Du Quoin votes $62,198 for Main St. repaving engineering

The Du Quoin City Council Monday approved a $62,198 engineering agreement with J.T. Blankinship Engineering of Murphysboro to create a plan for repaving East Main Street after water line and sidewalk construction are completed later this year.

City public works director Doug Bishop said there is a chance the repaving could be completed in 2013, but more likely in the spring of 2014.

The design will be complex in that new Illinois Department of Transportation regulations require almost no crown in the middle of the street, which will impair drainage.

The council approved the purchase or lease of a new printer for the city clerk's office and left it to the discretion of administrator Brad Myers as to whether to purchase the $4,800 printer outright or enter into a five-year lease/purchase agreement.

The council renewed the lease of the Pepsi Cola building on North Hickory Street to Fairchild, Inc., a mining supply company for two years under the same terms. The only additions are a 90-day lease termination notification by either party and repairs to the roof.

The council extended its appreciation to the Kurt Harris Family Foundation for donating $500 to the Du Quoin swimming pool to purchase passes for families who cannot afford one. Mayor Rex Duncan said it is the goal of the pool to "get every kid wet this summer."

The council voted the approval of a new utility dump truck and snow plow for the street department at a cost of $57,401.

The council tabled a request to look at repairs to roads at city lake. Newly appointed street commissioner Don Kunkel has not had a chance to assess the problems and the costs. Commissioner Kathy West said, "I can't see getting involved until they (lake association members) get involved."

Commissioner Yvonne Spencer thanked the fire department staff for going door-to-door on East Main Street last week after a water line construction crew hit an Ameren gas line. "They were very impressive and professional" in their handling of notification, she commented.