas for a month from now. I know one of the things we talked about was getting rid of the fee and still regulating it. We want to get everyone registered."

Website

Village Clerk Jennifer Payton said during the meeting that work on the village's new website is nearly complete. 

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 and events 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.