Agreement reached between City of Chenoa and Zach Lopeman

CHENOA — Although the meeting included a plethora of information regarding the upcoming Red Carpet Corridor and an update on the City Park Project, the matter of an agreement between the City of Chenoa and Zach Lopeman drew great importance at the city council meeting Tuesday evening.

The city council came to an agreement with Lopeman regarding vacating a tile on Lopeman's property and getting things repaired that will help with drainage in an attempt to keep a city intersection from flooding.

The issue came about four years ago when a tile issue occurred on property owned by Lopeman at 320 Crittenden St. on the city's north side. Lopeman tried fixing a problem on his own bit that has created a drainage problem that has affected the area near the Third and Commercial streets intersection.

At Tuesday's meeting, Commissioner Joe Moreland stated that he disagreed with the proposal because there were two issues at play. Commissioner Chad Daiker agreed.

Commissioner JE Myers also wanted to separate the issues, saying, “the thing that goes under the house, I want to see that solved. The camper issue is another thing we can talk about. I would like to see a separation of the two things (and) takes of the first part as soon as possible.”

“We need to get these both wrapped up, plain and simple,”Commissioner Dwayne Price added. “They need to get done. … I don't mind helping out to get that done.”

Mayor Chris Wilder said that the agreement was have the city take care of the tile that is in need of repair and then hand the tile over to Lopeman and leaving the city with no ties to it in the future.

“I think he has to be responsible because (he) created the issue by what work (he) did,” Price said in agreement with the mayor.

Lopeman noted that he has been trying to get the problem fixed and that an agreement in principle had been reached in 2019. This was that the city provided material and he provided labor. Included in this was the use of the city's back truck to locate a two-inch gas main.

“I've been trying to get all this done since 2019,” Lopeman said. “We've talked up one side and down the other, we've talked to lawyers. I've called anybody that knows anything about drainage while trying to figure out about the house.

“It's not like I tried to drag any of this on. … I want to get this done, yes. I do the labor, the city will do the materials because that's what we agreed on in 2019. I'm not asking for anything more than what was agreed on back then.”

Besides working on what to agree upon, Price was looking for a timeline to get the job completed. Lopeman said he can “guarantee” it would be done by the end of the year. Price said it needed to be done sooner.

Lopeman reiterated that it would get by by the end of the year but he was hoping to have it completed by Aug. 1. He also pointed out that the contract states the work needs to be completed by Dec. 31.

The agreement reached will have the City of Chenoa vacating the tile located at 320 Crittenden St. to Lopeman. And, Lopeman will pay for and haul the gravel needed for the work to be done, that Lopeman will be doing. The City of Chenoa will cover the rest of the material costs, as well as provide and work the back truck.

There was a need to get an agreement reached by the May 9 because Lopeman will be coming onto the council on that date.

In Public Comment, Sarah Michaels gave an update on the Red Carpet Corridor event coming up the first weekend of May.

Michaels noted that there are a number of organizations dealing with Route 66, and that Route 66 is one of top three tourist destinations in Illinois. The Red Carpet Corridor is an event that helps with tourism dealing with the “Mother Road.”

This year's Red Carpet Corridor will not include Towanda, Michaels said. She said that she was told by Towanda village officials that there was an insurance issue at play. Price, who had been part of the Red Carpet Corridor event in Chenoa for many years, offered that the village simply doesn't want to support the event.

Michaels did say that Duncan Manor, which is just south of Towanda, is a stop on the drive.

Michaels also provided more information on what is available to tourists taking part in the event, which is two days.

“We need to embrace as much as we can,” Michaels said.

Also in Public Comment and related to Red Carpet Corridor, Andy Jolly of OB's Cervezaria asked for approval to sell alcohol downtown for the event. Wilder said that the requirements have been met.

The city gave its approval, but Jolly noted that this was only the first step because he needed to get state approval, as well.

An update on the City Park Project was made by project board member Nancy Todd. Among the items she discussed was getting use of the $13,000 available in the city's restricted fund to help in finishing up sidewalk work.

Todd said that there was enough money her board's Revitalization Fund to cover the rest of the cost of the sidewalk.

Daiker said that drainage will be an issue and that it would affect the ball field. He suggested this get cared for before putting in the sidewalk.

In another matter, there were no bids made for the seawall and pier project at Silliman Lake. A couple of options the city will be looking at are rebidding the project or accepting a quote.

Rebidding will take a minimum of 30 days. Because bidding was offered already, the city can now go out and find a contractor to do the work on its own, which would mean the city would only be needing to accept a quote.

This article originally appeared on Pontiac Daily Leader: Agreement reached between City of Chenoa and Zach Lopeman