Tuesday, September 15, 2009 11:07 PM CDT
Mattoon council expands cemetery, acts on TIF grants
By HERB MEEKER, Staff Writer
hmeeker@jg-tc.com
MATTOON — City commissioners Tuesday voted to expand the city cemetery to the west, and upped the ante on ordinance violation fines.
The council accepted a $7,986 quote from Maxedon Landscaping of Effingham for grading and seeding some acres of the new west section of Dodge Grove Cemetery. But the discussion turned to the sale of burial lots in the city cemetery.
Public Works Director Dave Wortman said 440 lots are now available in the developed sections of the cemetery, amounting to about two-thirds of the city-owned property. But the interest for burials seems to be heading west these days.
Commissioner Randy Ervin said expansion of the cemetery would make sense now if the current lots, especially to the east, are sold in coming years.
Wortman said about 71 lots were sold last year in Dodge Grove.
Violate part of the city ordinance and residents face a stiffer fine or penalty. The council raised the fine range of $1 to $500 to a new standard of $50 to $750 for each offense and added the potential for facing court costs. The amendment to Section 10.99 of the city code added the wording “and a separate offense shall be deemed committed during or on which a violation occurs or continues.” These changes only apply upon conviction.
The council accepted a change in a midtown tax increment financing (TIF) grant for Warner’s Office Equipment, 1601 Broadway Ave., for roof repair instead of replacement under the original agreement.
The council approved $4,800 to Janice Moritz of Warner’s as recommended by the midtown TIF incentive committee.
The council then accepted the recommendations from the TIF incentive committee to reject applications from the Picket Fence, 901 and 109 S. Ninth St., and Memory Lane, 1005 Broadway, because roof and siding repairs are judged as routine maintenance for structures in that section of the TIF.
Commissioner Chris Rankin said that was unfair to some business owners in the midtown TIF. City Treasurer and Attorney Preston Owen said that different standards on eligible improvements were established from the beginning of the TIF.
This is not the first time TIF applications have been rejected, but Rankin questioned the fairness of this decision.
“I don’t understand why there is not equal treatment here,” Rankin said of work for Warner’s versus that for Memory Lane and Picket Fence.
“The intent of the midtown TIF was to save the downtown buildings,” Owen said. “That is why the rules are more liberal for helping them.”
Owen did not rule out the possibility that the council could change those rules on Phase I and II of the TIF in the future. The midtown TIF was first created in 2003. The city now has four TIFs and two business districts.
The vote on the denials for TIF incentives was approved by 4-1 with Mayor Dave Cline and commissioners Rick Hall, Tim Gover and Randy Ervin in favor, while Rankin was opposed.
In other business, the council accepted a quote from Vandevanter Engineering of Fenton, Mo., for $32,142 worth of upgrades and new pump installation for a lift station. Bartels Construction of Mattoon will be paid $6,650 for construction of a guard wall around the utilities on the restored Illinois Central Railroad Depot.
Contact Herb Meeker at hmeeker@jg-tc.com or 238-6869.
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Mike P wrote on Sep 16, 2009 5:43 AM:
When is this paper going to get out in this murky water and represent citizens on what impacts poor decisions, inclusions, boundries overuse misuse and abuse have on more than just the facades around downtown? "