The Village of Valmeyer will be adding more roadway repair to its summer projects list. 

During its June 15 meeting, the Valmeyer Village Board voted to begin a bid process to repair streets at the Rock City business complex in Old Valmeyer.

Valmeyer Village Manager Dennis Valentine updated the board on recent evaluation of Limestone Lane leading to Rock City Admiral Parkway Development and Boulder Boulevard, the parking lot and other roads in and around the businesses. He reported that only 43 percent of the paved surfaces, mostly those inside the cave sections at Rock City, were in “good” condition.

The other 57 percent of roadway fell into a range of “fair” to “poor.” Valentine recommended fixing all areas not evaluated as “good” at the same time to avoid having to begin a separate project for the “fair” areas that will most likely need repair within a few years. 

Valentine estimated repairs to Rock City streets would cost around $270,000 with an additional $15,000 for engineering work. The project would also be a “reimbursable expense” through the village’s tax increment finance district that includes the Rock City property.

Valentine said he was hopeful the work could begin later this summer.

He was also hopeful that current street repairs in the village would be completed by the end of the year. Concrete work has already been completed on cul-de-sacs on Meadow Court and Fox Pointe as well as sections of Meyer Avenue and Andres Drive. 

The next step will be to put a two-inch asphalt overlay on top of the concrete. Those sections of road were deemed “poor” in March and are the first of several sections to be repaired in Valmeyer. The village plans to monitor the overlay for six to eight months to see how it holds up before continuing street repairs.

Also at the meeting, the board passed an appropriation ordinance that accepts the fiscal year 2021 village budget. The budget had already been discussed at the committee level, and the main item were raises for village employees.

Full and part-time employees received an approximately 3 percent raise and a “provisional part-time” category was established that would set compensation for new part-time or seasonal workers at current minimum wage levels.

Valmeyer Village Treasurer Larry Andres reported that the village had surpassed the $1 million mark in its general fund for certificate-of-deposit investments, the first time the account had reached that amount.

It was also reported that the tax assessment for MAR Graphics remained unchanged by the Monroe County Board of Review after the Valmeyer business protested its most recent assessment.

Valmeyer police officer Casey Harget informed members of the board that he found six individuals trespassing at the condemned building near the lower entrance of the Rock City complex on June 15.

The stone building, which is marked with “no trespassing” signs in addition to other methods to prevent entrance, was being investigated by filming company Petty Cash Media  as a possible site for filming a future documentary.

Harget said they left the property without incident and were advised to contact the village for a filming permit.

Valentine immediately opposed the idea, saying the site “is too dangerous” for people to use. 

After a brief discussion with trustees, Valmeyer Mayor Howard Heavner recommended denying the company permission to use the building for filming if they contacted the village to ask for a permit.

Also at the meeting, it was announced the Valmeyer Area Jaycees had received a liquor license from the State of Illinois  for the Midsummer Classic celebration taking place July 4 weekend at Borsch Park. The initial request for license had been denied.