David Patzelt of Shodeen Group, LLC, sent a nice thank-you letter to the DeKalb city manager for attending a meeting between Shodeen principals and city officials in the matter of Shodeen’s latest project proposal. The letter was included in the agenda packet for Wednesday’s meeting of the Planning and Zoning Commission. It outlines Shodeen’s arguments…
Category: TIF
School District Trying to Double-Dip City TIF Dollars
Monday’s city council Committee of the Whole (CoW) meeting includes this: Consideration of a request by DeKalb School District #428 for TIF assistance in the amount of $2,000,000. The assistance would go toward construction-related improvements to two schools that lie in Tax Increment Financing (TIF) districts, Founders Elementary and Clinton Rosette Middle School. Here’s the…
Resident Officer Programs: One of These Things is Not Like the Others
**UPDATE 11/24** Via email, the city still maintains that the redaction “facially” applied to its FOIA response. However: [A]fter further discussion with the Police Department, we believe that the Resident Officer Program’s mission is furthered by engaging with the public wherever possible, and where doing so does not endanger public or officer safety. Accordingly, the…
“Conversation with an Engineer” by Strong Towns
The following is a production of StrongTowns.org. Advisory: Note: Strong Towns is not responsible for any mental duress resulting from repeated watching of this video. We are also not responsible for angry reactions from planners and engineers confronted with the illogic of their world view. If watching as part of a group, we recommend having…
Some of DeKalb’s Street Funding Woes Arise from Desire for Buildings and an IDOT Audit
The numbers are the amounts budgeted for streets combining two line items, Street Maintenance/Repairs (8632) and Street Construction/Reconstruction (8633). It does not include alleys or permanent street improvements (e.g., Taylor Street widening). Keep in mind, what’s budgeted may not always reflect what’s spent, either. [table id=84 /] Observations: The Motor Fuel Tax Fund is taking…
DeKalb Taxpayers: Ready to Pony Up for a New Convention Center?
In July 2013, the city council of DeKalb approved the DeKalb City Center plan, an update of the 2007 Downtown Revitalization Plan. One of the key components of the plan is: Leverage TIF to study the feasibility of and potentially promote the development of additional City Center traffic generators, such as a hotel/conference center, children’s…
So DeKalb Has a Streets Problem — Is TIF or a Sales Tax Hike the Answer?
This week’s number: $33 million The city’s streets could need $33 million in repairs over the next five years, but a key funding source for the work will dry up by the end of the decade. That has city leaders considering options including increasing the sales tax to generate more revenue. Of the $1.5 million…
Latest on the College Town Partners FOIA Matter
Let’s start with a summary of events. — The group now known as Preserve Our Neighborhoods (PON) was formed last spring in response to concerns that residents were not being included in DeKalb-NIU redevelopment plans that would directly affect them. — Misty Haji-Sheikh of PON received unsigned documents from an anonymous sender regarding a corporation…
South 4th Water Main Project Got Weird before It Died
This is an item from the May 27 council meeting agenda that I’ve been meaning to address. It’s about a water main project on South 4th Street. This project would have abandoned a 6” water main on the west side of Route 23 (South Fourth Street) from Lacas Street south to approximately 110 feet south…
Preserve Our Neighborhoods Hosting Press Conference Tomorrow
**Update 2:15 p.m.: The Daily Chronicle has posted the Memorandum of Understanding referred to in the press release. Don’t miss the confidentiality rules (Item 16) on page 7.** The following is a press release from the Preserve Our Neighborhoods group, the organization that sparked a recent town-hall style meeting to clear the air on the…