City Council Votes 3-2 to Deny Rezoning for Marijuana Facility

Effingham City Council members Tuesday voted 3-2 to deny a request to rezone a tract of land southwest of town for a medicinal marijuana grow facility.

A group known as Effingham Medicinal Farms proposed the facility and spokesman Jon Loevy suggested that as many as 50 jobs would be generated by the operation. 

The jobs promised are what led Commissioner Alan Harris to vote for the rezoning. Mayor Merv Gillenwater said he voted for the rezoning since the medicinal marijuana produced might provide relief for those dealing with debilitating illnesses. Harris also said he was contacted by someone in opposition who allows gambling in his business and said one is as bad as another. He said the project is a legal one.

Commissioners Matt Hirtzel, Brian Milleville and Don Althoff voted against the rezoning. Hirtzel said he felt he represented the people that contacted him on the issue. He said he would be glad to talk one-on-one with anyone who wanted to further discuss the issue.

The rezoning was to be contingent on the site being approved as one of 22 growing facilities to be sited in the state.

Local educator Joe Fatheree appeared to speak against the project, asking, "What kind of message are we sending" if the rezoning was approved. He said the county has worked hard to rid itself of illegal drugs and noted that while Illinois law allows medicinal marijuana production, Federal law still declares marijuana use and production illegal.

Jon Loevy, the spokesman for the group trying to establish the facility, said Illinois has a restrictive law, that a doctor's form is needed for someone to obtain medicinal marijuana, and that no dispensary is proposed to be a part of their operation.

The Council also heard from Economic Development Administrator Todd Hull on plans to seek a new Enterprise Zone. The State is ending existing zones as of 2018. Hull said he and City Administrator Jim Arndt have visited several taxing bodies in the county to seek their support for property tax abatements for developments in the proposed zone, but said they have several to go. The application for a new zone has to be submitted to the State by the end of 2014.

Hull said the new zone would have a seven-year property tax abatement for industrial projects and a three-year abatement for commercial projects. The reduction from the current 10 year abatement for industrial projects, Hull said, would get property back on the tax rolls sooner and would stil make the zone competitive with those elsewhere.

Council members heard that work is beginning to reconstruct North Raney Street from Ford Avenue north to Rickelman Avenue. City Engineer Jeremy Heuerman said Phase One to be undertaken this year involves filling in the dips of the roadway and building a sanitary sewer along the street. Reconstruction will follow, with 800 feet of concrete street north from Ford and then asphalt surface through the residential area. The length of the project, though, would have curb and gutter and Heuerman there would be sidewalks along one side of the roadway. The terrain won't support sidewalks on the west side of the street. He said the project would be completed in stages. Right-of-way acquisition is now underway.

The Council rezoned 209 North 4th Street, the old Effingham Printing building, from general commercial to central business district status. The project will allow the purchaser, Chad Hawkins, to live upstairs and operate his martial arts business on the main floor.

Council members also heard preliminary information on a proposed renovation project at Joe Sipper's Cafe. Owner Kevin Hiatt said the project will involve replacement windows and new signage and lighting. The work would accommodate interior renovations that will include the startup of a coffee roasting operation at the restaurant. Under the City's downtown rehabilitation program, the City would go halves on the project cost, which is now estimated at less than $16,000 as the City's share.

The Council also heard about a project to re-open and refurbish the location for The Hangout along US Route 40 between Effingham and Teutopolis. Group spokesman Bruce Miller said he now operates two businesses in Charleston and has worked for resort establshments elsewhere in the nation. Miller said the plan is to offer lunch and evening meals and an area for dancing. He said, "We want it to be something people can be proud of." A vote last night was to increase by one the number of liquor licenses available to accommodate the project.