The Knoxville City Council met virtually Monday, April 20th. City Engineer Kevan Cooper updated the council on the 2020 Street Maintenance Program. The first highlighted portion was Henderson Road from the Knox County Fairgrounds to just south of Holcomb Street. Cooper said the section needs resurfacing and is eligible for federal funding for 80% of the cost. He said IDOT holds annual meetings to assist in the application process, but since meetings have been repeatedly delayed, the project will start next year. Cooper said future funding from the Motor Fuel Tax for street projects are unknown. The City did, however, appropriate $55,000 for a culvert project on South Jackson Street on the edge of town, and for concrete work around the public square. Cooper added that $45,000 have been appropriated for several oil and chip projects around town which includes sections of Broad, Ann, Ontario, and Walnut as well as a few other small portions. “What I’m thinking about recommending to the Council is let’s go ahead and take care of this oil and chip for $45,000,” Cooper said. “That needs to be done. Those need to be covered up so they don’t deteriorate any more. And let’s hold off until next year on the square. Let’s wait and see what happens with our culvert over here. Of course, we got to wait until 2021 for Henderson Road to see if we get that federal funding which is definitely worth waiting for.” The Council agreed with Cooper’s recommendation.
The Council also received a letter from J&M Displays – the company that has executed the 4th of July fireworks show in Knoxville for 14 years. The letter encourages clients to approve the agreement – and revisit the 4th of July plans in June if non-congregational restrictions are still in place. “No one can say for sure at this point whether we’re even going to be able to put on a Fourth of July Show,” said Mayor Dennis Maurer. “But if we were to sign the contract, and we didn’t have the show, that would carry over to the next year. There are probably some things that we should take into consideration regarding this and that would be what’s happening in the surrounding communities. If Galesburg were to choose not to have fireworks and we were to have fireworks, we could have quite a mess on our hands.” The council decided to go ahead and purchase the fireworks for this year. Moving forward, if the celebration gets canceled, the City could hold a celebration later in the year, or as 1st Ward Alderman Mike Howard put it: “Or in worst case scenario we have a doubly-good show next year.” Knoxville has spent $7,500 on fireworks each year for the past 5 years.
