Peoria Standard

City of Mason City Council Met July 26.

Here are the minutes provided by the council:

The public hearing for the City’s application for public infrastructure construction grant under the Community Development Block Grant (CDBG) program was called to order by Mayor Bruce Lowe at 6:30 p.m. An attendance register was circulated for all present to sign. The audience consisted of James Cummings of the Greater Peoria Economic Development Council and several interested citizens.

Mr. Cummings explained that the purpose of the hearing was to provide an opportunity for all citizens to express their opinions, questions and priorities on community development including housing a priorities list of community development and housing needs; to discuss the proposed project; and to provide other program information. He distributed two synopses on CDBG – one for all types of grants and one for public infrastructure (PI) construction only. He also provided an agenda for all in attendance to follow. The first synopsis included essential information on public infrastructure, disaster response (formerly “emergency”), economic development and housing, associated detail and ineligible activities; whereas the second sheet provided in-depth detail on the public infrastructure component. Both synopses outlined the type of program CDBG is, where the funds come from, eligible applicants, eligible and ineligible activities, grant ceilings, low- and moderate-income (LMI) benefit, leveraging, application restrictions, total funding availability, and breakdowns by each program component, the fact that the program is very competitive, specifically that more applications are generally submitted than funded in nearly every year.

It was discussed that the City should avoid projects that cause involuntary displacement of people, especially persons of low- and moderate-income, from their homes, or, at least minimize any displacement its project might cause. The project for which this hearing is being held will not displace anyone from his or her home. Most, if not all the records on the project would be available to the public in the same manner as other public records kept by the City.

Mr. Cummings explained that the project is the construction of a 500,000-gallon elevated water storage tank that will replace the existing 125,000-gallon tank and a transmission main to connect the new tank to water distribution system. The information provided included the description, detailed cost, LMI benefit (which is 51.01%), and the other program criteria it will address, primarily the elimination of a threat to the public health and safety of the residents of the community. The project also includes activity delivery costs, otherwise and formerly known as grant administration. The total project cost is $3,527,092. The CDBG request is for $550,000, with $520,000 designated for construction and $30,000 for activity delivery. The remainder of the $2,977,092 for construction will come from a loan from the Illinois Environmental Protection Agency’s (IEPA’s) State Revolving (loan) Fund (SRF). The impact of this project on the City’s finances was a topic on the printed agenda distributed to everyone in attendance. The project summary distributed to everyone contained information on what the impact would be without the grant. The fact sheet provided to everyone mentioned the impact on the community’s finances. If financed entirely with debt could mean a substantial increase in everyone’s utility bills, perhaps several dollars a month. The total cost of the project is estimated to be $3,527,092.

There was a discussion of the project among the City Council and comments and suggestions by the citizens in attendance. Other matters discussed at this time were other community development and housing needs. The list of items, in order of priority, were:

To replace the undersized elevated water storage tank with a larger one;

To construct a new water well to improve the supply;

To undertake the effort to resolve the combined sewage overflow (CSO) situation ;

Preserve the existing housing stock and to provide a housing mix that would allow a residential choice for all ages and income groups;

To maintain other infrastructure within the City, including storm sewers and roads;

To provide essential governmental, recreational and educational public services;

To diversify employment;

To promote stabilization and growth of the existing employment base;

To retain and re-employ (where necessary) dislocated workers within the City;

To revitalize the Central Business District of the City;

To revitalize low income and blighted areas; and

To protect lands suitable for industry for possible future development through the use of zoning and other delegated powers.

The hearing was adjourned at 7:00 p.m.

http://www.masoncityillinois.org/cdbg-public-hearing-minutes-7-26-21/