City Council Hears Request for Funding for Downtown Business Incubator Location

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Published on August 6 2019 7:51 pm
Last Updated on August 6 2019 7:51 pm
Written by Greg Sapp

When businesses are getting started, the owners can often use a helping hand. Many municipalities in the nation are offering such help in the form of incubator networks. 

Locally, the Effingham County Chamber of Commerce and the Effingham Regional Growth Alliance have offered such help, similar to the assistance offered in Teutopolis, Altamont and Newton. Dieterich Bank's corporate headquarters on North 3rd Street has been the incubator site in Effingham, but proponents would like to see the site relocated to downtown Effingham. The target is 109 West Jefferson, the former Studio T Fitness location.

Local entrepreneur Bob Schultz, long a proponent of the incubator effort, said they have half a dozen tenants. Chamber President and CEO Norma Lansing said that rather than the fledgling businesses compete, they can collaborate. Lansing said the businesses might need to be in the incubator site a few hours a day or a few hours per week. She said it not only benefits them fiscally, the socialization involved in seeing fellow startup business operators is an encouragement.

Schultz, Lansing and Alliance representative Mark Mayhood are seeking $30,000; $15,000 from the City and $15,000 from The Alliance.

Council members seemed receptive to the idea, although Commissioner Merv Gillenwater wanted provisions to show how the money would be used, and wants some guidelines in case allocating the money to the incubator leads to others approaching the City for funding for their endeavors.

The City hopes to have the request on the agenda for a vote later this month.

The Council discussed another downtown project, this one at 105 West Jefferson. Heritage Builders is planning a $91,000 project to rehab the exterior of the building, with the City going halves under the Downtown Rehabilitation Program. A vote is expected later this month.

Also to be considered is the bid work on renovating the former Apria Healthcare building at 500 West Jaycee Avenue into the new home for Fire Station #2. The fire station is currently located along South Banker, but that property is being acquired for further development by the Braunecker family in conjunction with their other interests in that area. A pre-bid meeting on the fire station project is set for August 15 with a bid letting on August 22.

The Council discussed temporarily closing a portion of a downtown street for the Old Settlers Reunion on September 28 and for a Village Wine Block Party fundraiser on September 7 in lieu of a fall Cruise Night, due to the reconstruction of Jefferson Avenue downtown. The Cruise Night will be back in the spring.

The Council accepted a proposal for pavement patching work this season, and also approved a revised Appointment Ordinance, an amended ordinance establishing pay ranges for non-union salaried and hourly positions, and amended descriptions of city offices.

The changes are related to the promotion of former Director of Public Works Steve Miller to City Administrator and the promotion of City Engineer and Planner Jeremy Heuerman to Director of Public Works.

Miller explained that not linking City Planner to the City Engineer job could likely save money and allow the City to hire someone solely as an engineer.