City Council Learns Housing Rehab Grant Project Moving Ahead

An ambitious project designed to rehabilitate a number of single-family residences in Effingham is moving ahead.

City Director of Public Works Jeremy Heuerman said letters have been mailed to those eligible for the program. Heuerman said applications will be accepted on November 5. He said if someone in the target area did not receive a letter, they are asked to contact Heuerman at City Hall.

The City received grant funds to pay for the work earlier this year.

The Council also addressed plans to expand the South Central Industrial Tax Increment Financing District. A meeting of the TIF Joint Review Board to discuss expanding the district is set for Thursday, November 5 at 4pm at City Hall. A public hearing on amending the district will be held on Tuesday, December 15 at 4pm at City Hall. 

An amendment was approved by the Council to extend the length of a short-term stay allowed in property on the southwest corner of Evergreen and 4th, which is the only parcel in town that meets the criteria of the amendment. The Council also amended the zoning at 1600th Street and 1495th Avenue from non-urban to single-family residential and amended the rezoning at Jaycee Avenue and Four Seasons Drive from light industrial to multiple-dwelling district. Also, the City sewer relining project was amended by an additional $12,562 to cover another 375 feet of line in Rollin Hills Subdivision.

Council members amended the agreement with Herrmann Landscaping to accommodate a slight increase in charges for the third year of their multi-year agreement with the City, and also amended the agreement with Farnsworth Group for design work for some additional street, water and sewer on the Ford Avenue extension for just under $18,000.