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| More Hurdles for Abingdon to Clear for Demolition Grant |
The city of Abingdon still has more to do to have a shot at a grant that officials have been waiting a long time to find out if it'll be approved or not.
The Abingdon City Council, with the assistance of the Western Illinois Regional Council, applied in April of last year for the Community Development Assistance Program Grant. Alderman Ronnie Steele, chairman of the city council's Economic Development Committee, says the grant is from the Illinois Department of Commerce and Economic Development.
The city is seeking the funding - up to $200,000 - to help cover the cost of tearing down several condemned buildings in the 100 block of South Main Street, some of which pose a public safety hazard. Steele told the city council last month, after meeting with WIRC and University of Illinois Extension officials, that a redevelopment plan is required for the lots where the buildings would be demolished. Steele said then that neither he or any other city officials knew the plan was required, and that was the reason the grant wasn't moving.
Steele told the city council Monday night that he and other city officials attended another meeting last Tuesday with representatives from the WIRC and the U-of-I Extension, and Galesburg Mayor Sal Garza - on behalf of the state department of commerce and economic opportunity. Steele says the organizations involved are trying to help the city.
"It's their consensus that we should do a survey of the citizens here in town," Steele said.
Mayor Roger Stegall, who also attended the meetings with Steele, says a survey of the city's residents isn't all that needs to be done to get the grant moving.
"In addition to doing the paper part of it and having people turn in this survey, they also want to do a city-wide forum," Stegall said.
Stegall says the surveys will be available in the Abingdon newspaper this week, at city hall and several other locations in town. The informational forum is scheduled for June 10th at 6 p.m. at the Abingdon Banking Center.
Stegall says there were four grants for five cites and three of them have been approved. The two cities seeking the one remaining grant are Abingdon and Plymouth, located in Hancock County southeast of Carthage. |
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| 05 18 10 by Newsroom |
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