The Effingham City Council discussed re-zoning 1219 E. Rickelman Avenue from NU nonurban to B-2 general commercial district during its most recent meeting, but nearby residents are against the change.
Christine Turner and Jackie Tabert spoke in opposition for the re-zoning because they believe it will be the start of a long string of businesses coming into the area causing traffic, and they want to keep it rural. Turner also told the council that there is a petition with over 40 signatures and over 30 testimonies against the zoning change Dick Rhodes is requesting for his business.
Although Mayor Mike Schutzbach sided with Turner and Tabert, City Commissioners Hank Stephens, Jake Niebrugge, Libby Moeller and Larry Micenheimer supported Rhodes’ re-zoning request because of the city’s 2050 Comprehensive Plan.
“I don’t see this as property that’s ever gonna be developed residentially, and zoning is not to prevent someone from the use of their property,” said Stephens. “So I think B-2 is probably the most appropriate type of re-zoning for this.”
“We know how much work goes into the Comprehensive Plan, and if we don’t follow it, we’re not doing justice to the effort they provided,” said Micenheimer. “So I support the re-zoning.”
Because the item was accidentally listed as a discussion item instead of an action item on the meeting agenda, City Attorney Tracy Willenborg recommended putting the item on the next meeting’s agenda for a vote. So the item will be brought back for a vote next city council meeting.
In other news, Kemper CPA Group Manager Logan Carlson presented the City of Effingham’s fiscal year 2025 audited financial statements. This year’s statements were very similar to last year’s, Carlson said during his presentation. He highlighted a few key points and told the council that the city received an unmodified opinion, meaning there were no major issues.
Carlson said there was an 11.2% increase in liquid assets in the overall fund balance, meaning the city has a surplus of funds. It also means the city will have funds coming in from special revenue areas, such as tax increment financing (TIF) areas and the hotel/motel tax.
Along with the increase in liquid assets, existing debt dropped 11.8% compared to 2024’s figures due to debt payments and not issuing any new debts.
“There’s no audit that’s perfect, but we didn’t believe any internal controls required major attention,” said Carlson. “Overall, the city appears to be in good operating condition from our financial audit perspective.”
In other news, Public Works Director Jeremy Heuerman informed the council of the Urban Forest Management Plan (UFMP) that was created with the help of Great Lakes Urban Forestry in Chicago to make goals, budgets and a sustainable urban forestry management program to best protect and manage the 1,902 trees on public property in the city. The plan goes hand-in-hand with the $50,000 grant the city received in 2024 from the Morton Arboretum that was used to help complete an inventory of the city’s trees, remove dead trees and plant new trees.
The plan includes information on the 96 different tree species in the city, how trees benefit the community, how to properly manage trees, long- and short-term goals, the best location to plant certain trees and more. The UFMP also explains how the city’s trees “provide” over $60,000 annually by providing shade to homeowners, absorbing stormwater, contributing up to 15% of a property’s monetary value and more.
Heuerman hopes to come back to the council in the coming weeks with a low-bid contract to start a tree-pruning program. The program, along with the rest of the UFMP, goes through certified arborists.
“This is a big deal to actually get this money to be able to manage our trees in a way that can be really budgeted for and responsibly to keep them in our community,” said Heuerman. “They’re an important part of our community, and a lot of people really love them. We just want to have healthy urban forestry for our city.”
Heuerman also requested the execution of an inter-governmental grant agreement between the city and the State of Illinois, Research in Illinois to Spur Economic Recovery program to purchase and develop a section of Heritage Avenue. By executing this agreement, the $373,500 grant awarded from the RISE grant program and the Regional Planning grant from the State of Illinois will be used to purchase 2.6 acres on Heritage Avenue and develop it for affordable workforce housing.
Heuerman hopes to close bids on the $500,000 project by the end of the year.
“It’s gonna be a really nice location for development, and we’re looking forward to getting proposals back and sharing those with you,” said City Administrator Steve Miller.
Economic Development Director Todd Hull informed the council of two TIF housing rehabilitation projects: One at 406 S. 5th Street and one for the second floor of Joe Sippers at 114 S. 4th St.
Blake Schroedter, the owner of 406 S. 5th St., wants to fix code violations, do plumbing upgrades, fix the porch and replace the HVAC system, gutters and more for about $48,000. So, the city will contribute to 25% of the total cost, or about $12,000.
DHG Holdings – the property owner of Joe Sippers – wants to fix the roof of the second floor for $46,600, so the city will contribute $11,650 to the project.
The next city council meeting is scheduled for Nov. 18 at 5 p.m.