At its monthly meeting Monday, the Creston Village Board of Trustees unanimously approved an agreement with the Rochelle Landfill that will see the village officially acquire 111.3 acres of land that will be used as farm property that will be leased out.

The village has been in negotiations for 3 1/2 years on the land deal, which stems from an agreement that Creston, the Rochelle Landfill and City of Rochelle came to back in 2021 that would result in the closing of the Rochelle Landfill by or on Dec. 31, 2040.

Village Attorney Dave Tess said the land deal will become official within 30 days of the approval by the village and landfill. The land will be changed as part of the deal, including the removal and addition of road for clearer farming, removal of trees and fencing, and the potential removal of birm. The landfill has been giving the village farm lease revenue during the negotiations. Creston has additional farmland in the area that it leases out.

Tess said the land deal will see no purchase amount for the village, but the lengthy negotiation will cost the village around $20,000 in attorney’s fees.

“This is a culmination of three years of trying to get this done and get as much ground as we can and just get it put into a position where we can farm it and let our farmer do the work,” Tess said.

Street lights

The board unanimously approved the purchase of eight new streetlights for the Creston Commons subdivision, which has been the site of new home construction recently. Each of the streetlights costs $1,192. There are 19 streetlights in the subdivision area, and six are currently out.

The village has an agreement with Rochelle Municipal Utilities to take care of its streetlights, but parts are no longer sold for the 20-year-old streetlights in the subdivision. RMU will purchase the streetlights for the village and install them. The new units are LED models and the same as the model the City of Rochelle has been installing. Other infrastructure work in the growing subdivision has and will include sidewalks, signage and parks.

Storm sewer

Village Engineer Kevin Bunge said during the meeting that Creston’s ongoing storm sewer project has seen all pipe installed in the ground and structures nearly completed. Cleanup and ground restoration work will take place next.

Back in June, the board approved a $290,734.80 bid for Martin & Company Excavating to do the work to improve drainage in Creston.

Engineering

During his engineering update, Bunge said ongoing work includes preparing for a sidewalk replacement project at Village Hall and on South Grove Street. The village is also preparing for a water main project to attempt to alleviate rust issues in Creston’s water. Bunge is also seeking an electrical contractor to move forward with a project that would see a mixer installed in the village’s water tower to help with rust issues as well.

Fireworks

The board unanimously approved a contribution of $3,500 towards the Creston Booster Days fireworks this year. The festival will take place Sept. 13-14 at Booster Park in Creston and will include rides, games, bingo, tractor pulls, bands, a parade, a kitchen, a beer garden, a pancake breakfast, an auction, fireworks and a 50/50 raffle.