Village purchases lot on the west side of the 100 block of North Vine Street

The Police Department is still looking for part and full time officers

By ARIANA R. CHERRY
Staff Writer

At the opening of the most recent Arthur Village Board meeting, members reflected on the past firework show that took place on July 31. “I want to thank Mike and his staff and Grant and his staff for all the work that went into the firework preparation,” commented Trustee Matt Bernius. “I’d like to commend the Rotary and all the sponsors for the firework show. It was outstanding and everything went smoothly,” said Jim Fleming. Everyone on the board agreed and echoed Fleming and Bernius’s comments. Despite being rescheduled a few times and it raining earlier in the day, it was noted that the usual crowd numbers were only down about a third.

Treasurer Mike Hilgenberg reported $26,585.08 in expenditures and there were no expenses out of the ordinary.

Police Chief Mike Goodman commented that the fair held earlier in the month was pretty quiet for the police department. He also thanked all of the agencies that participated and assisted with the fireworks. Goodman informed them that they had assistance from Bloomington, Rantoul and Decatur, two police deputies from Douglas and Moultrie counties and four state troopers. “Things went much smoother when it was time for everyone to go. We only had to direct traffic for about thirty minutes. Everyone was out on the roads by 10:30 pm. It really worked well for us this year,” Goodman commented. The police department is still looking for part and full time officers. “We need to put together the right campaign for the right individual,” he added.

Grant Corum of Public Works reported that they had been working on sign posts replacement in the southwest border of town.

The board approved a temporary sign application from C.H.I to advertise a job fair to be held on August 14, 2021.

The village discussed the possibility of hiring an individual or cleaning service to clean the Arthur Community Building. It was noted that there hadn’t been anyone in the past year or so due to COVID, since the building hadn’t been in a lot of use. Erica Carter mentioned that she and a few others had been keeping up with some basic cleaning in the building as of recently. This position had already been included in the budget and they are hoping to have it cleaned once a week and for special events/situations. Board members approved to advertise for part-time cleaning personnel in the newspaper.

Members talked about purchasing a 35 x 100 lot on the west side of the 100 block of North Vine Street (the lot north of the Barber Shop). It had originally been listed at $40,000 but the village made an offer for $30,000). Comments around the board included the lot being an ideal place for visitors, extra parking, flea markets, food trucks and car charging stations. In the future, it was added that it also would be a good place to have a mural painted. Mayor Rod Randall told the board that he had been speaking with the Wall Dogs (the group that painted the murals in downtown Arcola). It would cost around $10,000 to have a mural painted on the wall on the property. A motion was made to purchase the lot in the amount of $30,000 using TIF funds. A committee will be formed to discuss how the village could use the lot to benefit Arthur.

A water survey had been sent to the residents of Arthur earlier, and Randall commented that he was disappointed in the turn-out of participation. Only fifty people had responded out of the 950 bills that had been mailed out.