City Council Hears Plans for Urban Forestry Project

Effingham City Council members Tuesday agreed to move ahead with a tree inventory and urban forestry management plan.

The agreement with Great Lakes Urban Forestry will be funded by a $50,000 grant. The project cost is just under $38,000, with the balance of the grant paying for tree removal and replacement. City Director of Public Works Jeremy Heuerman said the goal is to "grow our urban canopy".

A vote on the agreement will come at the next Council meeting.

The Council voted to approve an agreement with the Effingham County Dive Rescue Team. Under the agreement, the dive rescue team will conduct an assessment of the toll taken following an emergency. The City will pay $10,000 for a 10-year period for the assessment service.

Council members discusssed a request for funds from Uptown Plaza at 200 South 3rd Street. The request from the owners is for Downtown/Southtown TIF Rehabilitation funds to give the building a facelift. The project will cost $25,200. Under the TIF plan, the City will cover one-quarter of the cost, or $6,300. 

Also discussed was an agreement for sewage transport, treatment and disposal of the wastewater from the Ted and Angie Thompson property just west of Prairie Ace Estates, northwest of Effingham, as well as placement of a stop sign in Rollin Hills Subdivision. The stop sign would stop traffic on Rollin Hills Boulevard at North and South Lakewood Drive. Final action on the two matters should come at the next Council meeting.

City Police Chief Jason McFarland said work has begun to encrypt information shared on scanners by police officers. McFarland said criminals are utilizing scanner traffic to commit crimes. The encryption of the traffic should defeat that practice. The Chief said the funds for the work were provided by a private donor who was a crime victim.

The Council also renewed a contract for the St. Louis billboard promoting Effingham for the next two years, as well as an agreement with Crawford, Murphy and Tilly Engineers for a conceptual design of a new water intake from CIPS Lake, west of Effingham.

City Commissioner Merv Gillenwater was not present for Tuesday's meeting.