The Hancock-Henderson Quill, Inc.
By: Shirley Linder, Quill Editor
Gene Roark of Stronghurst brought his plans for leasing a building and possibly receiving a grant for his recycling business to the village board meeting on Monday, July 7th.
Roark who has been seen hauling loads of metal and junk in Stronghurst for weeks, has taken it one step further and discovered there is grant money to help with his operation.
The grant hinges on having a suitable building.
Bob Hamilton has agreed to lease Roark the old Jarvis Building in the north part of Stronghurst and will provide him with the specs to apply for the grant.
Roark said, "There will be 6 dumpsters placed behind the building and there will be nothing on the ground".
He cleans up areas and recycles steel, aluminum, copper, iron, old vehicles, wire, etc.
The possibility of tires, batteries and glass recycling could be in the future.
Roark, working alone, has already recycled over 200,000 lbs of scrap metals from Henderson County.
He is licensed and the tonnage is credited to Henderson County. He is most appreciative of the area farmers and Southern School District 120 who have allowed him to clean up their properties.
Roark told the board no semis would be used only flat bed trucks, thus doing less damage to city streets.
He said "this has nothing to do with the recycling business of Tom Edmonds".
He offered to help the village by picking up appliances, air conditioners, etc. (no furniture or burnable items), thus saving money on city wide clean up days. He has already done this for the Village of Gladstone.
Board members voiced no objections to the venture since the Jarvis building is zoned commercial. They did state they expected the property be kept mowed and clean.
D. J. Avery was present to request a clarification of the village's ordinance pertaining to dogs. He was issued a ticket for his dog barking at 9:00 a.m.
He stated the ordinance is so vague, that he felt it needed to be looked at. When asked if he had received a warning before being issued a ticket, Avery replied, "no". President Chockley agreed the ordinance was vague. Following a few questions and discussion, President Chockley said he would request City Attorney Mike Neff to review other villages' dog ordinances and recommend what to do.
David Vancil reported everything is going well with the zoning board committee, 2 permits have been issued.
Angela Meyers said there are still complaints about Waste Management not picking up all the garbage and recycling.
Bob Carmean gave members a copy of an ordinance that was drawn up years ago regarding check off valves for all residents' water lines into their homes. No one could find the ordinance or remembers if it was indeed passed. Now it has come to the attention of the EPA regarding the check valves and something will need to be done. The matter was tabled until next month pending Carmean getting more information.
Tony Griepentrog reported the park project came in at $71,000 and he will be submitting the papers for the $35,000 grant. He hopes they will be able to hold an appreciation picnic this fall for all the volunteers who worked so hard. He also reported there will be 9 trees planted this fall.
President Eric Chockley thanked Tony and all the village employees for their time and effort on the project.
Juanita Jarvis planted the flowers this year in the park. Next year, President Chockley said he would like to see the park divided into quarters and the congregation of each church be responsible for planting and the up keep of the flowers.
Robert Scott reported the city attorney is trying to locate who owns the old recycle building as the grass and weeds needs cut. At present the county is storing salt in the building.
David Vancil requested Bob Carmean get him the footage a new water tower would require. He said the fair board, which purchased the Minneman property recently, is willing to donate that amount of ground to the village.
The board voted to pass the Prevailing Wage Ordinance.
Deputy David Thompson reported 10 arrests were made from 19 complaints in June. Arrests were made for no driver's license, no registration, 4 cases of other criminal offense, criminal trespass to land, resist/obstruct a peace officer, 2 cases of disorderly conduct. The cases pending investigation include: 3 thefts $300 and under, stolen property/buy/receive, 2 cases of criminal damage to property. A disorderly conduct charge was referred to a responsible party and operating uninsured motor vehicle was for information only.
Present: Board members, David Vancil, Robert Scott, Tony Griepentrog, Juanita Jarvis, Angela Meyers; President Eric Chockley; Treasurer Lori Russell; Clerk Eileen Cargill; Deputy David Thompson; Employee Robert Carmean; Guests, Gene Roark, D. J. Avery and Bob Hamilton. Board member Lawrence Neff was absent.
The next board meeting will be held on Monday, August 4, 2003 at 7:00 p.m.
Gene Roark, Hauling Away Junk Around the County