City Council Hears About 3rd Street Resurfacing Work

Effingham City Council members Tuesday heard about the upcoming resurfacing of North 3rd Street from Fayette Avenue to Technology Drive.

City Engineer Luke Thoele said there will be some excavation in places where repairs are needed. Also, the City is being asked to contribute to some of the cost of the project. 

Thoele said the City's share is $65,100, which would cover modernization of traffic signals at Temple and at Evergreen Avenues. He said a couple of intersection modernizations will also be part of the project. 

An agreement with the State on the project should be acted on soon.

The Council also heard from Crisis Nursery Executive Director Meghan Rewers about Child Abuse Prevention Month, which will be observed during April. Rewers discussed plans to place blue ribbons downtown along Jefferson Avenue from the railroad to the four-way stop to raise awareness of the observance, which is planned from April 18th through the 30th. City Commissioners Larry Micenheimer and Merv Gillenwater commended the effort, with Gillenwater adding that law enforcement and emergency services personnel should be remembered for their efforts during such difficult times.

Rewers also thanked all those who helped with support for Crisis Nursery during its startup in Effingham. The agency celebrated its 5th anniversary in Effingham last week.

The Council approved a transfer of maintenance of a four-tenths mile portion of Willenborg Street at Evergreen Avenue. The City will maintain the stretch of street as part of improvements to make the streets able to handle a greater volume of traffic once the QuikTrip business is developed at the west end of Technology Drive. It was also decided to rezone land on the southeast corner of Fayette Avenue and Walnut Street from neighborhood shopping district to general commercial district. The rezoning will allow the development of Ginger Ales, a drive-through business that will sell non-alcoholic beverages and snacks.

The Council approved an amendment to the zoning ordinance regulating off-street parking and loading requirements in various zoning jurisdictions in the city, and also granted a special-use permit for a utility station along US Route 40 on the east edge of town designed to boost fiber optic signals.

City Administrator Steve Miller reminded that a special City Council meeting will take place next Tuesday at 5pm to work on the budget. That will move the City Zoning Board of Appeals meeting that night up to the second floor in City Hall.

There was also mention made that the City would like to hire seasonal workers in various areas and to have those interested contact City Hall.