Council Hears About Grant Funds for Ford Avenue Extension, Permanent Stop Sign at 4th and Evergreen

Construction of a 500-foot extension of Ford Avenue to the east could be coming soon.

The Effingham City Council Tuesday heard that a $200,000 legislative grant has been received from St. Sen. Jason Plummer. That grant follows a $450,000 grant received from St. Rep. Blaine Wilhour for the project. 

City Director of Public Works Jeremy Heuerman said they hope to set a bid date on the extension project by the first of May.

Meanwhile, the City has applied for a grant to be paired with a local match that would fund construction of the entire eastern extension of Ford Avenue to 4th Street.

Heuerman Tuesday also received the Council's endorsement of a stop sign on West Evergreen Avenue and North 4th Street. A temporary stop sign has been in place at the intersection in recent weeks related to the reconstruction of Rickelman Avenue near the intersection with 4th Street, and city officials said they have received much backing to make the stop sign permanent.

The Council voted to annex the Hetzel Trucking property located along the north side of Airport Road, and voted to approve a 4% pay raise for non-union salaried and hourly positions. Also, no comments were heard from the public or from the Council on the budget for the City fiscal year that begins May 1.

Council members heard that the five-year capital improvement plan for the City was amended to increase the amount of funding for tornado siren upgrades. A vote on the plan will be coming at a future meeting. There was also consensus on new reporting and responding software for the fire department, and on audit work for the City by Kemper CPA Group for the coming three years.