On March 2nd, Village President Jason Briscoe spoke to the Minooka/Channahon Chamber of Commerce on the "State of the Village". The following are excerpts from the presentation.

The Village of Minooka is stronger now than any other time in its 137 year history. Over the past four years the village has managed to turn negative fund balances into the black with reserves ample to sustain operations for 3-6 months. Village investments have shown increasing returns three fold from 4 years ago. For the third consecutive year Minooka has received the Government Finance Officers Association Distinguished Budget Presentation Award. This is a significant achievement that only 1,000 or so communities across the country receive annually.

Minooka is wrapping up various capital projects to improve the Village’s infrastructure. A significant project is the $7.6 million expansion of the Waste Water Treatment Plant capacity. Substantial completion of the facility is expected to be online in the spring of 2006. The village is also completing $5 million in water well projects for additional capacity. The Waste Water Treatment Plant project and the wells are being paid for through tap-on fees from the developers of new subdivisions.

There is going to be an expansion of Ridge Road to 5 lanes. This road is planned to have 2 uninterrupted traffic lanes from north of Interstate 80 through the Minooka/Mondamin Road intersection. The road work is planned to take place in conjunction with the State’s project of re-constructing the ramps at I-80. A state bid is scheduled in April and work should begin in July.

This year the Village Board unveiled a revised comprehensive land use plan for the Village to address the next 20 years of growth. It establishes architectural standards for all new residential developments according to zoning categories. Significant details of these standards include larger square footage of homes, minimum percentages of natural materials around the house, 360 degree architecture requirements on the front, sides, and rear elevations of homes, enhanced landscape requirements, and limiting the number of times any particular model can be built in a development.

In 2005 the housing market continued to be strong and the Village issued 541 building permits. Projections show this dropping in 2006 to an estimated 350 housing starts; a 35% decrease. This projected drop is due to the village’s conscious decision to better structure the continued growth of our community.

The Heartland Crossings Shopping Center opened in November with Jewel/Osco as the first tenant. The grocery store will anchor the south end of the center while an unnamed tenant will anchor the north end of the center. In between there is 22,000 square feet of shops and up to 9 potential commercial buildings which will fill the area.

The property tax base will increase by $66 million with the additions of two distribution warehouses.

The Village has received several grants from the state to improve the community. The grants will allow the village to clean-up an abandoned gasoline storage tank in the Mondamin Street right-of-way. Another grant will allow the village to purchase property on both sides of the DuPage River to use as a canoe launch area.

Through the Pubic Relations Committee, a new village logo has been approved. A contest was held with 26 entries submitted. The winning entry came from Minooka resident Arol McFadden. Additionally the Public Relations Committee recently chose a web-site designer to completely redesign the village’s web-site. The new site will include detailed information on village and community services.

The Citizens Advisory Committee was created so that the Village President and Board of Trustees can receive feedback from the community on a number of issues that will affect Minooka. This committee is comprised of citizens from every subdivision in town. New members will be assigned in July and anyone interested should contact the Village Hall.