A state grant is available to complete the downtown reconstruction project. But before applying for the grant, the City Council has to decide exactly what work it wants to do.
And they’ll have to decide quickly; the grant application deadline is Oct. 5.
In a report to the council before Monday’s meeting, city public works director Chris Berry wrote that the new project is “the remainder of the downtown streetscape plan set beyond the work Centennial Contractors is building now.”
That work includes new sidewalk, curb and gutter, handicap-accessible crossings, pedestrian and street lighting, planters and replacement of storm sewers.
The project will also include relocation of some Ameren overhead facilities to underground, and installing permanent electricity service for Hog Days and the Prairie Chicken Art Festival.
Council members said they felt the downtown improvements could be made to accommodate other developments in the area.
For example, Councilman Adam Cernovich noted that a fourth restaurant is planned in the east side of the 200 block of North Tremont Street. He suggested that the sidewalk could be widened on that block to make room for outdoor dining.
Berry said that would require eliminating on-street parking in that block, or making the street one-way.
Cernovich said he thought the council should have been more involved in planning for the downtown project.
“We have a lot of ideas,” he said, “and I think it would be worth our time to flesh them out.”
“We kind of shoot ourselves in the foot if we don’t make positive changes,” Moore said.
The council agreed to meet again before the grant application is filed, to come up with ideas for how the downtown project should be completed.
Berry’s report said the total cost of the downtown project is $3.3 million to $3.6 million. Most of that is being paid by a federal grant. The city’s share of the cost could be about $600,000 to $1 million, depending how much is paid by the grant.
