I am here so you don’t have to be.
This agenda is super short- lots of special event permits and solar panel discussions. And then two executive sessions to discuss personnel and leasing property.
Tiffany saying at her day job the word on the street is how awesome Public works is and how well they did picking up brush. #itssotrue #publicworksisamazing.
Just a reminder, the solar panels would be on village property. Lots of governments are doing it. Piatt County is looking at it for its buildings.
St. Joseph is waiting on information to see if they should purchase or lease the panels.
Special event permit time. Balloon Festival, SJO5K, and Winery Special Event the wine run. The balloon festival will be in Champaign but they would launch balloons from the Woodard Family Sports Complex. It would be Sept. 30 from 6 am. to 9 a.m.
The SJO5K is this Saturday and starts at 7:30 a.m. but the roads will be blocked until 9 a.m.
If you have lived here you know the route. Just stay home until 9 a.m. if you can. I didn’t get a copy of the wine special event in my packet but I think it’s the wine run the weekend of the festival.
They approved the Clements Minor Subdivision resolution. Basically, they are just letting a family divide land they own to put two houses on it.
Discussion the safe routes to school application grant through the CCRPC. This is all dependent on them getting the grant, which they have applied for in the past and haven’t gotten. These are just areas that were identified as safety issues by parents and community members. Nothing is set in stone.
Here’s the application details.
The Safe Routes to School (SRTS) grant is a competitive federally funded program that uses a multidisciplinary approach to improve conditions for walking and biking to school. This year is 100% federally funded because IDOT will cover the 20% required match for this cycle. Infrastructure projects may be funded for $25,000 to $250,000. All schools with Kindergarten to 12th grade students are eligible to apply for funding.
During this cycle of SRTS grants, IDOT is requesting that if an infrastructure project is requested, a non-
infrastructure grant should be secured to ensure that improvements are utilized correctly.
It would include (maybe)
- 5th Street
a. Grand Ave. to US 150:
i. Improve sections of the existing sidewalk on the west side of the street
ii. Install new sidewalk on the east side of the street
b. US 150 to Evergreen Dr.: improve sections of the existing sidewalk on the east side of the street
c. Intersection improvements:
i. 5th/Grand: on the west leg, install a high visibility crosswalk and a sidewalk extension to the
sidewalk on the north side of Grand Ave.
ii. 5th/US 150:
- North leg: install high visibility crosswalk
- Across US 150: replace existing crosswalk with a high visibility crosswalk
iii. 5th/Lincoln: install high visibility crosswalks on the east and west legs
iv. 5th/Sherman: replace existing crosswalks on the east and west legs with high visibility crosswalks
v. 5th/Douglas: replace existing crosswalks on the east and west legs with high visibility crosswalks
vi. 5th/Ethel: - Relocate the crosswalk on the north leg to the south leg of the intersection, with high visibility
markings - Replace existing crosswalks on the east and west legs with high visibility crosswalks
vii. 5th/Prospect: - Relocate the crosswalk on the south leg to the north leg, with high visibility markings
- Install high visibility crosswalk on the west leg
viii. 5th/Evergreen: replace the existing crosswalk on the north leg with a high visibility crosswalk - 9th Street/Harlan Wise Drive
a. From Douglas St. to Peters Dr.: install new sidewalk on the west side of the street - Douglas Street
a. From 6th St. to 7th St.:
i. Install new sidewalk on the north side of the street
ii. Improve sections of the existing sidewalk on the south side of the street
b. From 7th St. to 9 th St./Harlan Wise Dr.:
i. Install new sidewalks on both sides of the street
- Prospect Street
a. From 5 th St. to Main St.: install new sidewalk on at least 1 side of the street
b. The best alignment looks to be to build the sidewalk on the north side of the street
Note:
- Peters Drive
a. Our recommendation was to install a new sidewalk or sidepath on the north side of the road from Evergreen Dr. to 9th St./Harlan Wise Dr., but you mentioned that the school district just installed new sections of sidewalk here
Lawyer is talking about TIFs. TIF uses the increased property and/or sales taxes generated by a new development to finance costs related to that particular development These costs may include public infrastructure, land acquisition, relocation, demolition, utilities, debt service and planning costs. TIFs don’t have to reimburse developers at a full 100 percent so they can bank the remaining money.
Discussing the effect on other taxing bodies like schools, fire department, libraries. (I’ve never covered a TIF where they don’t have to do an intergovernmental agreement with a school or a library to cover the money that a TIF takes from them.) Lawyer saying they will always get the baseline number (25 percent) and in 21 years when the TIF ends they will get more money if the TIF works.
People get really upset about TIFs but if they are done right they really aren’t that big of a deal. But they have to be done right and they aren’t always done right if I am being honest.
Lawyer saying all schools in the state share money and the poorer you are the bigger piece of the pie you get. When it comes to the formula TIF properties are exempt. (He’s talking about a residential TIF which this village looked at about 6 years ago and voted down because they are very rare and do take money away from the school district. #pencehasapowerpoint)
Art coming in with questions. Who administers the TIF. – basically the village can do it or contract out. Lawyer saying you need to get permission from the other taxing bodies. Art saying no you don’t and Lawyer saying yes you do. I think he’s saying it would be a legal nightmare if they tried to do it without and the village would probably lose in court if it went that way.
Last time this got a little contentious with the schools because they would be asking the schools to educate new students with less funding. That’s not editorializing that’s just math.
Art keeps saying that they don’t technically need the school’s consent. #thatisntafighttheywanttopick
Lawyer saying he likes the idea of a company administrating it because it is “taxing” on staff to do it. It will cost money.
They threw me a curveball and are discussing a TIF even though the agenda I have says the attorney has nothing to report. #unpreparedforthis #notillegaltheyjustcantvoteonanything. #iloveTIFsbecausetheyarecomplicated.
Tami saying the town looks good and citizens appreciate the cleanup.
They are going into an executive session.
No motions after closed session.
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