The Caseyville Dairy Queen will soon be getting a major makeover, and getting up to $100,000 in Tax Increment Finance funds from the village to offset the cost.
Caseyville Village Board / Photo by Roger Starkey
The restaurant at 2411 Old Country Inn Dr., alongside Illinois Route 157, will have extensive interior and exterior work completed. The Village Board unanimously passed the measure on Nov. 20 after little discussion, unlike the next item on the agenda.
Mayor Len Black cast the deciding vote to provide Gateway FC about $32,000 in TIF funds to expand Reiniger Memorial Soccer Park, also located along Illinois Route 157, by adding two additional soccer fields. The fields will be on 11 acres of city owned land, four of which is currently leased to a farmer.
Trustee Kerry Davis questioned the need to spend $32,000 on the project when the children of Caseyville would have to pay to use the fields. Davis also noted the TIF statute calls for the area to be blighted. The surrounding area has burned out and vacant houses and poor sidewalks, Davis said. “I bet the people would like to see the money used for the infrastructure,” Davis said.
In what was a sometimes heated exchange, Trustee Rick Casey Jr. said there was plenty of TIF money to improve the infrastructure, if someone wanted to start the processing of requesting funds. Davis then voiced his reservation about giving TIF funds to a private business that charges children to play, many of whom are not from Caseyville.
Where the kids live is not relevant, Black said. “If you see the 300 kids down there every week, $32,000 isn’t much money,” Black said.
The agreement between the village and Gateway FC calls for the organization to pay Caseyville $300 per year to lease the new fields. The lease has no end date. Each side is required to provide notice of at least 60 days to terminate the lease.
“Tax rates in the area are really high,” Casey said. “We have to do something to attract business down there.”
In addition to the two new fields, lights will be placed at the soccer park, allowing it to host tournaments, Casey said. The influx of people coming to Caseyville for tournaments will help local businesses, Casey said.
Voting in favor of the measure were Casey, G.W. Scott and Brenda Williams. Opposing the measure were Davis, Walter Abernathy and Ron Tamburello.
In other action by the Village Board:
The Hollywood Heights Elementary School was annexed into the village. Caseyville will now provide police and fire protection for the school, which is being used as a special needs center. Collinsville Unit 10 had requested the annexation primarily because Caseyville could provide shorter police response times than the St. Clair County Sheriff’s Department, located in Belleville.
Over $80,000 was approved for the lease of four new police vehicles. At the end of the four-year lease, Caseyville will have the option to purchase each vehicle for a dollar.
