 The grant in question is the Illinois Transportation Enhancement
Program grant. The grant is paid to recipients by the state of
Illinois, but the state is really just the administrative body for a
grant that is funded with federal dollars.It was explained to the
council that in the past the city has applied for the grant with the
intent of using the money for downtown streetscape improvements,
which would equate to work around the square.
However, as usual, this grant comes with guidelines as to how it
can and cannot be used. Recently those guidelines were revised by
the federal government, and now the money cannot be used downtown.
The new rules of the grant indicate that the money has to be used
along a federal highway route. Forgy said there are only two areas
in town that qualify under those conditions: a portion of Broadway
Street and a portion of North Kickapoo.
Forgy said what he has been discussing with the state of Illinois
is the possibility that the money could be used to enhance the areas
near the Amtrak depot. He said this was a reasonable use for the
money because high-speed rail is a federal transportation program.
If the grant can be used in that manner, the city will submit a
new application that includes improving the streetscape on both
Chicago and Sangamon streets from Decatur to Pekin and refurbishing
the streets to all-brick.
Forgy told the council that he and the Illinois Department of
Transportation were still checking on this to see if it is possible,
and it is looking like it will work.
Snyder told the council that improvements to the Chicago and
Sangamon Street corridor are already part of the city's downtown
rehabilitation plan. He said that while it had not been intended to
do this section right away, if this was how the city could get the
grant funding, then they needed to go ahead and move forward on it.
During discussion Marty Neitzel asked how much money was involved
in this. Forgy said the grant was for up to $2,000,000, and the city
would have a 20 percent match. He also said the match might be
achieved with motor fuel tax revenues.
In addition, he said he was exploring doing an "in-kind" match
for at least part of it. He said if brick is pulled up from other
streets as part of another project, the city may be able to reuse
those bricks and have them count as part of the local match.
Tom O'Donohue spoke up, saying that he was in no way against this
plan, but that the council members should all be warned it was going
to cause a problem with downtown merchants.
He said downtown business owners are going to feel like money is
being invested in a part of the city that is not as financially
productive as the downtown, and that the downtown area is being left
out. He said they are going to want to know why they are being left
out and another area that is not the heart of the town is getting
the improvements.
Forgy said that all along the intent was to do the downtown area
first, but with the money that is available, the plan is going to
have to change if the city hopes to win the grant.
O'Donohue said that was fine, but downtown business owners are
going to want to know when they will benefit, when something will be
done for them. "They are going to want answers," O'Donohue said.
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Snyder told O'Donohue that today there is still money left in the
original downtown rehab grant that can and will be invested in the
heart of the city. He said there is also something coming soon that
he really can't talk about right now. However, he said by fall the
city could have more money to spend on the downtown square.
While he didn't go into any more details on this, he did ask
about how soon this grant application had to be submitted and when
the answer would come back. Forgy said the grant application is due
in to the state by Aug. 20. He said the award, if the city won it,
would come "whenever the governor tells us." Snyder surmised then
that the second pool of money he was talking about could possibly
arrive even before this grant is awarded.
Jeff Hoinacki and Marty Neitzel offered some input on what to
tell downtown business owners about this. Hoinacki said that when
people ask, the aldermen should just tell them: "This was not the
order we wanted to do things in, but this is the money that is
available." Neitzel added that they should tell people the money
will come, and everyone needs to just be patient.
Snyder also touched on two other issues in the same part of town.
He told the council that work is still ongoing on acquiring the
Lincoln Depot Restaurant building for use as the official Amtrak
station when high-speed rail is fully implemented.
Snyder said the Illinois Department of Transportation is trying
to get funding for the purchase. Snyder recently heard from them
that their application is currently stalled, but IDOT is hopeful the
problems will be resolved soon.
The reason for the delay is that the property is being reviewed
for historical issues. Snyder said even though the building itself
is not considered to be a historical landmark, the property it sits
on is.
Snyder said he had been told the issues could be resolved within
the next month or so. Therefore he is hoping that by early fall,
negotiations can begin for the purchase of the property.
On the other side of the tracks, the issue of what to call the
green space where the new "Constellation" statue is standing came
up. Snyder said that when the city was preparing for the dedication
of the statue, he saw that many people were having difficulty trying
to define what the space there is.
He said many referred to it as the space across the street from
the Blue Dog, or the place where the city had redone the parking.
In reality, the spot is the result of the city purchasing the
property and redoing the parking. With the purchase of the ground
and the completion of the parking improvements, there was a narrow
green space a city block long that was left unused. The property was
landscaped, and there are park benches in the center of the space.
The statue sits on the north end.
Snyder said he felt like the city needed to give the space a name
and he had a suggestion.
The area is located in Ward 4 of the city, a ward that was served
by both Aldermen Nathan Turner and Orville "Buzz" Busby. Turner died
while in office in 2009. Busby died in office in 2012. Snyder said
he felt it would be very fitting to dedicate this green space to two
aldermen who left this world too soon. Therefore he suggested the
space be named Busby-Turner Park.
After only a very brief discussion on the matter, everyone came
to an agreement that this would be a fitting name and tribute to the
two aldermen who were held in high regard by the council and the
community. Steps will be taken to make it official in the very near
future.
[By NILA SMITH] |
