Wilmington City Council

WPD looking ahead to new hires

Published by admin on Tue, 12/13/2022 - 4:52pm

The Wilmington Police Department will soon be down another officer. But, officials said plans to replace that officer and keep numbers where the department should be are moving ahead quickly.

Deputy Chief Adam Zink gave an update on the department operations to members of the Wilmington City Council during their regular meeting on Dec. 6.

ComEd site improvement to benefit Wilmington

Published by admin on Tue, 12/13/2022 - 4:51pm

ComEd says construction of a new support structure just south of Wilmington will help increase the reliability of electric services to city residents.

Back in October, ComEd approached the city with a land use petition to install an infrastructure support tower on the northwest corner of Route 53 and Coal City Road. The corner already supports several transmission structures and a power substation. ComEd owns the property.

Over public objections, Love’s Travel Center approved in Wilmington

Published by admin on Tue, 11/22/2022 - 4:29pm

An annexation agreement to allow a Love’s Travel Center to be built at River Road and Route 53 narrowly passed the Wilmington City Council on Nov. 15, following a two hour public comment period where several members of the public asked for the city to reject the proposal.

Roughly 30 members of the public attended the hearing on Nov. 15, which was the second chance the public had to voice their concerns over the project.

A public hearing was held earlier this month before the city’s Planning and Zoning Board, which unanimously rejected the proposal.

Commission is next step in effort to protect local history in Wilmington

Published by admin on Tue, 11/15/2022 - 4:37pm

The city of Wilmington is doing its due diligence to establish a special commission on historic preservation.

On Nov. 9, city administrator Jeannine Smith updated local elected leaders on effort to create the commission, now that the city’s historic preservation ordinance has been passed.

Smith said the creation of the commission is the next step as the city looks to become an Illinois Certified City.

That certification comes with the potential for financial incentives and technical assistance available to assist in preservation efforts.

Wilmington city leaders say thanks but no thanks to new gaming cafe

Published by admin on Tue, 11/15/2022 - 4:35pm

Video gaming cafes can bring municipalities thousands of dollars each year in sales taxes and gaming revenue.

But for now, city leaders in Wilmington say the city’s lone gaming cafe—plus additional terminals at other local establishments—is enough.

John Scali of Oswego approached members of the Committee of the Whole on Nov. 9, seeking a liquor license to open a gaming cafe at 692 W. Baltimore St. in Wilmington, next to Family Dollar and Berkots.

Wilmington City Council extends time limit for condemned structure to come down

Published by admin on Tue, 10/25/2022 - 5:01pm

The Wilmington City Council has approved a two week extension for a property owner looking to knock down a derelict structure on Main Street.

The property at 313 N. Main St. is in foreclosure, but is currently under contract for sale with Safeguard Properties of Ohio. At issue is a garage/barn structure at the rear of the property.

“This is a structure that’s falling over. The property [investor has] requested two additional weeks to do something about it, or the city will take action,” Mayor Ben Dietz explained to the council during their regular meeting on Oct. 18.

Historical landmark ordinance passed in Wilmington

Published by admin on Tue, 10/25/2022 - 4:51pm

The city’s historical landmark designation ordinance has been officially adopted by Wilmington City Council.

The ordinance was approved during the regular meeting of the council on Oct. 18, following a public hearing that took place over the course of two meetings of the city’s planning and zoning commission.

The ordinance allows the city to designate historical landmarks at the request of any petitioner, after a hearing and recommendation by the planning and zoning board.

Downtown parking lot open for Wilmington visitors

Published by admin on Tue, 10/18/2022 - 4:36pm

The long awaited parking lot in downtown Wilmington is open for visitors.

Last week, the lot was striped and open to the public.

“The parking lot is completed except for electrical,” city administrator Jeannine Smith told members of the Committee of the Whole during their regular meeting on Oct. 11. “We are waiting on the cabinet that will be [here] in December. The poles are up, and we ran the pipe for the conduit. But, we can’t power anything until we actually get the cabinet.”

Hydrant technology investment pays off in Wilmington

Published by admin on Tue, 10/18/2022 - 4:31pm

The city of Wilmington’s investment into new technology for the water department has already started to pay off.

Earlier this year, the city installed three of its 10 ordered iHydrants.

iHydrants provide instant alerts to the city when the water system experiences a hydraulic event or rapid pressure fluctuations. The technology provides instant alerts for pressure and temperature changes that fall outside of normal thresholds, which are set by the city.

Historical landmark ordinance forwarded to full Wilmington City Council

Published by admin on Tue, 10/11/2022 - 5:04pm

The Wilmington City Council will consider a new ordinance to allow for designation of local historic landmark designation, following a few tweaks to the ordinance at the request of the city’s planning and zoning board.

Commissioners from the zoning board first reviewed a draft copy of the proposed ordinance in September. The ordinance would allow the city to designate properties, sites, structures, statues or other items in the city as historical landmarks.