The old NWSW Mill and the Riverfront

What on earth is going on down there?

Fair question. To say it's a delicate situation is an understatement. The area of the old NWSW mill along Wallace Street that contains deteriorating and half fallen down buildings is not owned by the City, and in fact, has an owner of record. Not being the owner presents its own challenges in cleaning up the property as you might imagine. We're doing what we can within our powers to hold the owners responsible. Keep reading to see how this becomes complex.

Two very large and credible demolition firms have evaluated the roughly 23 acres of property and determined that it will cost about $2million just to complete demolition of the area. The City does not have $2million at its disposal to finish the demolition even if it were to acquire the property.

Even after the $2million in demolition costs, we have a very rough estimate of $1million to $3million in environmental remediation. That's an estimated $3million to $5million to get the property restored to a developable or reusable area!

Why not write a grant or ask the state or the feds for money?
Believe me, we have. The IEPA and USEPA have been very good to work with and there is some money out there for environmental cleanup, though usually the money requires a match from the City. However, there is no money out there for demolition. We've asked every official we can and no one grants money for demolition. Trust me, if we could get the cash to demolish the structure, we'd likely be in the process, or at least in court getting the ball rolling for next spring. Once the demolition takes place, the time to start environmental cleanup work should be a much quicker process with the help of IEPA and USEPA.

Can't the City condemn the property or use eminent domain to take it over?
We could, but that leaves us with a court fight to gain control, which then makes us solely responsible for the demolition. Since the state and federal governments have indicated there is no money for demo work, that means local tax payers would shoulder the burden of the demo costs, which we see as highly unfair. Instead of burdening taxpayers with that costs, the City has been working to hold the owners responsible for the cleanup. That takes time, as unfortunate as that is.

If demolition is so expensive, couldn't we at least start doing it in small bits?
One would hope, but unfortunately, 1) it's not our property, it's still private property and 2) there are environmental concerns in the area that wouldn't allow a corps of volunteers to simply start hauling out debris from the site. Much of the rubble on site cannot be taken to a regular landfill.

So what can the City do?
The City has a few options, though some aren't as effective as we might like, but that's what our powers are limited to. For starters, the City has issued a number of nuisance violations in the area. On something of this scale, a nuisance violation isn't a huge incentive to get something done. We also have the ability to ask the courts to issue a demolition order. A demolition order from the court can require the owner to demolish their property, and if they choose not to, the City can demolish the property and put a lien on it. We've initiated this process and it is in the court system at this time. However, if they don't do the demolition, it's up to the City to do it, and again, the City does not have the $2million to front on the project. The City could put a lien on the property for the cost, but realistically, it would be years before the City could recover anything, and it would be a fraction of the cost we put into the property. Last, and our only reasonable option is to hold the owners' feet to the fire for the environmental concerns on the property, both those liabilities inherited through the purchase and the ones created since. It probably doesn't surprise you to hear that using the legal system and negotiation between attorneys to get somewhere takes time and needs to be deliberate, but we've indicated very recently that the clock is ticking and action needs to be taken asap.

In short, it's taken time to minimize the cost that will fall onto local taxpayers. It's not inaction on our part that's caused the property to sit untouched. Council members and staff members alike are terribly frustrated with the condition of the property. We'll keep the pedal to the metal down the legal avenue!

It's a short answer that tries to condense a couple years and a lot of complexity into a few paragraphs, but hopefully this provides a little insight into what the City is trying to accomplish and why we are or aren't doing some things with the property and why we can't turn it into an overnight success. We'll keep diligently plugging away at it until the property is cleaned up.

Not a bad weekend for area sports!

Cubs win the NL Central, the Sox are playing for a spot, the Bears held off an impressive Philly squad, the Warriors took down Geneseo, and Newman won big. NIU came up big too. Unfortunately the Illini weren't quite so fortunate.

On a more serious note, Friday I was in a community meeting discussing the ongoing needs toward building a better community for students, schools and families alike. A series of speakers and conversations will be taking place, the first of which involves Guest Speaker, Tony West. Everyone is invited to attend Centennial Auditorium at 6:30p on Wednesday, October 8th.

Rental Inspection Program

As you may have heard during the City's time on WSDR this morning or in the Daily Gazette a few weeks back, the City of Sterling is considering a rental inspection program. The goal of the program is to:

• Improve neighborhoods
• Reverse the trend in some declining neighborhoods
• Improve the overall housing stock
• Raise the minimum standard of living
• Ensure safe, healthy housing of all
• Answer to complaints from citizens
• Reduce the number of landlord tenant disputes over property conditions
• Make the community an attractive place for people to live and move to and create jobs in
  

If we're to survive and progress as a community, we must preserve our neighborhoods. If we want to draw people and jobs back to our community, we have to have places people want to live. We need quality housing, sound neighborhoods, quality schools and amenities such as parks and trails. Improving rental properties is just one part of the equation. We will still work to improve code issues with owner occupied homes and we're actively working to develop a self-sustaining housing program either ourselves, or with other Whiteside cities that will hopefully make grant funds available in the future for fixing up homes in our communities.

Nationwide, cities have implemented similar plans. Illinois has rental inspections from Galena to Carbondale and Chicago's suburbs to the Quad Cities.

So what exactly is a rental inspection program?

• Some cities license landlords to root out the bad ones. As a non-home rule city, that's not a power our city has. We can however require a landlord to have an occupancy permit to rent out a unit. The occupancy permit is issued if the property is completely up to code. Some cities require a new permit annually, some require it every time tenants change, and some vary the time frame according to the condition of the property. Sterling is considering the option to grade properties so that a property that meets all standards gets a permit that lasts for a few years. Properties that have only minor deficiencies that don't risk the tenants health may get a 1 year permit. If the property has a major deficiency or is an immediate hazard to the tenant, the property may only get a permit good for a month or less, if one at all depending on the severity.

What will the City look for?

• Due to the number of properties to inspect, the first round of inspections will likely be exterior only, unless there is a reason to suspect the interior is in an unsafe condition. When it's time to renew, the inspections should be staggered enough to allow the inspector time to inspect the interior as well as the exterior.

• Exterior
  
• Roof in good condition
• Gutters in tact
• Chimney stable
• Windows and screens unbroken
• Foundations in good condition
• Paint not chipping away
• Steps and railings secure
• Yard mowed and free of junk
• Accessory structures in good condition
• Interior
• Plumbing works (supply and drain)
• Electric: Access to panels, no bare wiring, fixtures secure, plates around switches and outlets
• Working carbon monoxide and smoke detectors
• Walls in good condition
• Occupancy load
• Ingress/egress (doors secure, entrances unobstructed, etc)
• Rodent or insect infestation
• Evident mold or mildew problems
• Evidence of roof leaks

How will this effect the landlords?

• Once registered as a rental property with the code enforcement office, if the property is up to code as it should already be, the landlord will only need to pay a small fee for the occupancy permit which is good for multiple years.

• Better maintained properties=better rents=better tenants=better neighborhoods. Everyone benefits from better neighborhoods!

How can this benefit landlords?

• This establishes a level playing field for lower rent properties. Good landlords that reinvest in their properties shouldn't have to compete against landlords that let their properties deteriorate so that they can make an extra few dollars
• The program will protect your property's value. Your neighbors dilapidated properties may be dragging down the amount you can sell or rent out your property for or worse, make it more difficult to get your property rented
• Optimistically, the bad landlords with no desire to fix or maintain properties will sell out to the good landlords that will maintain the property
• Attract a better pool of renters

How can landlords be proactive?

• Improve screening of rental applicants (requiring an application fee or paying $50 up front to do a background check can save a lot more in damage and eviction fees down the road)
  
• Many landlords fail to secure a lease with their tenants
• Create a conditions checklist signed by the tenant and landlord agreeing to the condition of the property
  
• Learn how to evict without the cost of an attorney
• Don't accept work for rent... it often leads to quarrels. Make sure you get a lease signed by your tenant. Don't move in new tenants before the property is cleaned and fixed for the next tenant
  
• Adjust security deposits as necessary
• Work with the Sterling Police Department and the "Crime Free Housing Program." Use the Crime Free/Drug Free lease addendum that part of the program

Bottom line, how much will this cost?

• We anticipate that more than half of the City's cost will come from the rental occupancy permit fees. Subject to change, I would venture to say this would equal $30-$40 per permit. If your property was up to code, that's about $1 a month. If your property is not up to minimum standards, your permit won’t go as far, but your property should be up to code regardless of the rental inspection program
• The remainder of the cost would come from the City's general fund. The Council and staff are so concerned with the state of our neighborhoods, that we believe $1 a month on rental units is worth it to ensure we make progress on our neighborhood improvement. We’re not going to cut any other service to make this happen. If the budget dictates, down the road it may mean the permits average out to $2 or $3 a month, but again, for our long-term outlook, we believe this is a necessary program
  

Motor Fuel Taxes and Road Project Funding

How does the City fund road projects? Does the City gain from higher gas prices?

The City funds road projects primarily through 4 sources.
1) Local Option Sales Tax. The citizens of Sterling would likely have no idea how much this revenue stream has meant toward road construction. All of the money Sterling receives form the local option sales tax goes toward street projects. A portion goes to pay for the bond used to construct the last section of Lynn Boulevard, but the majority goes to pay for ongoing road projects. 2) Motor Fuel Tax. This is a tax that comes back to us from the State of Illinois. It has little to do with how much gas you buy in Sterling. The State collects the motor fuel tax on your gas purchases and then redistributes the tax to cities (and other local governments) based on population. In very round numbers, Sterling makes up 0.1% of the population in Illinois, so the City of Sterling gets back roughly 0.1% of gas taxes distributed to local governments. A small portion of Motor Fuel Tax funds are also used to pay for street lighting and traffic lighting, which would otherwise come from property taxes.
3) Federal Highway Funds. These are limited and aren't available every year. They are limited to FHWA eligible roads. For Sterling, Lynn Boulevard is eligible for FHWA funds and some older sections will be repaired in the future using FHWA funds.
4) Sales tax/property tax. Not a large part, but a significant part of the road spending. We use sales and property taxes to do a lot of the curb and gutter work on our own and to do some of the coring out of streets on our own which saves dollars for the City.

Does the City benefit from higher gas prices?
On the balance, no. The Motor Fuel Tax receipts are actually down right down. People are in fact driving less and as the Chicago area grows, the rest of Illinois becomes a smaller piece of the pie and therefore gets a smaller amount from the state in motor fuel tax since it's distributed based on your proportion of the population.

Yes, sales taxes are up slightly, but if people drive less and have less to spend elsewhere because they are buying fuel, it's not helping the City.

Worse yet, the City isn't immune. Fire trucks, police cars, street sweepers, backhoes, plow trucks, etc all run on gas and diesel that we have to pay for. Factor that in and the City really suffers from a budget standpoint. We'd much prefer and love to see $2 gas and people having more money to shop locally!

Street Reconstruction - Who gets what when and how much does it cost?

Something that comes up frequently is road project selection and funding of road projects.

Selecting road projects is always a tough task. Many years ago, the City purchased a software program that helps us pick which roads to repair. So how does software rate our roads? It's actually based on a number of inputs, not just the condition of the street surface. Traffic counts do affect the rating. If two roads are in equally bad condition, with no doubt the road that has more traffic gets the nod. If a road has no curb and gutter and suffers from drainage issues, that road gets a higher rating than a similar road that has good drainage. "Ride-ability." How is the road to drive down? If it has lots of surface cracks but rides okay, the rating may go down. On the other hand, if the road has few cracks but several heaves or depressions where the base under the road has gone away, the rating will go up.

So when is my road getting redone? If you've ever called the City of Sterling, you've likely not gotten the answer you hoped for. Each spring, the public works department and our consulting engineer go out and update the ratings for as many streets as they can. Winter and the freeze thaw cycle are never kind to the roads and some suffer worse than others which requires the annual updates. While your road may be 20th on the list, this year, it may move up or down a bit by next year depending on how bad the winter was on all of our streets.

The other problem with predicting when your road will be done is the cost of doing it. While the local options sales tax is a very valuable tool for the community to make sure roads get done, the cost of reconstructing roads is something we have little control over. 4 years ago, a typical residential block cost about $25,000 to reconstruct. That's tearing out the old, repairing the base and putting the new road down and reseting the manholes, curb cuts etc. This year, we're at roughly $45,000 per block. How does that happen? The major issue we face is the cost of oil has skyrocketed in 4 years. Asphalt is essentially a rock and an oil derivative mixed together. So asphalt has nearly doubled, the cost to deliver the road rock for the base and the asphalt for the surface has doubled and it's not hard to see why the cost to the City has doubled.

Believe me, it's very frustrating to see our community's dollars going half as far as they did just a few years back for street projects, but as a City, we have no control over the cost of oil and asphalt. We're at the mercy of the markets. In hindsight,we'd have been geniuses if we'd sold $10 million in bonds in 2003 to do road projects at those 2003 costs. Of course had we done that in 2003, people would have probably thought we were off our rockers. Hindsight is always 20/20.

I'll post more about Motor Fuel Taxes in the future.