Kulesza Hired as Assistant Fire Chief; Council Decides to Move Ahead w/Triangle Business District

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Published on July 19 2016 8:22 pm
Last Updated on July 20 2016 8:55 am
Written by Greg Sapp

(NEW EFFINGHAM ASSISTANT FIRE CHIEF MATT KULESZA IS SWORN IN BY FIRE CHIEF JOE HOLOMY)

Matt Kulesza always wanted to be a firefighter. 

Now, he's the Effingham Assistant Fire Chief.

Kulesza, the longtime fire chief at Watson, was chosen from a group of five candidates to serve as the first assistant fire chief in Effingham since Jerry Niccum's retirement in 2004. City officials say Kulesza was chosen as much for his knowledge of the construction industry as his firefighting expertise. He has worked for AKRA Builders for a number of years, and operated his own construction company for a time.

That knowledge of construction will come in handy, as Kulesza will oversee the City's building inspection program as well as serve as chief in Fire Chief Joe Holomy's absence.

Watson is to choose its new fire chief on Thursday night. Darren Percival is serving as interim chief.

In addition to Kulesza's hiring, the Council acted on two promotions due to the retirement of Fire Captain Bob Hoffman. J.R. Nieman was promoted to captain to succeed Hoffman, and T.J. Metcalf was promoted to lieutenant to succeed Nieman.

(THOSE SWORN IN OR PROMOTED IN THE EFFINGHAM FIRE DEPARTMENT POSED AT TUESDAY'S CITY COUNCIL MEETING WITH MEMBERS OF THE COUNCIL. SEATED, LEFT TO RIGHT, ARE FIRE CHIEF JOE HOLOMY, FIRE LIEUTENANT T.J. METCALF, ASSISTANT FIRE CHIEF MATT KULESZA, AND FIRE CAPTAIN J.R. NIEMAN. BACK ROW, COMMISSIONER KEVIN ESKER, COMMISSIONER KEVIN WILLIS, MAYOR JEFF BLOEMKER, COMMISSIONER MERV GILLENWATER, AND COMMISSIONER DON ALTHOFF)

Meanwhile, City Council members moved ahead with formation of the Triangle Business District. 

The Council authorized Economic Development Resources to complete the district plan, accepted the business district eligibility study, and created a fund to house the revenue from a special tax that will be generated from sales in the district.

It's a big district, involving 302 parcels and 294 acres of property. It's the Triangle District because of its shape, stretching south of the Keller Drive interstate off-ramp along both Interstates 57/70 and Keller Drive and Henrietta Street to Fayette Avenue. There are some additional properties along that boundary, so it's not a perfect triangle. There are also some properties that have opted out of inclusion in the district. 

Those opt outs disappoint Commissioner Don Althoff, who voted No on the project once he couldn't get any support for his proposal that all of the parcels within the District territory be compelled to participate. Althoff has shared in the past that the City will need all of the revenue it can get with the plans to hire four additional police officers and filling the assistant fire chief's position.

Officially, the money raised from the special business district tax has to be used on projects within the district, but in the past, the revenue from special taxing districts has freed up other funds for use elsewhere.

(THE TRIANGLE BUSINESS DISTRICT)

The Council allocated an additional $100,000 for the Downtown/Southtown Business Area Redevelopment Program. The funds are needed due to the level of participation in the program. 

One such project was discussed Tuesday night.

Greg Webb of Heritage Builders was on hand to share plans for work on the exteriors of the former Dorothy Chrysler School of Beauty along Jefferson Avenue. The City's share of the work would be $50,000. Boris and Peter Bonutti are undertaking the renovation work to complement the work already done on the Register Building to the east.

The Council approved changes in job descriptions for the City Engineer/City Planner and the Building Official. Additional duties for the Engineer/Planner meant an increase in wage while reduced duties for the Building Official resulted in a lower wage for that position. Council members also finalized an agreement with Koerner Distributor, including the sale of property on the west side of Raney Street for construction of a 200,000 square foot commercial distribution complex for Koerner. The company originally was to build on the east side of Raney next to Continental Baking. Council members also acted on an agreement as part of plans to reconstruct 3rd Street south from Fayette Avenue across the CSX Railroad crossing.

Council members approved an agreement with the City of Mattoon to handle each other's death investigations involving the death of a police officer, or a death caused by an officer.

Several items were up for discussion, including rezonings for the future home of Crisis Nursery of Effingham County at 924 North Merchant, a car wash that will replace Ichabod's at 1714 South Banker, and a parcel of ground next to Deb Sanders' Coldwell Banker realty office off Keller Drive. Also discussed was a sanitary sewer project as part of the 3rd Street project and resurfacing on Jefferson Avenue from Willow Street, east.

There was also discussion of design of a police station that would replace the current facility just south of City Hall. Under the latest scenario, the police station would be connected to City Hall and would face 3rd Street. Its size has been reduced to 25,000 square feet, which could reduce the cost by anywhere from half a million to one million dollars. The Council has not voted on whether to proceed with the project.