February 18, 2026 Local Stories in and Around St. Joseph, Illinois

Live at St. Joseph Village Board, March 28, 2023

I am here so you don’t have to be.

Here are the big items on the agenda.

  1. Intergovernmental Agreement – SJOHS and Village of St. Joseph –Approval– Exhibit #3
    New Business:
  2. Public Hearing: ILEPA Project Summary and Preliminary Environmental Impacts
  3. Pavlov Media – Request to provide internet services.
  4. Awarding Grants to three qualifying applications through the Commercial Building Improvement
    Program – Exhibit #4
  5. FY23/24 Budget Conversation: VERF Funding Strategy – Exhibit #5

They are going into closed session at the end of the meeting to discuss the following issues:

Motion to enter into Executive Session for the limited purpose of discussing the purchase or lease
of real property for use by the Village pursuant to 5 ILCS 120/2 (c) (6).

  • #1 Motion to enter into Executive Session for the limited purpose of discussing the employment,
    compensation, and performance of one or more Village Employees Pursuant to 5 ILCS 120/2 (c)
    (1).
  • #2 Motion to enter into Executive Session for the limited purpose of discussing the employment,
    compensation, and performance of one or more Village Employees Pursuant to 5 ILCS 120/2 (c)
    (1).

    We are jumping around and diving into Clark Dietz and a Public Hearing on the ILEPA Project Summary and Preliminary Environmental Impacts. This is a formality. You have 10 days to comment on it if you are so inclined. I am not.

    Intergovernmental agreement time. “At the last meeting you had some comments and revisions, we put the revisions in and the high school agreed to it,” Joe said.

    Clark Dietz is wanting to efficiently drain the ox bow into the salt fork, ect. Sean from Clark Dietz is here, you may know him as the mayor of Mahomet.

    Dan Davis has a question. Regarding the surge impact in the Salt Fork and “our neighbors to the south.” Sean is saying there probably isn’t anything to be worried about. Dan says he wants to avoid the “Why didn’t they look at it part of it.”

Basically, this is just a very simple agreement saying the village will work with the high school to address this drainage issue. It passed 6-0.

Brian Brooks from the High School is explaining that the district plans on having this project done by next fall. #footballonturf #socceronturf Brooks said the district told the project managers they needed to look at drainage a year ago and are frustrated that they just recently came to the village. Clark Dietz approached the High School to partner with the village to address the drainage tile, not the other way around.

New Business- Mark Sheldon is here to discuss Pavlov Media. It’s a high-speed internet company out of Champaign. They got an influx of cash and are expanding to St. Joseph with fiber internet. 1 gig speed.
Hoping to happen this year.
Go here to read more. https://pavlovmedia.com/

It will take a year to cover the whole town. They will start in a month.

Here’s what they are discussing next: The zoning board sent the village board a letter about the commercial business grant program. Here’s the letter.

Per your direction in the Fall of 2022, we have undergone an intentional process to construct,
facilitate, and score applications for a Commercial Business Grant program. At the regular
Planning and Zoning Commission meeting on March 16th, 2023, we concluded our part of this
program by scoring the three submitted applications and issuing recommendations for
reimbursement. During this process, some general observations arose which are noteworthy
while you are considering our recommendations:

  1. There was a general displeasure that 2 out of 3 applicants did not fully complete the
    applications as requested in the Grant Program announcement. In the future, the
    Commission desires to hold applicants to a firm deadline. The Commission believes that
    should more funds become available, there is a very real possibility that the number of
    applicants will increase dramatically. Out of respect for staff time, and for the integrity of
    the grant program and the tax dollars funding it, we will make clear that future
    applications will be considered competitive only if submitted both on time and complete.
  2. The Commission indicated that the size and scope of the projects submitted are at a
    scale that is too much for the $10,000 allocated for this FY.
  3. The Commission desires to continue updating the scoring sheet for future funding
    cycles. The Commission will hold a follow-up meeting soon to review the application and
    scoring sheet.
  4. Given the smaller amount of funding for this cycle, the PZ commission requested
    information on the specific costs for each applicants’ top projects. Based on this, the
    Commission issued a funding recommendations based on the scores of the applications
    as well as the size of the narrowed down list of projects.
  5. The Commission likes the idea of having a business grant program but are motivated to
    see a different revenue source funding the grant program. The Commission would like to
    learn more about incentive district options.

    Our final results for the 2023 grant cycle are as follows:
    Roch’s Place – $2,000 recommended match amount.
    • Total score from all PZ commissioners is 383
    • Asked to pick the top project for matching funds and indicated painting, which includes
    some outdoor painting. Project estimate: $4,750
    • Did not submit photos or requested resume when the application was submitted.
    • The amount selected for the match will be an “up-to” amount, not to exceed. Funds will
    not be distributed to the recipient until proof of payment and work completed has been
    provided.


Gallo Dance Studio – $2,000 recommended match amount.
• Total score from all PZ commissioners is 355
• Asked to pick the top project for matching funds and indicated outdoor lighting and
painting. Total project estimate: $5,000
• Did not submit photos and other required materials when the application was submitted
and to the date of writing this memo, still has not.
Southern Charm – $6,000 recommended match amount.
• Total score from all PZ commissioners is 391
• Asked to pick the top project for matching funds and indicated her deck and windows
improvements were urgent. She also indicated that she needs a fence because of
privacy/safety concerns. Deck and windows Estimate comes in at $6,800. The fence is
more costly on top of that amount, making the total estimate near $15,000.
• This is the only application that submitted a complete application.
The Commission recommends this funding on a reimbursement basis, with the Village
Administrator only being authorized to release funds upon proven completion of the project and
official receipts. The funding amounts indicated should be viewed on a “up-to” basis, meaning
that the full amount will only be released if receipts add up to twice the reimbursable amount.

Discussed what it will look like in the future, ect.

Talking about the super secret spring that pops up on Locust again.

Mayor discussed how solar farm laws were changed by the state.

Going into closed so I am bailing because they aren’t going to vote on anything after.

Banner
Related Posts

Live at St. Joseph Village Board, March 26, 2024

March 26, 2024

March 26, 2024

Pickleball and Tennis are here tonight. PB nets got damaged over the winter. PB Is asking where they see PB...

Village asks residents to complete community survey

January 5, 2022

January 5, 2022

The Village of St. Joseph wants to know what its residents think. The village has created a community survey, which...

Live at St. Joseph Village Board, June 14

June 14, 2022

June 14, 2022

Our live blogs are sponsored by MX Electric. I am the only one here besides the board, Mike Sennert and...

Mondays with the Mayor… Ray Cunningham

January 22, 2019

January 22, 2019

Every Monday we will ask a Mayor from an area village to answer three questions. This week it is Homer...

Village reminds residents not to dump at burn site

June 30, 2020

June 30, 2020

St. Joseph Public Works is reminding residents that it is illegal to dump brush or garbage outside of the St....

Live at St. Joseph Village Board, Jan. 12, 2021

January 12, 2021

January 12, 2021

I will live blog tonight. Pavlov media will give a presentation. Susan Monte from Regional Planning will be there. We...

Live at Ogden Village Board

September 5, 2019

September 5, 2019

Seven people are here for Ogden Village Board. That’s quite crowd for a night when they aren’t discussing flooding. They...

Cooper looks to make a difference in Ogden

April 5, 2021

April 5, 2021

Kelly Cooper wants to make a difference in Ogden.  That is why she ran for village board in 2017 and...

Live at St. Joseph Village Board, April 11

April 11, 2023

April 11, 2023

The mayor is doing a proclamation declaring April as Autism Awareness Month. Doing the general stuff they always do- bills,...

5 Questions with Republican Caucus candidate Terri Cummings

December 2, 2024

December 2, 2024

What made you want to run?  When my husband and I moved to St Joseph 14 years ago I felt...

Jack Flash asks village to create new liquor license so they can have video gambling

January 13, 2021

January 13, 2021

The Village of St. Joseph is revisiting creating a pour liquor license. On Tuesday, representatives from Jack Flash attended the...

Residents have option to opt out of electrical aggregation and save money

June 14, 2019

June 14, 2019

St. Joseph residents could save money by switching their electrical rate to Ameren. Ameren Illinois has announced a residential electric...

Village expected to accept bid for Boy Scout Building

September 13, 2022

September 13, 2022

The village is expected to accept a bid for the former Boy Scout Building tonight. Roche and Heather Cain submitted...

Live at Ogden Village Board April 1, 2021

April 1, 2021

April 1, 2021

The board paid some bills and decided to appoint Dekoda Burris to the zoning board of appeals. Discussing the hold...

Ogden Live Blog, May 6, 2021

May 6, 2021

May 6, 2021

I am four minutes late and I feel like I missed a lot. There are some neighbor complaints going on....

Comments
Leave a Reply