CRESTON — At its monthly meeting Tuesday, the Creston Village Board of Trustees opted not to accept either of two quotes it received for the demolition of a home in disrepair it acquired recently. 

The decision was made due to the prices of the quotes that the board considered to be high. The two quotes were $27,850 and $26,400. The home is at 308 E. North St. and the village recently spent $8,000 on asbestos removal to pave the way for future demolition.

"In my opinion, it's way too much money," Village President Tom Byro said of the demolition quotes. "I believe we need to hold off on these and try again in the spring."

The village has been working for a number of months on inspection, citation and legal work to clean up multiple homes in disrepair in Creston through acquiring them for demolition or using the courts to force owners to clean them up. 

Another property at 123 W. North St. is currently owned by a bank, which may work with the village to get it up to code to sell to potential buyers. The village would use a development agreement to make sure the work is done. 

Another home in disrepair at 103 E. South St. has been demolished by a new owner. The village originally started the process with six homes in disrepair it wanted to get cleaned up.

One property at 224 E. Depot St. has been purchased as well by a new owner after the village and its attorneys struggled to find the previous owners to serve with litigation papers.

Byro said if the village is able to acquire additional properties in the future, that could help with getting a better price per home on demolition. Recent progress has been seen on the homes in disrepair due to them starting to near a judge's order for forced demolition.

Library

Village trustees said during the meeting that a bid has been accepted for the construction of the new Creston-Dement Public Library and the village has received plans for it. The  Creston-Dement Public Library Board recently underwent a replanning process due to an $800,000 unexpected funding gap on the project. The redesigns will make the project about a third smaller. A referendum passed in June 2022 to allow the Creston-Dement Public Library District to issue $2.2 million in bonds to build a new library building at the corner of Main and Cederholm Streets on land that was donated years ago for a new library.

Construction of the library will likely begin in the spring.

Enterprise zone

Village trustees discussed the idea of village property being added to the Lee-Ogle Enterprise Zone during the meeting to incentivize developers to locate in Creston during the meeting. The Lee-Ogle Enterprise Zone offers incentives such as discounts on building materials and certain levels of property tax abatement to developers that invest in property located inside it. Areas of Rochelle, Dixon and Oregon and Lee and Ogle Counties are located in the enterprise zone and Village Trustee Curt Ward said acreage in the enterprise zone is still available for Creston to add a portion of its property to it. That would require approval by the taxing bodies that are currently part of the enterprise zone.

Subdivision

Byro said Tuesday that the Creston Commons subdivision has been sold to a new owner. The village has hoped in recent years to see clean up, new homes and a new agreement with the subdivision's ownership. He hopes a new owner will cause those steps to be taken. 

"We have some things to talk to the new owner about," Byro said. "He will have to come to the board to get those things accomplished. It's been quite a struggle dealing with the subdivision and I think we're going in a positive direction. We need to get some housing going up there. I think in the long run this will be a good deal for the village."