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"Initially,
the grant, which is funded through the Illinois Department of
Transportation, began to put together a program that would help
business owners in towns that had an active 'Main Street' project
renovate their storefronts," Ritter said.
"At
the onset, approximately 39 owners showed interest in
participating," she added.
"Due
to the length of time it took to actually get work under way, some
owners dropped out and others decided to do the work
themselves," Ritter said.
The
first phase of the IDOT program began in 1993.
Eaton said that the first bids came in over budget and
excluded some portions of work that needed to be addressed.
"Some
of the storefronts were found to have leaded paint, Eaton said.
"In order to remove it and comply with standards established
by the Environmental Protection Agency, different procedures had
to be used," he added.
Eaton
said that the current program will cost about $900,000, with IDOT
paying 80 percent and the store owners paying 20 percent.
All
work being done has to meet standards established by IDOT and also
must maintain "Historic Preservation" codes.
"One
business was found to have an original lead glass window behind
some plywood that covered it from an earlier construction
project," Eaton said.
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column)
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"Anything
like this that is found is restored so that the original integrity of
the building can be maintained," he said.
Contractors
that wanted to bid on any of the projects first had to be certified by
the Illinois Capital Development Board.
The contractors that were certified then worked with the
architects and IDOT to accomplish the "Enhancement Grant's"
purpose.
Although
the grant is given by IDOT to each participating town, it is then the
responsibility of the participants to administer it.
The
Main Street project, which is a self-supporting organization of
participating downtown merchants, also had a hand in making business
owners aware of the grant and what it would entail for them to
participate.
"In
June of 1999, each business was contacted and re-signed the contracts
for individual participation," Ritter said.
"Main
Street was instrumental in helping make the participants aware of the
project's status and time schedule," the mayor added.
Approximately
once a month, Eaton and the architect walk around the projects
together to determine progress, time frames, and discuss potential
problems in order to keep a handle on the renovation work.
"Work
began late this spring," Eaton said, "and is scheduled to be
concluded this fall."
An
earlier portion of the same program was a $236,000 project to replace
lighting in the downtown area. According
to Eaton, this phase was finished with the city paying 20 percent of
the tab.
If
it's true that “You never get a second chance to make a first
impression,” business owners, the city, Main Street, IDOT, CDB,
architects and contractors are all working together to achieve a
pleasant-looking downtown that maintains its historic look and invites
consumers to the many businesses located there.
[Fuzz
Werth]
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Central
Illinois Bank’s (CIB) parent company, Central Illinois Bank
Marine Bancshares Inc., began in 1987 primarily as a commercial
bank offering business loans to finance start-up costs, working
capital, and reinvestments in facilities and equipment. It now
offers credit cards, cash management services and automated
clearinghouse capabilities. In recent years, CIB has expanded to
include all of the retail customer services. There are
approximately 40 CIB banking facilities throughout the Midwest.
[CIB's employees and the
Lincoln/Logan County Chamber of Commerce ambassadors at Monday's
ribbon-cutting ceremony]
Julie
Dreesen, president and chief operating officer of CIB, said,
"I’m very excited. We’ve got a great group of people from
the community working here. We picked the people first and then
the facility site. We are going to be a good fit in Lincoln."
The
Lincoln branch will have a staff of four and will receive direct
support as needed from its Peoria and Springfield locations. Four
full-time employees from Lincoln will run the branch office: Wally
Reese, senior vice president, business development; F. Kay Bauer,
office manager; Cindy Anderson, teller supervisor and customer
service representative; and Ginger Bryant, teller.
[Wally H. Reese, senior vice
president, business development, settles into his new CIB office.]
Reese,
an experienced banker, came out of a year and a half of retirement
to accept the helm of the new venture. According to Reese, he was
offered "a significant challenge." He had opened many
branches before but had never opened a bank. He said, "The
circumstances were right for me to spend another period of my life
in banking. I don’t know how long it will be, but as long as it’s
fun, I’ll probably wake up every morning and do it."
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column in this article)
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CIB’s
philosophy is to put the customer first, which Reese said is needed in
today’s banking environment. He sees CIB’s Lincoln branch as a
deposit-generating facility, with deposits used throughout Central
Illinois. Renna Hadsell, customer service operations manager from
Peoria, said, "It’s been very interesting to see a bank grow so
quickly. I’m excited about having a new office in a new area."
[CIB, the new bank in town]
Lincoln
has many fine banks already, Reese added, as a former Magna Bank
officer. "We hope to generate new business," he said.
"Although we are small in our attitudes toward how we care for
people, we are large enough to handle any lending need. We have
sufficient lending limits for any size project. We have 750 million
dollars in assets and corporate holdings of two billion dollars."
"We
are unique in that we are a small bank with the capital and strength
of a large bank," Reese concluded.
[Kym
C. Ammons-Scott]
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