CRETE | The Village Board agreed to negotiate with a company to build a cell tower that would assist in providing broadband services between Chicago and Indianapolis.
Convergence Technologies Inc. has been awarded the federal contract to establish the broadband link between Chicago and Indianapolis. As part of the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act, Convergence will purchase land and build cell towers between the two cities.
“Convergence Technologies has contacted the village and wants to purchase a 50-foot by 50-foot parcel of land for the tower,” Village Administrator Tom Durkin told the board Monday. “The parcel is right next to Well No. 9 on Hartmann Drive.”
Convergence offered $20,000 for the parcel, Durkin said.
Durkin told the board the selling price would be the only money the village would get from the project.
“Unlike a private company, Convergence is doing this project under federal guidelines,” Durkin said. “So we cannot get monthly fees from them. The federal grant money being used prohibits us from additional profiting.”
There are other matters still to be negotiated.
Trustee Robert Gaines wants Convergence to put $5,000 in escrow in the event the cell tower becomes abandoned one day.
“If they quit using the cell tower in five years, we should not have to chase them for the money to take the tower down,” Gaines said. “They should be willing to put money in escrow that we could use to remove the tower and reuse the land if they abandon it.”
Durkin and Village Attorney James Stevenson will negotiate with Convergence on the open items that need resolution. They hope to have all items resolved by the next board meeting in two weeks.
The board formally agreed to the annexation of Mother Theresa Catholic Academy into the village. The topic had been under negotiations for the previous month.
Stevenson told the board the annexation would not require any zoning changes or any variances. He also said the academy agreed to improve Kings Road as part of the project to build a new gymnasium on the property.
The academy is located on 12 acres at 24201 S. Kings Road, just north of the proposed Grand Prairie Crossing subdivision.
The board agreed to investigate expanding the tax increment financing funds allocated for the Al-Amin Transportation project to possibly include more expansion on Old Monee Road.
If the project is expanded, Old Monee Road may be improved as far south as Hartmann Drive. The expansion would focus on the infrastructure of water and sewer lines in the road.
Currently, TIF funds are allocated for the road east of Ill. 1 at Old Monee Road.
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