Municipal meetings for Rockton, South Beloit, and Roscoe

South Beloit held a regular city council meeting on Monday, April 15, 2024. They will hold a zoning board meeting on Wednesday. The Villages of Rockton and Roscoe have their regular twice-monthly meetings on Tuesday, April 16, 2024.

The Village of Rockton is considering hiring Catalis Public Works & Citizen Engagement, LLC to do a website for the police department. Catalis was responsible for the Village of Rockton's new website design, though much of the content is unchanged from the old website. Catalis calls themselves "the leading provider of advanced government software solutions across North America."

The Rockton Board will vote on amending the Village’s zoning rules for "Accessory Structures Yard Setbacks" for residences, amending the Village of Rockton Employee Handbook, and adding a new ordinance section 151.069 about "Residential Driveway Standards." And though it isn't on Tuesday's board agenda, Rockton's Public Works committee on Monday discussed paying KLM Engineering $3,600 for a "dry tank cleanout evaluation" of the Village's water tower. Trustee Jody May will ask the board to "ratify consensus" to add a labyrinth to Settlers Park.

At South Beloit's zoning meeting on Wednesday, the city will consider allowing a "maximum of (2) two cannabis dispensaries" in the city, though that number can be increased at any time. The new owner of 1322 Gardner St., formerly the location of Artisan Restaurant, wants to open a cannabis dispensary there. Also at the zoning meeting: Joe and Patricia Galindo will ask the city to allow them to have an "open sales lot" at 1240 Blackhawk Blvd., the former location of One Stop Automotive.

At Monday's city council meeting, South Beloit swore in Manuel Rocha and Hannah Eldred as police officers. They discussed asking Fehr Graham to draft bid specifications for demolition and asbestos remediation for the former Garden Hotel, 200 Dearborn Ave. at Gardner Street and 251. Fehr Graham is also involved with Phase II improvements on Shirland Road. The city council also voted on declaring April 15, 2024 as “Purple Up Day." Other business: amending an ordinance on mobile food trucks and vendors. a Memorandum of Understanding with the Fraternal Order of Police, and a Compliance Commitment Agreement between the Illinois EPA and the City of South Beloit.

The Village of Roscoe is expected to award Rock Road Companies the contract for the 2024 Residential Streets Program [PDF]. The Village Board budgeted $1,149,463, but Rock Road Companies only bid $687,359. The program includes all Promontory Ridge subdivision roads and all Hidden Creek subdivision roads – minus Crabapple Court.

The Village wants to do soil testing on land it purchased on Main Street at Hodges Run, before possibly turning it into shops. Fehr-Graham would contract with Geocon Professional Services, to begin the soil boring work.

Thayer Lighting proposes to install LED lights in the Roscoe Village Hall offices, board room, bathrooms, hallways, and Secretary of State facility. Rebates from Comed would total $3,802.59, so the total project cost would be $11,408.70. LED lights use less energy and last longer than conventional lighting.

Roscoe Public Works wants to buy a standard bucket and a 12' box plow. The bucket would be used for salt, salty snow, or other situations that could bend or rust the fancier 4 in 1 bucket that came with their new loader. The Village already appropriated $20,000 for this, but can get it from Altorfer Cat for $17,850.

Village Administrator Josef Kurlinkus and Human Resources Director Anne Hanson propose to promote Janel Reidinger into a new position, Permitting & Licensing Assistant, since she's already doing the work. The Village would hire someone else to fill Janel's current role as administrative assistant. 

All these items can be voted on as one unit as part of the consent agenda, except for the Residential Streets Program decision.

At Tuesday's Committee of the Whole meeting in Roscoe, trustees are expected to recommend a three-year extension of the agreements [PDF] with Stateline Baseball/Stateline Fastpitch to continue renting Leland Park, Porter Park, and Swanson Park through December 31, 2027. Stateline Sports Group paid the Village $3,500 last November as well as more than $1,600 for electricity. Though they have an exclusive agreement, they also allow Hononegah, Beloit College, and Rock Valley College to use the fields. The executive director of Stateline Sports Group, Denny McKinney, is also Hononegah's head softball coach. The board expects to finalize the agreement at their May 7, 2024 meeting.

Trustees are also expected to recommend the approval of a special event permit for the Chicory Ridge Garage Sales (May 17-19), which cost the Village $2,310 last year, according to their calculations. Residents plan to put up signs today.

All World Machinery Supply has also asked for a special event permit for its Summer Party with fireworks on June 22, 2024. Harlem Roscoe Fire Chief John Bergeron says there are no issues with the application and he will have personnel on hand during the firework display. A staff memo [PDF] written by Vic Wilder, who is in charge of the Village's code enforcement, says, "The plan is to launch the fireworks 254 feet away from the building and over 440 feet from Interstate 90."

Trustees have been asked to approve an extra-wide driveway at 738 Ballymore Road, but Village staff recommend that they deny the request. Zoning variances can be allowed under unique circumstances, such as an unusual lot shape, but Village staff say that doesn't apply here. The homeowners want a 29-foot-wide driveway to load and unload an RV trailer without blocking access to the garage. In their report [PDF], Village staff say that allowing more blacktop would set a precedent that could mean less greenspace in the Village's neighborhoods.

More News from Roscoe

• Death notices for the Stateline: 4/29/2024 We remember those who are no longer with us in Roscoe, Rockton, and South Beloit.
• Strong spirits: life After the sleep of winter, life jumps out at us everywhere.