Wednesday, November 5, 2008 9:22 PM CST
Charleston OKs hike in animal control fees
By ROB STROUD, Staff Writer
rstroud@jg-tc.com
CHARLESTON — The City Council voted Tuesday to pay an increase of 50 cents per capita to the county fee for providing animal control services.
The council also voted to approve one developer’s plans for constructing a new University Baptist Church building and to reimburse another developer for constructing the intersection of Hawthorne and Woodfall drives.
More information on the council meeting will appear in Thursday’s newspaper.
Regarding animal control, the council voted to pay a 50-cent increase in the per-capita rate that Coles County charges Charleston and other municipalities for the County Animal Rescue and Education Center’s services.
Mayor John Inyart said the per-capita rate, $1, has not been adjusted since the current animal control services agreement was adopted nearly 30 years ago. The county has set this agreement to expire May 1, after which municipalities would adopt the new agreement and rate or provide their own animal control services.
The county Health and Safety Committee used a figure of 4,500 for Eastern Illinois University’s dorm population, reducing Charleston’s population for the fee by 2,250. Inyart said this accounts for the fact that dorm residents are not supposed to have pets. Charleston’s fee with the increase would be just more than $28,000 a year.
Inyart said the new rate seems reasonable, especially considering that the CARE Center needs facility improvements.
“They have accumulated over the years some deferred maintenance at the shelter and the program costs more and more each year,” Inyart said.
Regarding the University Baptist Church, Unique Homes owner Reggie Phillips of Charleston plans to construct the new church building as part of the 5-acre Whispering Pines planned unit development south of Brookstone Estates.
The council approved the final development plan and re-platting for Whispering Pines as well as a conditional use permit for a large religious assembly of more than 150 seats. The council approved Phillips’ concept and preliminary plans on Oct. 21.
Phillips cut five parking spaces and added 10 feet of unimproved buffer yard area on the west side of the planned church building after the original proposal generated concerns from neighbors.
University Baptist Church has been at 1505 Seventh St., east of Eastern’s Old Main, for many years.
In other matters, Taurus of Chicago will be reimbursed for $31,000 it spent on constructing the Hawthorne-Woodfall intersection adjacent to its University Village student rental housing area southeast of Wal-Mart. The $31,000 amounts to $250 per unit for University Village’s 124 units.
Inyart said the city had been slated to construct the intersection as part of its development agreement with Taurus. He said it turned out to be better timing for the developer’s contractors to build the intersection while they were working on the housing area’s access road.
“It was better to get it all done at the same time,” Inyart said.
Cristian Galli, managing partner for Taurus of Chicago, thanked the council and said the developer’s working relationship with the city has been great. He added that the University Village’s rental units are now more than 90 percent occupied by tenants.
Contact Rob Stroud at rstroud@jg-tc.com or 348-5734.
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