Council will discuss street closures to come
City council will be voting on a resolution to close parts of Eighth Street on Aug. 14 and also the annexation of 1540 West Polk Ave.
Mayor John Inyart said Aug. 14 is the day the Cub Scouts are having their Soap Box Derby. However, the closure would only be from 7 a.m. until 1p.m. Eighth Street would be closed from Jackson Avenue to VanBuren Avenue.
The annexation of 1540 West Polk Ave. is a property on the edge of town that wants to hook up to the city water supply. In order to do so, the property must be part of the city.
Inyart said before a property can be annexed, a notice must be placed in the paper so the public is aware, which has already happened. All of the other taxing bodies that will be affected must all be notified of the annexation.
He said in order for the annexation to be approved, a public hearing must take place. The public hearing will be held Tuesday, before the city council meeting. A majority vote also has to be approved in order for the annexation to occur.
The city council will also discuss the release of closed session meetings. Inyart said the council does this about every six months. The council will meet in a close session first to decide what will be released from the closed meetings.
He said the items discussed in closed meetings include employment issues, land acquisition and pending litigation. The council decides in the closed meeting what items can be released.
Inyart said all employment issues are blacked out because of privacy issues. Some land acquisitions are released, and others are blacked out. Pending litigations are also rarely released to public.
Other related issues include the approval of the destruction of the closed session meeting tapes.
Inyart said the council is only required to keep the tapes for 18 months; any older than that are disposed of. However, the written minutes must be kept forever.
The city council meeting will take place 7:30 p.m. on Tuesday at City Hall, 520 Jackson Ave.
Abby Allgire can be reached at 581-7942 or at alallgire@eiu.edu.