The Taylorville City Council met Monday night in regular session. One of the big stories of the night was the Mayoral Appointment of Jim Olive to the Alderman Ward 1 seat. Olive will be taking the seat left vacant by the resignation of former Alderman Rocky Moore, who resigned on May 13th. There had been some discussion over whether or not there was a conflict of interest with Olive serving on both City Council, as well as serving as President of the Christian County Fair Association. City Attorney Rocci Romano explained that there was no conflict of interests with the appointment.
The appointment passed unanimously, with Olive taking his seat on the council after being inducted to the council. The Taylorville City Council took another roll call to reflect the addition of Olive to the Council, and proceeded with the meeting.
Another item to generate discussion was a resolution for the Board of Trustees of the University of Illinois Service Agreement to conduct a Phase Two Archeological Study of the proposed site of the new Taylorville Water Treatment Plant. Several items had been found on the site that may be tied to early Taylorville settlers. Alderman Bruce Jones asked the question as to what made this particular site any more important than any other early Taylorville site that had been demolished or built over in the past.
Taylorville Water Department Superintendent David Speagle clarified to the council that the University would conduct the archeological survey, and then determine if the site needs a phase three study as well. He also let the council know that the water department could proceed with building the new plant, even if the site was deemed a historical location. Speagle said that the new plans would include moving several proposed facilities around as well as demolishing others that weren’t currently planned to be demolished. The Taylorville Water Department currently cannot continue with the original plans for the new plant until the Phase Two study is conducted. However the altered water treatment plant would cost far more to build than the Phase Two study would cost to be conducted along with the costs of building the new plant under the original designs. The motion on the resolution to conduct the Phase Two study passed 7-1.
The Pana Bike Trail was another item that generated lengthy discussion at Monday Night’s Taylorville City Council Meeting. There was a resolution in question that said that the city of Taylorville would assist the city of Pana with the costs of the repairs of the trail. The resolution also stated that should the city of Pana apply for a grant to repair or replace the railroad trestle bridge in Taylorville that’s part of the bike trail, that Taylorville would reimburse Pana of 50% of the costs of applying for the grant, with an amount to reimburse not to exceed $1,250. Also should that grant be given, Taylorville would reimburse Pana for up to half of the required local spending on the project, not to exceed $45,000. Alderman Earl Walters stated how he was against the resolution, stating how he thinks that it’s the first step towards Pana signing over the trail and the costs associated with it to Taylorville.
Several other Aldermen spoke after Alderman Walters’ comments stating how although they agreed that the resolution is most likely the first step in Taylorville taking over the bike trail; they felt that the trail was something that the citizens of Taylorville wanted to incorporate into the city. Several of the Alderman said how even though there is other issues that they feel is more pressing to the city, that they’ve taken much more phone calls regarding the bike trail than anything else. The motion on the resolution passed 7-1, with one emphatic “No” vote from Alderman Walters.
All motions from the various committee reports passed without much discussion. Several members of the community spoke thanking the council for passing the resolution on the bike trail, and the meeting adjourned at 8:21 PM.
