Forsyth Fast Facts

Items of note from the Aug. 4 and 17 Village Board meetings

BOARD DECISIONS

• A variance was granted to allow two driveway approaches at 250 Hundley Drive for a single family home after Mayor Hap Gilbert broke the tie for a split vote with trustees Marilyn Johnson, Bob Rasho and Larry Reed dissenting.
• Trustees Steve Hubbard and Larry Reed voted against spending $22,000 to proceed with Hundley Road drainage improvements this year, saying that $2,000 in remedial work could take care of the flooding problems experienced when earthen berms were destroyed during an early 2009 rain. However, the majority of the Board voted to approve a Public Works Committee recommendation to move forward with the improvements. Mayor Hap Gilbert acknowledged committee members and trustee/chair Bob Rasho saying they “did a good job isolating the four areas” within the Village that need repairs. 
• Trustees accepted a proposal from the department of recreation administration at Eastern Illinois University for a community-wide recreation study at a cost not to exceed $7,500. The study does not obligate the Village for any further expenditures, according to trustee and Parks & Recreation Committee chair Eric Morr, and will serve as a survey to give the committee help in focusing on a senior center and how it fits in with long-range plans for a community center. 
• Trustees approved a temporary display permit for Hickory Point Christian Village for a farmers market on their grounds from 10 a.m.-1 p.m. on each Wednesday from Aug. 26 to Oct. 7. 
• After a closed session, trustees agreed to vacate the conservation easement on the west side of Stevens Creek on the farmland north of County Highway 20 now owned by developer Steve Horve. The acreage is under consideration for development of a residential area. (See next issue for details.) 
• Hickory Point Fire Protection District volunteer firefighters will use the intersection of Barnett Avenue and Rt. 51 for four hours each day on Aug. 29 and 30 for their “Fill the Boot” campaign to benefit the Muscular Dystrophy Association telethon. 
• Trustees approved purchasing a $600 park bench to be installed at the end of Cale Court on the south side of West Forsyth Parkway facing the park. The bench comes as a gift from a Village resident and will include a plaque inscribed with the donor’s appreciation to the Village of Forsyth. Additional Board approval came for a Parks and Recreation Committee recommendation to use $6,890 of its budget to purchase fencing and completely enclose Diamond No. 4.

SAFETY ISSUES

• No further residential burglaries have occurred in the Village during the past month following an unsuccessful attempt to burglarize a home in the Grayhawk subdivision on Aug. 2, according to a report from the Macon County Sheriff’s Office. Prior to the Aug. 2 incident, no burglaries had occurred for three weeks, and deputies “feel confident that (the burglars) have moved on.” 
• The deputies also reported that warning citations have ended, and a zero tolerance policy is now in effect for motorists who violate the 30 m.p.h. speed limit along County Highway 20 near the new Maroa-Forsyth Grade School. The speed limit drops to 20 m.p.h. when school children are present.

PENDING

• Trustee and Finance Committee chair Steve Hubbard told trustees at their Aug. 17 meeting that committee members were in a “dilemma” about water and sewer rates and will continue to study all aspects of the situation before making any recommendations for adjustments to the present rates. 
• The plan is ready to send out for proposals for an estimated $54,000 in drainage work needed for the Cox and Elwood streets intersection, according to Village Engineer Chuck Hunsinger.
• Mayor Hap Gilbert, as chair of the Economic Development Committee, reported that arrangements have been finalized for free transportation to the Farm Progress Show from the southeast portion of the Hickory Point Mall’s parking lot near Bergner’s.
• Recent actions by Parks and Recreation Committee members include deciding to move the sand volleyball pit past the Diamond No. 3 outfield and allowing the Forsyth Youth League to use a section of the new concession stand for storage.

KUDOS

• In early August, Public Works Department director Larry Coloni and a crew from his department spent two days removing mold from Forsyth’s two water towers. Some residents reported thinking that the tanks had been painted.