New rescue equipment, concerns about police budget main topics at council meeting

The Harrisburg city council met in regular session on the night of Thursday, June 4. The purchase of new rescue equipment for the fire department, approval of TIF funding for Mackie's Pizza and Chief Johnson's concerns about the police budget were the main topics of discussion at the meeting.

The council approved a Tax Increment Funding allocation for Mackie's Pizza. Mackie's has renovated the interior of the restaurant and will be receiving TIF funding to assist in covering the cost of the project. Councilman John McPeek abstained from the vote. McPeek is employed by Mackie's at the Marion location.

Using funding from a grant provided by the Illinois State Department of Commerce and Economic Opportunity, the council approved the beginning of a housing repair and improvement project affecting some ten houses in Harrisburg. These residences are located on the North of town, along the Route 13 bypass around the Barbecue Barn, Casey's area.

The council unanimously voted to approve the purchase of new rescue equipment for the fire department. This equipment, manufactured by the Hurst company, is state of the art, battery powered cutters and spreaders to be used in extraction of passengers in vehicle accidents. The purchase consists of cutters, spreaders, extra batteries and battery charging equipment, the battery chargers will be mounted on and powered by city fire trucks.

During the police department report to the council, Chief Jim Johnson expressed concern as to the police department budget. Pointing out that so far this year, the department had already used 20 percent of the fiscal years overtime budget, Johnson indicated that there was some cause for concern about department finances. The city is operating under the budget passed by the previous city council and there is a possibility that amendments to the budget will have to be made. After the meeting, Chief Johnson told the Daily Register that the departments current budget for gasoline was also inadequate and did not allow for necessary motor patrols.

The council approved the establishment of a Little Free Library box to be placed on the city parking lot adjacent to the Steam Café. The Little Free Library is a non-profit organization that promotes reading through a process of free book sharing. In 2009 Todd Bol of Hudson, Wisconsin, built a model of a one room schoolhouse as a tribute to his mother, a former school teacher who loved reading. He filled it with books and put it on a post in his front yard. His neighbors and friends loved it. He built several more and gave them away. Each one had a sign that said "free books." The organization has established nearly 25,000 Little Free Libraries worldwide. More information may be found at littlefreelibrary.org. The first Little Free Library in Harrisburg will be constructed by Bruce Broom, free of charge to the city.

In other action the council:

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<li>Approved the hiring of Tristan Monroe as a new fire fighter.</li>

<li>Accepted an asbestos evaluation on the Dragon Garden Restaurant site. The evaluation was negative of asbestos and the demolition of the site can now proceed.</li>

<li>Accepted a bid of $18,500.00 from the Harrisburg Masonic Lodge for a piece of property owned by the city in the Cummins Subdivision.</li>

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