The Waterloo City Council on Monday night took action to advance the development of a new business in town and also preserve an iconic structure. 

Aldermen gave the go-ahead on the site plan for a new Plaza Tire Service automotive repair and maintenance location at the corner of Route 3 and Plaza Drive just south of Scooter’s Coffee.

“We’re really ready to break ground,” Plaza Tire Service official Sam Rhodes said during a planning committee meeting held prior to Monday’s regular meeting. “We’re excited to be a part of the community.”

The planning committee approved the site plan at its meeting, during which Rhodes disclosed that the business could be open sometime this fall. 

Also on Monday night, the city council approved an ordinance authorizing conveyance of an easement upon a municipally owned property. 

This was in regard to the retired water tower located next to City Hall, which has been a scenic fixture in town for decades. This tower has been leased by the city to Verizon or other companies for wireless communications since 1997. 

Through this new measure, cell tower company AIO Operating 2 LLC will purchase a 40-year easement from the city in the amount of $348,000. This company will then lease this tower to Verizon.

The money from this easement transaction will be used to repaint the retired water tower, Mayor Stan Darter said. 

This measure received approval in both the ordinance and finance committees prior to council approval. 

The city built a new water tower on the Waterloo VFW property as part of the construction of its new water plant that went online this past December, placing the old tower out of service.

This new tower has a storage size of 500,000 gallons of water. The old tower had a capacity of 250,000 gallons.

Speaking of water, it was discussed during Monday’s meeting of the water and sewer committee that the city is required by ordinance to absorb a consumer price index increase on its monthly water and sewer rates. 

This increase, which will be voted on during an upcoming council meeting, will result in higher rates by  $2.59 percent. 

Darter told the Republic-Times that the CPI increase would still have been put into effect even if the city still received service from Illinois American Water – on top of whatever regular rate increase Illinois American would have otherwise imposed.

Darter also said over $1.5 million in loan forgiveness was worked into the original loan for the city’s new water plant to help account for future CPI increases. 

Other actions from Monday’s council meeting included the re-appointment of Donna Robert to the Waterloo Cemetery Board for a three-year term, approval of Illini Road Oil, Columbia Quarry and Concrete Supply of Illinois as low bidders for fiscal year 2026 motor fuel tax maintenance, approval of a Non-Profit Grant Program application from the Whiteside Station Chapter Daughters of the  American Revolution in the amount of $2,000 for 40 bricks in Lakeview Park honoring local Revolutionary War patriots, and the OK on a Waterloo Beautification Grant application from Brian Hill for property at 725 N. Market Street.