Spring Break
City Council to vote on repair funds
Joe Astrouski / City Editor
Issue date: 4/7/09 Section: News
The Charleston City Council will decide whether to accept nearly $600,000 of federal street repair funds at its meeting tonight.
The funds, part of the federal economic stimulus plan, are distributed by the Illinois Department of Transportation, said Mayor John Inyart.
"This is our allotment of the Department of Transportation money that the state got," said Inyart, adding that Charleston did not request the money.
He said the funds would be used in two phases of about $300,000 each. The first phase would be spent on upgrades to intersections along University Avenue, Division Street, Fourth Street and Ninth Street as well as a stretch of West Polk Avenue from Reynolds Drive to Lynnwood Drive.
The Council will also vote on a proposed 7 percent increase in water and sewer rates.
Inyart said the city needs more money in its water and sewer fund before Charleston can apply for a loan from the Illinois Environmental Protection Agency for upgrades to its waste water treatment plant.
"You have to be able to show that you're going to be able to pay off that loan and that you have a capital reserve," Inyart said.
Inyart said, until recent years, water and sewer rates remained static.
"We went through a number of years where there were no adjustments to the water-sewer rates," he said.
The City Council will also vote on up to $64,000 of grants from the city's Tax Increment Finance Fund.
Money in the fund comes from increased property taxes on businesses in the city's downtown TIF district.
The money is then given back to businesses in the district through grants and loans to help them improve and upgrade their businesses.
The council is considering four grants to help pay for repairs and improvements to the buildings that house the Charleston Transitional Facility and Mother's Bar.
Council members will also decide whether to hire country musician and "Dancing With the Stars" participant Chuck Wicks to perform at Charleston's Red, White & Blue Days celebration on July 4.
Wick's proposed contract would cost the city $16,500.
The council meeting begins at 7:30 p.m. today at City Hall, 520 Jackson Ave.
Joe Astrouski can be reached at 581-7942 or at jmastrouski@eiu.edu.
The funds, part of the federal economic stimulus plan, are distributed by the Illinois Department of Transportation, said Mayor John Inyart.
"This is our allotment of the Department of Transportation money that the state got," said Inyart, adding that Charleston did not request the money.
He said the funds would be used in two phases of about $300,000 each. The first phase would be spent on upgrades to intersections along University Avenue, Division Street, Fourth Street and Ninth Street as well as a stretch of West Polk Avenue from Reynolds Drive to Lynnwood Drive.
The Council will also vote on a proposed 7 percent increase in water and sewer rates.
Inyart said the city needs more money in its water and sewer fund before Charleston can apply for a loan from the Illinois Environmental Protection Agency for upgrades to its waste water treatment plant.
"You have to be able to show that you're going to be able to pay off that loan and that you have a capital reserve," Inyart said.
Inyart said, until recent years, water and sewer rates remained static.
"We went through a number of years where there were no adjustments to the water-sewer rates," he said.
The City Council will also vote on up to $64,000 of grants from the city's Tax Increment Finance Fund.
Money in the fund comes from increased property taxes on businesses in the city's downtown TIF district.
The money is then given back to businesses in the district through grants and loans to help them improve and upgrade their businesses.
The council is considering four grants to help pay for repairs and improvements to the buildings that house the Charleston Transitional Facility and Mother's Bar.
Council members will also decide whether to hire country musician and "Dancing With the Stars" participant Chuck Wicks to perform at Charleston's Red, White & Blue Days celebration on July 4.
Wick's proposed contract would cost the city $16,500.
The council meeting begins at 7:30 p.m. today at City Hall, 520 Jackson Ave.
Joe Astrouski can be reached at 581-7942 or at jmastrouski@eiu.edu.
The Daily Eastern News encourages on-topic, civil discussion on its articles posted online. It is our policy not to screen comments before they are posted or edit them after they are posted. However, we reserve the right to remove comments that are off-topic, malicious, libelous or include excessive foul language. The DEN also reserves the right to turn off all comments on any story it deems necessary.
Comments violating copyright law will also be removed.
Users who repeatedly violate this policy will be banned from commenting.
If you have any questions on our comment policy or wish to report a comment that you feel violates these standards, please e-mail a link to the article to our Online Editor at DENNews.com@gmail.com.
Be the first to comment on this story