Mt. Vernon City Council met July 3.
Here is the minutes provided by the Council:
Mayor John Lewis called the Public Hearing to order at 6:30 p.m. in the Rolland W. Lewis Community Building at Weterans Park.
Roll Call:
Roll call showed present: Council Member Jeff May, Council Member Donte Moore, Council Member Jim Rippy, Council Member Mike Young, and Mayor John Lewis,
Public Hearing:
City Manager Mary Ellen Bechtel explained that the Public Hearing is to inform the public of the Community Development Block Grant Application for Public Infrastructure also known as CDBG. The project is to replace waterlines on 12"Street from Maple to Veterans, Casey Avenue from Fifth Street to First Street, Perkins Avenue from Shawnee to 10" Street, Harrison Street from 10 Street to the end going east, Seventh Street from the railroad tracks to Maple Avenue, Grand Alley from Newby to Veterans Memorial Drive, and South 20 Street from College to Herbert. This represents about 24,000 lineal feet of replacement water lines.
Bechtel explained that the Public Hearing Notice was published in the Mt. Vernon Morning Sentinel on Sunday, June 25, 2017. The total project is estimated to cost $1,896,701. A sum of $1,603,812 is currently in the City of Mt. Vernon's Revolving Loan Fund. These funds will be requested from the CDBG program which $1,573,812 will be used from engineering, Construction, and administration. The Greater Egypt Planning Commission is administering this program at a cost of $30,000. The City of Mt. Vernon will expend $292,889 in non-CDBG funds for construction and construction engineering derived from the following sources: The City portion will come from City funds and/or in-kind force labor for construction engineering. The project will benefit 66.9% low to moderate income households. The CDBG funds proposed for activities that will benefit low to moderate income persons is $1,072,950. This represents 66.9% of the funds in the Revolving Loan Fund.
Bechtel stated that the State of Illinois has agreed that the City can use their Revolving Loan Funds for this grant program. The City will no longer have a Revolving Loan Program.
The project will not result in the displacement of any persons. Community and housing needs were prioritized: 1). public infrastructure including water, sanitary sewer, and storm Sewer, 2). economic development, and 3). housing rehabilitation. These priorities can be changed or added to if the Council chooses or if testimony is heard that would require the City to change the priorities. No comments regarding the priorities were heard from the Council or the public.
A copy of this application will be submitted to the Illinois Department of Commerce and Economic Opportunity and will be available for public view in the City Manager's Office as well as the City Clerk's Office at 1100 Main Street, Mt. Vernon, Illinois.
City Manager Mary Ellen Bechtel asked if there were any comments from the audience or Council. Council Member Donte Moore clarified that the City's portion is $292,889. Bechtel explained that $292,889 is what the City determined to be the value of the in-kind engineering. Moore asked about the project's start time. Bechtel replied that the timeframe will depend on when the City hears from the State of Illinois on the grant's approval. After approval, the engineering will begin. It could take up to two years to finish the grant considering all the responsibilities and approvals.
Moore asked how the water lines were selected. Bechtel said that the Public Utilities Department identified the lines by the number of leaks over the past five years that were in the location qualified under the CDBG guidelines.
Mayor John Lewis asked if there were any further comments. No comments were heard.
Adjournment:
Council Member Jeff May made a motion to adjourn. Seconded by Council Member Mike Young. Yeas: May, Moore, Rippy, Young, and Lewis.
The Public Meeting was adjourned at 6:39 p.m.
http://www.mtvernon.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/10/July-3-2017-Public-Hearing-Minutes.pdf
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