The Clinton City Council showed their support for the Magill House restoration project on Monday night.
Once the City Council moved passed the public's opportunity to speak during Monday evening's City Council Meeting, members of the Clinton City Council voiced their opinions towards the representatives of the DeWitt County Restoration Association and their work on the Magill House on the downtown Clinton Square. Commissioner John Wise explains he was not in favor of the work happening at the Magill Home, however, his mind has been changed thanks to the demonstration of dedication to Clinton by those in the community.
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Commissioner Nan Crang called the DCRA "a story within (themselves)". She is confident they can finish the project and feels the TIF the DCRA is receiving is going to benefit them in their project.
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Commissioner Tom Edmonds recalls the circumstances prior to the city's acquisition of the home and feels the DCRA has done great work to restore it and feels too much has been brought down and feels like Clinton needs to use what they have to continue build.
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The DCRA acquired 150-thousand dollars of a 310-thousand dollar TIF, however, the TIF expires next year and the TIF can only be awarded if a developer has established themselves in the building. Clinton Mayor Carolyn Peters and City Administrator Tim Followell worked together to find a way to award the DCRA to continue restoration work, and they decided on an amount of 150-thousand. Mayor Peters explains the figure comes from a TIF fund currently in place which the city awards applying downtown businesses with a 50% reimbursement rate for facade work to their business.
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The Council voted 4-1 in favor of amending the agreement to allow the DCRA access to the funds the city decided on. Commissioner Jerry Milton was the lone no vote for in the decision. He would only say he appreciates the support and the DCRA but "had a hard time dealing with this".
