Highland veterans memorial dedication postponed until November

The Highland City Council awarded the bid for construction of the city’s new Veterans Memorial Wall during its April 17 meeting. However, due to the late date, plans to dedicate the wall on Memorial Day have now been pushed back.

City officials and the members the American Legion Lee Iten Post 430 and the Veterans of Foreign Wars Post 5694 felt that construction could not be finished in such a short time period. The wall is now scheduled to be dedicated in November, on Veterans Day.

The low bid was from Korte & Luitjohan Contractors in Highland for $38,780. Engineers had estimated construction would cost about $35,000.

The memorial will be built at Dennis Rinderer Park and is meant to commemorate the lives and service of all veterans and first responders who died while serving in either World War.

While the city is helping the American Legion and VFW to fund the wall construction, the organizations are seeking donations to fund bronze plaques that will rest on the wall bearing the names of the deceased veterans. Each plaque is estimated to cost $375-400 and will be paid for by the sale of pavers. Donors can contribute by buying either a brick or granite slab.

The paver will have the name of the veteran or first responder the donor wishes to honor. A brick costs $100, while an 8 by 12 inch granite slab is $300.

The Legion and VFW also ask Highland citizens and businesses to donate any amount toward the memorial. A donation form can be found on the News Leader website. Send the form (including donation) to 1130 New Trenton Road, Highland, IL 62249. Checks can be made out to the Highland Area Community Foundation Veterans Memorial Pass Through Fund.

Arbor Day proclamation

Mayor Joe Michaelis read a proclamation that named April 22 as Arbor Day.

The first arbor day was in 1872, when J. Sterling Morton proposed to the Nebraska Board of Agriculture, a special day should be set aside for planting trees. 2017 is the 145 anniversary of the first Arbor Day, where over 1 million trees were planted in Nebraska.

Arbor Day events in Highland were held Saturday at Silver Lake Park during the Spring Bloom Festival. There were presenters talking about various subjects including solar energy, home-brewing and mushrooming. Highland High School Agriculture Department sold house plants at the event, and there was a Girl Scout butterfly garden project.

“This is a great way to showcase Silver Lake Park and arboretum,” said Parks and Recreation Director Mark Rosen.

National Small Business Week

Michaelis also read a proclamation that declared the week of April 30 to May 6, National Small Business Week. According to the U.S. Small Business Administration, National Small Business Week is a week used to recognize the substantial contributions made by the nations small business owners.

Relay for Life approved

The council approved a request from the Relay for Life committee outlining the events for this year’s Relay for Life, a community-based fundraising event of the American Cancer Society.

The event will be held at the Korte Recreation Center and Glik Park on June 24. A Survivors Dinner will be served in the KRC gym at 5 p.m., the opening ceremony will being at 6:30 p.m. outside, and the event will end around 11 p.m.

The Relay committee requested to begin set up June 23 at 6 p.m., and the event tear-down will begin June 25.

Paint the Town Purple approved

The council approved the “Paint the Town Purple” campaign conducted by the Miss Heart of Hartlieb Relay for Life Team.

To publicize the Relay for Life on June 24, purple ribbons will be tied around trees throughout the city. The ribbons will be put up before the first Peanut Butter and Jam festival June 2 and will be taken down July 8, two weeks after the event.

All of the trees in the Square, as well as other “well-traveled” parts of the city will receive ribbons.

Memorial Day requests approved

The city council approved a request from the American Legion Lee Iten Post 439 and the VFW Post 5694 concerning Memorial Day 2017 activities.

The activities include short ceremonies at the St. Joseph’s Cemetery, Highland City Cemetery and St. Gertrude Catholic Cemetery in Grantfork. There will be a parade at 1 p.m., which will travel from St. Paul Church to the VFW Post home.

There will be a ceremony at the VFW following the parade the end of the parade, around 2 p.m.

The council also approved a $200 donation request from the organizations that will be given to the HHS band for its services. The band plays at the ceremony.

Schweizerfest changes approved

The Highland Jaycees returned to the council to seek approval for the changes made to the annual Schweizerfest plan.

This was the second time the Jaycees addressed the council. Their requests were tabled at the April 3 council meeting because the council wanted the club to preform outreach to get the opinions of the business owners that surround the Square.

Initially, the group requested the closure of the inner-Square area be at 1 p.m. and the closure of the whole outer-Square at 3 p.m. Friday, June 9. Previously, the Jaycees requested an overall Square closure time of 5 p.m., and the council feared that the change would anger the area’s surrounding business owners.

After speaking with the business owners, the Jaycees decided to make a compromise and requested a full road closure around at 3 p.m. They learned 13 out of the 17 business owners around the Square supported their new time choice. They said that out of the four extra businesses, four abstained from signing their sheet and one business was completely opposed the idea.

The council decided to approve the Jaycees request. The event will take place in the Square, starting at 6 p.m., and will continue through the weekend ending on the night of June 11.

Schweizerfest attractions include a parade, a 5K run, bingo, carnival rides, food and beverage stands and various forms of entertainment.

Police Pension reappointment

The council approved Michaelis’ recommendation to reappoint Darren Twyford to the Police Pension Board. Twyford was appointed to the board last summer when Don Lohman passed away, laving his spot vacant. Twyford’s current term expires on May 1. However, Twyford agreed to serve another two-year term that will expire on May 1, 2019.

Industrial Development reappointment

The council also approved the Michaelis’ request to reappoint the five members of the Industrial Development Commission. Because the term for a commission member is only one year, each year the commission members are either reappointed or replaced. Darell Bellm, Jon Greve, Diane Korte-Lindsey, Ryan Goodwin and Eric Rehkemper have all agreed to serve additional one-year terms.

2016-2017 budget amendments approved

The city council also approved several amendments to the 2016-2017 fiscal year budget.

According to the City Manager Mark Latham, city officials review the previous year’s budget to check expenditures to verify that funds have not been spent over the original budgeted amount. Budget amounts are also asked to be amended for items in excess of needed funding based on results.

Latham said that the larger budget amendments are connected to the cost to complete the Highland Water Treatment Plant $1.5 million clarifier and added funds used to finish trail construction and various park improvements.

A sheet listing all of the 2016-2017 budget amendments can be seen linked to this article online at highlandnl.com.

2017-2018 budget approved

The council voted to accept the budget for the 2017-2018 fiscal year. During the meeting the council held a section of time for a public hearing, where no citizens raised objections over the budget.

According to Latham, the $48.3 million budget is a reflection of the city’s desire to improve aging infrastructure, while gathering the reserves needed to support the a conservative budgeting strategy.

A detailed article covering the budget can be found on the News Leader website.

Maintenance material bid awarded

The city council approving the awarding of bids to seven different companies totaling $103,412 for street maintenance materials. The Illinois Department of Transportation allowed $255,000 for this year’s Motor Fuel Tax program. The materials will be paid for out of the Motor Fuel Tax funds for the 2017 year.

Engineering agreement approved

The council approved a $600,000 preliminary engineering agreement with the St. Louis engineering firm Crawford, Murphy & Tilly Inc (CMT) for upgrades to the water reclamation (sewer) plant.

At a January council meeting, a CMT representative, Scoot Knight, outlined the city’s goals for upgrading the plant to meet current and future needs of the city. The next steps in the sewer system and water reclamation facility rehabilitation plan is to upgrade the water reclamation plant.

According to the CMT plan, the plant restoration includes addressing almost every structure in the plant and the replacing aging equipment. The plan also includes the purchase of an additional four and a half acres of land around the plant, which is located off Iberg Road.

The city is applying for an $11 million loan through the State Revolving Loan fund through the Illinois Environmental Protection Agency. The loan will cover both the plant upgrades and the restoration to the city sewer system. According to Latham, once a contract for construction is signed the city can request reimbursements from project costs to the sewer account.

Additionally there will be no rate increase added beyond yearly adjustments for inflation. The loan for the whole sewer rehabilitation will be paid off at an expected 1.85 percent interest rate over the next 20 years.

The plant upgrade is expected to cost about $8 million.

Rezoning approved

The council also approved the rezoning of one acre located at 12310 Sportsman Road from a R1-C single-family residence to mixed use. Steve Schmitt filed the rezoning application, but the property is owned by trustees Sara E. Raeber, Othmar Raeber, and Betty Schmitt. The property will be used as an overflow private parking lot for the Steve Schmitt Chevrolet Buick GMC dealership located at 12631 Illinois Route 143.

Fox rules and rates approved

The council approved the renewal of a Highland Communication Services contract which allows the carrying of the Fox network.

According to Angela Imming, the HCS director of technology and innovation, Fox is a wildly popular network and customers expect the network to be provided with any type of programming. The current contract includes National Geographic, Fox News, Fox Business, Big 10, FXM and other channels.

According to Imming, the new contract will marginally increase the per-subscriber rate, but it is a typical yearly increase that will not go to the customer.

This story was originally published April 26, 2017 at 11:32 AM with the headline "Highland veterans memorial dedication postponed until November."