The Creston Village Board of Trustees voted unanimously Tuesday to purchase property at 128 E. North St., located next to the village’s maintenance shed, for $80,000.
The property is currently the site of a vacant and in-disrepair home. Village President Tom Byro expressed desire at a meeting last June to see the village purchase the property and demolish the home and join the properties together and build a larger maintenance building to house Creston’s trucks and equipment.
Village officials anticipated the demolition of the home could cost $15,000-$20,000. Village Trustee Curt Ward said the home has had disrepair issues for the past 30 years.
“You always should buy the property next to you if it’s for sale,” Trustee Mike Kerns said. “It’s an opportunity. And if we’d passed it up, maybe we’d have waited 20 more years. And it would cost far more than it would now.”
Engineering
The board heard an introduction and report during the meeting from Matt Hansen of Willett, Hofmann & Associates, Creston’s new engineering firm. The village approved the change at its February meeting after previous Village Engineer Kevin Bunge of CES Inc. resigned from his position in December.
Hansen said materials will soon start to be ordered for an upcoming village water main project on South Street. The project’s contractor is Martin & Company Excavating. In December, the board approved a $198,955 bid with considerations for changes, such as larger valves. The project is being done in an attempt to alleviate rust issues in Creston and will include upsizing 4-inch mains, shutoff valve work and hydrant work, including removing dead-end lines.
The work will likely start in March and will take up to 20 working days to complete. The board approved an engineering agreement for Willett, Hofmann & Associates to manage the project for $15,000 or less.
Hansen said that his firm will also be working on plans and a cost estimate for a sidewalk replacement project for Creston this year. Last month, trustees voted unanimously to budget $150,000 each year for an annual sidewalk improvement program in Creston. The funds will come from yearly village interest income.
Trustee Mark Hibshman has said at past meetings that “most of” the sidewalks in Creston need replacement. Any sidewalk that hasn’t been replaced in the village since its installation will need replacing, due to meeting ADA requirements.
The top of the village’s sidewalk replacement plan list is work in the area of Depot and South streets, along with Main Street.
Hansen also said he will evaluate Creston’s progress on a state-mandated lead water service line inventory. The village needs to determine the material of all water service lines that run into homes and buildings in Creston and submit them to the state. If the lines are made up of lead or galvanized pipe, they will need to be replaced by the village.
Village Clerk Jennifer Payton estimated that the inventory is about 60-70% completed. Inventories and final needed replacement plans have to be complete by April 15, 2027. Hansen said. Grants are available for the inventory and replacement work, which Hansen said he will also evaluate for Creston.
USPS
Trustees came to a consensus during the meeting to submit a zip code review to the United States Postal Service for homes and businesses within Creston.
Residents of the village who do not live in the Creston Commons subdivision currently get their mail at Creston’s post office in PO boxes and have a Creston (60113) zip code at their homes. Subdivision residents have mailboxes and Rochelle (61068) zip codes at their homes, despite being within village limits. Ward said he would submit the zip code review and said that the matter has caused issues such as residents with Creston zip codes being unable to have some non-USPS packages sent to their street addresses, along with Creston and Rochelle zip codes being served by different post offices, which has delayed water bill mailings.