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Wednesday, July 13, 2016 n SERVING DIXON AND THE SURROUNDING AREA SINCE 1851
DIXON ONE | DESIGN PLAN
Task force is ready to advise Nearly 7 months after they first met, members prepare to present their plan BY RACHEL RODGERS rrodgers@saukvalley.com 815-625-3600, ext. 5529 @rj_rodgers
DIXON – After six and a half months of meetings, the Dixon One advisory task force finalized its initial design for a tourism, marketing and business
development hub Tuesday. The group reached a consensus on the potential hub’s draft budget, bylaws, organization, job descriptions and building capacity. All of the components are scheduled to go before the Dixon Area Chamber of Commerce and Dixon Main Street
board members during a presentation at 5 p.m. July 26 at City Hall. The task force originally planned to present the design Tuesday but postponed the date in order to revise the proposed budget. “We need to demonstrate that the combined organization we’re
proposing is financially feasible,” task force Chairman Gary Gehlbach said. The draft calls for a balanced operating budget with $371,500 in both revenue and expenditures, not including city events, which are primarily funded through sponsorships. PLAN continued on A54
STERLING
DIXON
City hires law firm Ward, Murray, Pace & Johnson will take over from retired city attorney BY PAM EGGEMEIER peggemeier@saukvalley.com 815-625-3600, ext. 5570 @pam_eggemeier
Alex T. Paschal/apaschal@saukvalley.com
Ground-penetrating radar is used on the sidewalk in front of the Historic Dixon Theatre on Tuesday afternoon as work crews look for damage after a water main break Sunday morning in the 100 block of South Galena Avenue. All lanes continue to be closed between First and Second streets.
A main priority City crews working ‘hard and fast’ to wrap up work on water main
BY RACHEL RODGERS rrodgers@saukvalley.com 815-625-3600, ext. 5529 @rj_rodgers
DIXON – Crews continue to repair one of the city’s main arteries while assessing the extent of the damage. The water main broke about 8 a.m. Sunday in the 100 block of South Galena Avenue, and all lanes have been closed between First and Second streets. The break caused portions of sidewalk to collapse on both the west and east ends of the street. Water Department Manager Matt Heckman said his crew found a 5-foot fissure running along the pipe emanating from a 4-inch hole in the water main. At the height of the break, water was shooting from the main at a rate of 3,000 gallons per minute. Crews cut out and replaced the damaged section of pipe, and ground-penetrating radar equipment was brought in Tuesday to assess the damage. MAIN continued on A54
STERLING – The city has finalized the appointment of a local firm to handle its legal matters. The Sterling City Council on July 5 approved Mayor Skip Lee’s recommendation to hire Ward, Murray, Pace & Johnson. The firm will Long history fill the vacancy Ward, Murray, Pace created by the & Johnson dates May 2 resigback to 1862, when nation of Ron the firm was known Coplan, who by the names of its had been city founding partners, attorney for 41 Kilgour and Manahan. years. Go to wmpj.com to City Manager learn more about the Scott Shumard said the con- firm. Go to http:// tract has no desshawurl.com/2pl2 to ignated length, learn more about Tim but the arrangement is left to Zollinger. the mayor’s discretion. The mayor is tasked with making a recommendation for the position, and it must be approved by the council. The firm will be paid $185 an hour plus expenses for its services. Shumard said the rate is slightly less than what Coplan was being paid at the time of his resignation. Lee said the arrangement will be assessed regularly. “We’ll probably look at it on an annual or biannual basis,” Lee said. “We’ll sit down and discuss any areas of concern, both internally and with the firm.” FIRM continued on A54
STERLING
Trail project paused as missed deadline derails bid City faces another delay; project not likely to wrap up this year as hoped BY PAM EGGEMEIER peggemeier@saukvalley.com 815-625-3600, ext. 5570 @pam_eggemeier
STERLING – A problem with the bidding process will likely end any chance of the Sterling
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Park District’s school trails project wrapping up this year. The project, largely funded by grants from the Safe Routes to School program, has been hit with numerous delays since the first grant was awarded in 2009.
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The Illinois Department of Transportation, which administers the federal grant program, handled the bidding process. Last month, the low bid from Martin & Company Excavating in Oregon, was accepted, and construction was to begin soon. The park district learned Tuesday that Martin’s bid of $404,237.95 is invalid because
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some of the paperwork had not been turned in by the deadline. The grants totaled $578,000, but inflation took its toll on the project. With engineering costs factored in, the park district was left with about $35,500 of the bill. Now that the low bid is gone, the cost is likely to go up for the taxpayers, and the timeline will again be pushed back.
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The next-lowest bid came from Freeport-based Civil Constructors, but that would tack on an additional $43,000 to the park district’s share. “It appears that from the park district’s standpoint, we have two choices – go with Civil or do another bid letting,” Parks Director Larry Schuldt said. TRAILS continued on A54
Today’s weather High 81. Low 72. More on A3.
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