A vacant nursing home on one of Morton's major streets that had become an eyesore was purchased by the village last summer and torn down last month.
Mayor Jeff Kaufman couldn't be happier.
"We're done with rundown and eyesore places in Morton," he said. "This place was an eyesore for years.
"It wasn't worth saving or refurbishing. It was time for it to go, so the Village Board voted unanimously to buy it so we can be done with it. Now that it's gone, I'm sure each home near it has increased in value. I hear the neighbors are very happy that it's gone."
Kaufman said the only plan the village has right now is to turn the area where the nursing home was located into green space.
The former Morton Terrace nursing home at 191 E. Queenwood Road was purchased by the village for $450,000 from ACI Equities of Lincolnwood.
According to village records, the nursing home was built around 1970 and closed in 2019.
Low bidder River City Demolition of Peoria was awarded a contract totaling $458,700 to remove asbestos and take down the building.
More enforcement for water testing and more full-time firefighters
In other recent action, the Village Board:
- Gave the village the authority to shut off water service and/or obtain an administrative search warrant for residents who refuse to provide a water sample for the Illinois Environmental Protection Agency to test for lead and copper. Residents who need to provide an IEPA-mandated water sample are chosen randomly by the IEPA and village.
- Increased future staffing from five to six full-time firefighters in the Morton Fire Department. Also, instead of working day shifts as originally proposed, the full-time firefighters will have a 24-hour shift with 48 hours off. The department currently has just volunteer firefighters. The starting salary for the full-time firefighters will be $66,504. Testing for full-time firefighters is beginning this month.
- Stopped designating 10% of the revenue from the village's 6% hotel/motel tax for a building fund for a tourism/visitors facility. Kaufman said the building isn't off the table, but there are no plans to construct it in the near future. About $30,000 was in the building fund. It will be used for other purposes.
- Awarded a contract to low bidder Gensini Excavating of Princeton for $743,750 for concrete crushing and recycling. The recycled concrete will be used on city projects.
- Approved a $10,000 building improvement grant for Peoria Ice Cream Company so it can repair a sign at the site of the Dairy Queen restaurant that is being built at 127 E. Ashland St. The sign was used by the former Ruby Tuesday restaurant that has been torn down. The total project cost for the sign repair is $32,675. The Business District Commission recommended approval of the grant.
