CRESTON — At its monthly meeting Tuesday, the Creston Village Board of Trustees heard an introduction from the new owner of the Creston Commons subdivision, Tim Hayden of Hayden Real Estate.

Hayden said his company closed on the ownership of the subdivision at the end of December. The village has hoped in recent years to see clean up, new homes and a new agreement with the subdivision's ownership. Hayden Real Estate has been building houses in the area for 15 years.

"We're happy to be here," Hayden said. "We look forward to doing it here. We've started some tree work with the fortunate weather. We'll soon start on some exploration of the water system. It seems like that is the biggest topic. We're going to find out what's there. We mowed in January. We're five minutes away, so we're easy to find or call for questions. If there's anything that needs to be done, call us and we'll take care of it."

Hayden said plans include a water main repair followed by water testing and possible additional repairs for current water issues in the subdivision. Hayden Real Estate will not only own the lots, but it will build the homes block by block.

"It's our number-one goal to knock out blocks and then move on," Hayden said. "If you live on one street, you may have to listen to hammers for a season. The market will be the ultimate dictator. There's a fine line between living in a project and living in a neighborhood. There are people out there that deserve to live in a neighborhood and not a project, because they've been there a long time. We want to do it in a reasonable way."

The current vision is to start building on the northernmost street and build 3-4 houses at a time and keep construction work and traffic away from families.

"We need some clarity on some topics, and we're going to continue to talk about those things," Hayden said. "But we're not here to just mow lots and do nothing and make future promises we won't keep. We'd like to see progress and see it evolve so it can be something."

Hayden said he believes the subdivision having ready-made lots will be a benefit that will help Creston compete with other communities.

"With some long-term vision and cooperation, we think it can be a positive for the community and the area," Hayden said. "The broken-record topic is, 'There's nothing for sale.' The only way to have stuff for sale is to create it."

Storm sewer

Village Engineer Kevin Bunge said that a storm sewer project in the village recently saw the completion of field work and is in the layout phase. The new storm sewer would run east and north from the culvert that run under the train tracks on the north side of them. The northernmost part of the project will run to Cederholm Street. The work was suggested due to issues with stormwater overflow. The work will require the village to talk to property owners to get easements.

RMU

The board heard a presentation by Rochelle Municipal Utilities Superintendent of Water/Water Reclamation Adam Lanning during the meeting regarding an increase in water reclamation rates for Creston residents. The RMU wastewater treatment plant services Creston.

At its Feb. 26 meeting, the Rochelle City Council unanimously approved water reclamation rate increases on average per year over the next five years of three percent for Creston/Hillcrest customers. The rate increase will run through 2028 and will "ensure continued investment" in the city wastewater system. This May, phase two of upgrades at the wastewater treatment plant will begin, and that is a $10.7 million project with $3.5 million principal forgiveness on the loan.

The Village of Creston plans to raise its rates in kind with the RMU increase at a future meeting to reflect the new cost it will see.

Landfill

Village Attorney Russ Crull said Tuesday that the village has reached an agreement on property with the Rochelle Landfill. The village will receive 10 additional acres of land, which is the amount it wanted initially.

Crull said the new land isn't currently tillable to be leased out as farm land, but "could likely be over time." Closing will take place soon and will wrap up negotiations with the landfill.

The land deal stems from an agreement that Creston, the Rochelle Landfill and City of Rochelle came to back in 2021 that would result in the closing of the Rochelle Landfill by or on Dec. 31, 2040.

The landfill would close earlier if there is no remaining capacity. In order to ensure that there is no remaining capacity, the annual limit for waste that can be disposed of at the landfill would increase to 650,000 tons per year.

The EPA approval saw delays since the agreement, partly due to the redirection of a nearby creek.

Website

Village Clerk Jennifer Payton made a presentation to the board on two companies she has been working with to possibly update Creston's website. Payton said the site may include information on other Creston-affiliated organizations, including the Creston Booster Club and Dement Township. The village's current site is in need of an update due to its age, Payton said. Dement Township has agreed to pay for half the cost of the new site in exchange for its information being included on it. The village board will review the proposals and approve one at a future meeting.