Carthage approves three new zoning disticts

The Carthage city council voted to amend the current city code to add three new zoning designations. The council also approved the overall zoning plan for the Rt. 336 interchange.

The approval ends a process that started with the Rt. 336 Corridor Study Group and a public survey asking for input into how to develop the new property.

The three new zoning designations passed at the May 27 meeting were B-4, B-5 and I-3.

The B-4 designation is a commercial highway interchange district. The B-5 designation is a planned research office district. The I-3 designation is a planned industrial development district.

Each zoning district has some restrictions placed on it about how the property is developed. Developers have to meet setback requirements and keep a certain distance between buildings to allow for “green space” which helps with drainage and the overall appearance of the area. Other issues such as building height and hours of operation were also addressed.

The only area left unzoned is some land east of the sewer plant that was left open for future sewer plant expansion.

“This is what we'd like to see happen out there,” said Mayor Jim Nightingale. “We don't have a crystal ball we can look in to see exactly what is going to happen in the future, but this gives us a good place to start.”

Engineer Steve Freiburg is preparing a noise ordinance for the Plan Commission to review and recommend to the city council for adoption. The issue was addressed earlier as a possible cause of problems.

“I'll try to keep it as simple and straightforward as possible,” said Freiburg.

Carthage is looking at increasing its permit fees. Freiburg is providing the council with a 2001 study done for Nauvoo that shows permit fees for area towns. Nauvoo commissioned the study to update its permit fees before the Temple was built. The study includes permit information for building, signs, zoning changes and other permits.

“I don't think they've been changed much since they were passed in the 70s,” said Nightingale of Carthage's permit rates. “We need to look at it. We're probably losing money every time we issue a permit.”

The Marion Corner low-cost senior housing project is closer to completion. More than 50 pre-applications were taken for the 10 units in the building. Each of those pre-applicants were mailed an application. Community Developer Brenda Pyatt said she suggested taking financial status into account for choosing tenants. The West Central Illinois Area Agency on Aging in Quincy is in charge of the application process and had said they were favoring a lottery system for choosing residents.

About 18 people showed up to a housing rehabilitation grant meeting. The grant, worth about $200,000, allows up to $34,000 per house for needed repairs if the homeowner occupies the house. Contractors have to be approved for Housing and Urban Development work, and the work must leave the home meeting all safety requirements. This is the second year the city has received the grant which is issued through the Western Illinois Regional Council.

Applications for the grant are being taken in June????.

The low bid of $203,026.26 from Hoppe Construction near Hamilton was approved for the Memorial Hospital sewer project at the Rt. 336 interchange. Engineer Terry Knoke said the company does mostly industrial work. He talked with them about the project and said they had a good handle on what needed to be done.

The project had six bidders.

The council approved a 30-day extension on the hospital's water project. Some boring problems have the project behind schedule.

The council agreed to a one-year extension of the TEST contract after TEST forgot to bill the city an extra 5 percent increase last year. The 5 percent increase is in the contract as a compromise to billing the city for overtime each year. This makes it easier for the city to budget. The extra year means TEST won't bill the city for the extra 5 percent from last year.

The fire department won't fill swimming pools this year. Calls to the city or fire department are being directed to private contractors.

Pyatt said the application for $250,000 from the Department of Labor was sent. The money is not guaranteed, but indications are it will be approved. The money is likely to be used by the Workforce Investment Office to help the entire area deal with the loss of Methode Electronics.

Blanche Shoup, director of the Workforce Investment Office is planning to open an office in Carthage in the next few weeks.

In other news, the council:

€ Heard employee health insurance increased by $6 per month.

€ Received a thank you letter from the Senior Citizen Center for a $1,000 donation.