Improvement projects at Hair Just For You, Herr Funeral Home and Ashmann’s Pharmacy were all approved for tax increment financing by the Collinsville City Council Monday.
Ashmann’s Pharmacy, 209 E Main St, is receiving a second round of TIF funds this year. While working on the building’s west wall – as part of the project for which $23,840 in TIF funds were awarded in March – a worker discovered additional issues that were not included in the original estimate.
Collinsville City Hall / Photo by Roger Starkey
Henderson Associates Architects, of Edwardsville, confirmed that brick and mortar joint repair is needed to maintain the structural integrity of the wall. Brase Construction, of Troy, will perform the repairs at a cost of $10,000. Ashmann’s will be reimbursed $4,000 by the city after the work is completed.
Hair Just For You, 626 W. Clay St., will have a sewer line replaced either from the building to the curb, or from the building to the city’s main sewer line. The scope of work will be determined after the curb is removed and the line from the curb to the main sewer line is inspected.
The maximum award granted to Hair Just For You will be $4,032, which represents 40 percent of the lowest bid received to replace the line from the building to the main line, as well as repair the sections of sidewalk and curb affected.
The existing, detached garage behind Herr Funeral Home, 501 W. Main St., will be razed to make room for a structure that will allow for the storage of funeral cars. Soffit, fascia and lights on the north side of the funeral home will be replaced, also.
Because the requested TIF amount was above $15,000 ($16,507.60), the Uptown Development Commission had to approve the request. It unanimously recommended that the City Council approve the request, which it did, unanimously.
The council also voted to begin the process of selling vacant properties owned by the city. Five properties: 441 S. Chestnut St., 639 E. Main St., 860 Summit Ave., 1105 St. Louis Rd. and 1107 Cherokee St., were demolition sites. The other property included in the process is a vacant lot at the corner of West Lincoln Sreet and Strong Avenue that the city has owned for many years, but no longer wishes to maintain.
Sealed bids on the properties will be accepted by the city and opened as part of the City Council meeting on Oct. 28. Real estate contracts will later be presented to the council for approval.
In other business, the council approved a $92,930 construction engineering agreement with Oates Associates, of Collinsville, for work to be completed on South Clinton Street from Glen Street to 150 feet north of Illinois Route 159. The city was awarded a grant from the Federal Transportation Enhancement Program to reconstruct the section of road, but the city must cover the engineering costs.
Related story: http://metroindependent.com/2013/08/22/ashmanns-pharmacy-getting-a-facelift/929/
