City Concurs in Award of Work to Extend Thies Avenue, Improve Portion of Airport Road

Effingham City Council members Tuesday accepted a proposal for an extension of Thies Avenue at John Boos and Company, and a reconstruction of the west portion of Airport Road from South Route 45 to Hetzel's Overland Transport.

A&R Services of Urbana submitted the low bid at $2,505,245.65. The County Board has to concur in the acceptance of the proposal and a joint agreement on the project. The City and County have worked jointly on the project and grant funds have been obtained to cover a large part of the project cost.

The Council heard a presentation on an expansion of the Effingham/Effingham County Enterprise Zone. The expansions would include three parcels owned by Todd Kabbes for residential development and the parcel at the northeast corner of Willow and Gordon recently purchased by South Central FS for construction of a farm store and warehouse. The City and the other affected taxing bodies have to give their approval to the expansion of the zone, as does the state Department of Commerce and Economic Opportunity.

(CITY FIRE DEPARTMENT REPRESENTATIVES AND REPRESENTATIVES OF THE ILLINOIS DEPARTMENT OF LABOR WHO PRESENTED THE "SHARP" AWARD TO THE FIRE DEPARTMENT FOR THEIR EFFORTS)

The Effingham Fire Department was recognized with the Safety and Health Achievement Recognition Program, or SHARP, Award from the Illinois Department of Labor's On-Site Safety and Health Consultation Program. The Department earned the recognition for work from October 2022 to June 2023 to improve safety in and outside of the firehouse. The work by the fire department establishes it as one of just 34 Illinois employers to have achieved and maintained the SHARP achievement.

(CITY POLICE CHIEF JASON McFARLAND WITH CAROL GAPSIS)

Effingham Police Chief Jason McFarland presented special honors to three individuals for life saving efforts in June. The Chief said Police Chaplain Carol Gapsis was on her way to work at The Cross at the Crossroads when she encountered, as the Chief put it, "a woman in distress". While Gapsis went to phone police for help, the woman wandered away and Gapsis couldn't immediately locate her. When City Officers Cody Hartke and Brennan Poland arrived, they began a search of the area and found the woman behind a boulder. Believing the woman had overdosed, the officers administered Narcan to assist in the woman's recovery.

(JASON McFARLAND WITH CITY OFFICER CODY HARTKE)

(CHIEF McFARLAND WITH CITY OFFICER BRENNAN POLAND)

Also Tuesday, the Council reduced the number of liquor licenses by one after The Local Sports Bar and Grill has decided not to open at this time; amended the agreement with EBS Development for their RentX project on Hampton Drive; authorized a supplemental agreement with Unit 40 School District for additional police officer service in the school district; approved a plat of two lots into four lots for attached single family dwellings; discussed declaring a property at 510 West Clinton Avenue as dangerous and unsafe and if approved moving to take down the building; and discussed permission to allow Sunrise Rotary to hold their Halloween Parade on Sunday, October 29 and to allow Effingham American Legion Post #120 to hold a Record Fair downtown on September 30; and discussed allocating $15,000 toward the cost of a statue commemorating the 75th anniversary of the St. Anthony Hospital fire in 2024.

City Commissioner Hank Stephens said in light of city residents receiving their property tax bills that the City portion of the tax bill, if there were no changes in assessment,   city residents should see a 14% reduction in their city tax rate from the previous year.