Marseilles’ stretch toward I-80 now complete
Final annexation means city can extend sewer, water to interstate
MARSEILLES – After years of negotiating and waiting, the Marseilles City Council finally did it Wednesday evening.
By unanimous agreement, the council annexed the final parcel of land necessary to extend the city’s boundary about 1.5 miles north to Interstate 80.
The amount of land isn’t particularly large, comparably – only a 300-foot wide strip, mostly on the east side of County Highway 15 to the interstate. The lone exception is a jog to the west side of the county highway at the new residential subdivision in that area.
What the annexation means to Marseilles is the ability to extend municipal sewer and water to the interstate as a means of attracting and encouraging development.
Municipal services are currently extended north to the medical clinic under construction on the east side of the county highway, just beyond the Fairway Body Shop location.
“This concludes our effort to get to Interstate 80,” Mayor Jim Trager noted after the ratification. “There’s nothing planned for the area yet, but we’re able to run water and sewer out there now.”
The process began seven to eight years ago under the previous administration of then-Mayor Don Bolatto. The annexations proceeded slowly, sometimes with only one or two landowners agreeing at a time to the move.
“It’s been a long, drawn-out process,” Trager noted. “We’re very happy about it. Hopefully when the economy recovers, we’ll see growth out there.”
The annexed land is on property owned by JoEllen and Owen Fuller at 2856 East 24th Road, and is located just north of the Al’s Plumbing facility. No objections to the annexation were raised during the public hearing preceding the regular bi-monthly council meeting.
Bitter cold weather and the threat of snow may have kept the public away from the hearings and the meeting, as no one but news media was in the audience.
The Fuller annexation was one of two such items before the council Wednesday. The other was the public hearing on annexation of property at 2676 East 2575th Road, the site of a former dog wash facility on U.S. 6.
This annexation agreement also involves changing the zoning classification to business. Ratification of the agreement is scheduled for the next council meeting on Wednesday, Jan.13.
OTHER ACTION
The Marseilles City Council Wednesday evening placed on file an ordinance to issue $220,000 in general obligation bonds for street construction, repair and improvement projects later this year.
The first repayment on the bonds will be in December, and the last repayment in December 2014.
The council also:
• Adopted the resolution acknowledging bids received on the radium removal projectfor the municipal water system. Of the 10 bids received, all were a little more than $2 million each. There are about 6 picocuries of radium in the water. The state mandated limit is 5 picocuries.
“We’re spending millions of dollars on a senseless project,” Trager said.
• Conducted the city’s anniversary calendar $25 raffle, which was won by Viola and Roger Drakely.
• Noted installation of the water sprinkler system at the Freedom Wall was completed by Twin Oaks Landscaping in November. The company donated the cost of the system, at $8,000 to $9,000, to the military service memorial.
• Is accepting ice skate donations at City Hall for the skating park under construction at Knudson Park on Lincoln Street.
