Grundy Reporter

City of Highland Industrial Development Commission met June 1.

Here are the minutes provided by the commission:

Call to Order:

The meeting of the Industrial Development Commission was called to order at 12:05PM by Chairman Jim Meridith.

Roll Call:

Members present: Chairman Jim Meridith, Vice-Chairman Diane Korte-Lindsey, Treasurer Jon Greve (arrived at 12:15), Marshall Rinderer.

Members absent: Josh Kloss

Also present: City Manager Chris Conrad, Director of Building and Zoning Breann Vazquez, Director of Chamber of Commerce Hillarie Holzinger, Assistant Director of Chamber of Commerce Sabrina Luitjohan, and Recording Secretary Megan Von Hatten.

Approval of Minutes:

Marshall Rinderer made a motion to approve the minutes of the May 4, 2022, Regular Session meeting of the Industrial Development Commission; seconded by Diane Korte-Lindsey. All members voted aye; none voted no; the motion carried.

Reports:

Treasurer’s Report –Jon Greve

Jon reported, the balance in the IDC account at First Mid Bank as of May 31, 2022, was $56,544.93. Jon stated there is still an outstanding obligation once it is invoiced of $3024.82 towards the LIVE HIGHLAND billboard. Marshall Rinderer made a motion to approve the treasurer’s report; seconded by Diane Korte-Lindsey All members voted aye; none voted no; the motion carried.

Update on job inquiries – Breann Vazquez

∙ Dairy Queen – The owner of a couple other Dairy Queen locations has purchased the Highland Location. The plan is to remodel and reopen. Then intend to hopefully reopen early fall.

∙ Tut Development – engineers hope to submit a preliminary plat for approval in August

∙ Journal Printing – David Schlafly has purchased the building and is going to renovate it and seek a new tenant

∙ Marx Brothers – Roy Wells is opening Tulligan’s Irish pub this summer; first floor will be a traditional Irish pub with an upstairs sports bar to follow

∙ City Scoops will be sharing a space with Patty Cakes on the square and will open this summer.

∙ Becker Jeweler’s – Highland Emporium will be going into the Becker Jeweler’s location opening in July; this will be a retail store selling primarily local, handcrafted goods.

∙ Molly’s Mochas – going to Combined Planning and Zoning Board in July for preliminary plat approval to combine the original lot with the two lots directly behind it; also applying for a drive-thru permit.

∙ 1016 Pine by Ed & Millie’s – Joe Horstmann purchased for his financial business office.

∙ Journal Printing - Development agreement for the former Journal Printing passed at the last City Council meeting in May

∙ Hotel Feasibility Study – the consultant came to Highland last week and we should have a preliminary report by next month.

Update on Workface Development– Breann Vazquez

No update

Update on Highland Communication Services – Chris Conrad

Chris stated no update for customer counts today. Chris reported Highland Communications having issues with two of the sub-contractors, Blue Bird and TiVo. Both companies are having infrastructure issues that have resulted in service issues for Highland Communication Services. Chris stated that this is hurting our reputation for Highland Communications product but unfortunately the issue resides outside of our network and it is out of our control. They have escalated the issues to the corporate level and are waiting to hear back.

New Business:

Recommendation of Development Agreement – Eagle Inn Highland, LLC. Breann stated that there is a comment from the public, Breann read the e-mail for the record,

Hello Megan,

I hope all is well with you,

There are a couple questions I wanted to ask the Industrial Development Commission in regards to line item "A", "Under New Business" in today's meeting.

A. Recommendation on Development Agreement with Eagle Inn Highland LLC for Project at 800 Main Street.

Questions:

1). I had overheard discussion on a potential redevelopment of this property from the community, but had not heard official confirmation. I wanted to confirm if the building is indeed going to be redeveloped. Is it to undergo redevelopment/renovation work?

2. If the property is to undergo renovation work, could I ask for the contact information of the property owner? The City of HIghland Historical Commission would be interested in approaching the property owner to offer assistance, inform the property owner that Historic Tax Credits could be looked into (if interested) to help ease construction costs, and advocate for a Historic Preservation approach to the structure.

3. Do you know what the current status of the project is? Have drawings already been developed? or have they already started bidding?

Any information would be most appreciated, as we would like to be able to advocate for the preservation of the City's Historic Fabric, and the Eagle Inn Apartments is one of the properties on our list. We are currently in the process of contacting the new owner, Roy Wells, of the former Marx Brothers, and have coordinated with the Lory Theater.

Thank you for your time, and assistance,

Jacob W. Rose

Breann stated she will give a project overview to answer some of Jacobs’s questions from his e-mail.

Breann reported that at this time we only have an application for a business district agreement. The city does not have any construction plans at this time, those will come at a much later date. Those can be provided at that time through a FOIA request submitted to the city. Breann stated what we are recommending today is a standard business district agreement. The maximum fees for the building and tap on fees should be around $19,400, and a property tax rebate (please keep in mind this is an estimate) of $4,091 a year. Breann reported the maximum we would be giving over the course of 10 years would be $69,310.00. Breann reported that the city feels this is a very fair agreement, this amount is minuscule compared to what the city would have to do and the money that would have to go into this project. We do not want to take on this project, so we are excited and happy with the proposed apartments for this space.

Diane Korte-Lindsey made a motion to approve the development agreement with Eagle Inn Highland, LLC.; seconded by Jim Meridith Jim Meridith, Diane Korte Lindsey, and Jon Greve voted aye; none voted no; Marshal Rinderer abstained the motion carried.

Adjournment

Marshall Rinderer made a motion to adjourn; seconded by Jon Greve All members voted aye; none voted no. The motion carried and the meeting adjourned at 12:31 PM.

https://www.highlandil.gov/Boards%20and%20Commissions/Industrial%20Development%20Commission/Minutes/2022/06-01-2022%20IDC%20Mtg%20Minutes.pdf