The Minonk City Council approved the acceptance of a bid to purchase Section 6 from the City.  The approval of Resolution 2010-2 gives the Mayor permission to sign an agreement for the purchase of the land.  The agreement itself will not be available until sometime this week but as soon as the Mayor signs the agreement, the bid is officially accepted.  The City serves as a pass through for the purchase of the land as the owner of the land is Waste Management of Illinois.   The City is exercising its option to buy the land from Waste Management and then sell it to the highest bidder.

The winning bid for Section 6 north of Minonk was submitted by H & H Farms of Plano for $2,826,100, or $5002 per acre for the 565 acre plot.  City Administrator Doug Elder said the closing for the purchase will probably take place the first or second week of March.  At that time the City will take receipt of the money for the sale of the land to H & H Farms.

In other news the Council approved Ordinance 2010-1 which amends section 13.12 of the Minonk Municipal Code concerning sewer taps and connections and section 13.16 concerning sewer use and waste water discharge.

City Administrator Doug Elder said he is gathering quotes from contractors for the demolition of vacant houses at 828 Jefferson, 736 Johnson, and 322 Chestnut streets.  The bids are due March 8th and the bids will be presented to the Council on March 15th for acceptance.  The winning contractor will have 30 days to remove the houses.

The City Administrator and Public Works Supervisor Charlie McGuire met with the city's engineers, the Farnsworth Group, to discuss power backups for the city water plant.  Farnsworth will determine a cost estimate for upgrading the electrical work in the city water plant and present it to the council in the near future.

There will be a public hearing on April 5th on the proposed city budget which begins May 1.  Mayor Bill Koos said the budget process is quite detailed this year.  The Mayor said revenue from the State will be lower this year due to the economy and this will affect the budget.