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Industry, IL – The Industry Village Board appears prepared to make a major purchase.
The village has to decide by December 9 whether to buy the former school building on the south edge town. It's now owned by the Schuyler-Industry School District, which is willing to sell it to the village for one-dollar.
The crowd at a public forum in Industry this week urged the board to buy the building.
"The easy part is to buy the building so that you have control," said village attorney John McMillan. Several people in the crowd applauded the comment.
He said the more difficult decision is come up with a use for the building once the village owns it. The village could lease it, sell it, or auction it off. It could also find its own use for the building.
Trustee Scott Jones said he has talked to several people who might be interested in buying or leasing the building.
"The more you ruffle the curtains, the more things fall out," said Jones. "So I'm going to continue making calls and see if there is any interest."
He said all the people he has talked to are from western Illinois.
The board will vote December 7 on whether to move ahead with the purchase. The decision to buy appears to be a foregone conclusion based on the input the board received during the community meeting.
It could take several months to finalize the deal.