City Receives $4.2 Million In Grant Funding For Roadway Project

The City of Centralia, in a joint application with the City of Wamac, has received $4.2 million in grant funding for the Wabash Avenue and East 17th Street road and drainage improvement project. $2.2 million of that funding has been awarded by the Illinois Department of Transportation Truck Access Route Program (TARP) combined with $2 million from the Economic Development Administration American Recovery and Reinvestment Act (ARRA). The money will be used to widen Wabash Avenue to a 3 lane road, two traffic lanes with a continuous turn lane to facilitate safe truck traffic turning radii, covered ditches with upgraded and upsized storm sewer inlets and piping as well as curb and guttering. The funding and slated road work all come at a time where both Wabash Avenue and East 17th Street will be receiving considerably heavier traffic due to an increasingly active Industrial Park, now welcoming new teneats, Hawkins Inc and American Machine & Equipment. Both companies combined, representing over an estimated 150 new jobs to the area.

In June of 2009 the City of Centralia mailed 6,300 citizen surveys to all water customers along with the City's Consumer Confidence Report. The City received 378 completed surveys or 6% of the total mailed, the results of which were tabulated in August and may be viewed above. The survey contained questions regarding City services, taxes, economic development and spending priorities. The City will use the citizen input for the planning, budgeting, allocation of resources and priority setting for the 2010 Fiscal Year.

Click Here to download a PDF version of the results
Click Here to view Previous Years Results

City Wide Cleanup Week October 5th through October 9, 2009

The City of Centralia would like to announce that this year’s fall city wide cleanup event is scheduled for Monday, October 5th through October 9, 2009. The pickup of unwanted household items will take place on the same day as regular scheduled trash pickup. Participation is limited to single-family residences, town homes, condominiums and apartments that do not exceed four units per building. All items are to be placed where your garbage is placed for pickup by 6 a.m. on the assigned pickup day.

Any item(s) not longer than 5 feet or more than 50 pounds at any of the above defined residential units will be picked up except for the following:

1. Yard waste, including grass clippings, leaves, brush and tree material
2. Household refuse/garbage that should be put out for normal collection
3. Large quantities of rocks, concrete and construction materials including roofing materials,
siding and lumber (not more than a five gallon bucket full)
4. Large appliances such as freezers, refrigerators, stoves, washing machines, dryers, etc. even
if broken up, cut up, crushed or flattened
5. Tires or cans of paint
6. Large automobile parts such as engines and transmissions
7. Lawnmowers or small engines which still contain gasoline or oil
8. DO NOT mix with trash to be picked up on normal collection days and DO NOT pile items on
top of other items.

Crews WILL NOT sort through material. If an unapproved item is on top of an approved item, your items will not be collected.

Residents are also asked to place smaller items in a container such as a box or a bag. Please consider recycling any cardboard, glass, aluminum and paper products at Clean & Green’s Recycling Center located on West McCord Street.

All items must be out by 6:00 AM on your normal garbage pickup day. The route WILL ONLY BE COVERED ONCE, NO EXCEPTIONS. This is a service provided by the City of Centralia. The City requests each resident’s cooperation in this project.

City Embraces Latest Technology

City Launches New Community Information Service

The City of Centralia is launching a new Community Information Service designed to deliver important and timely information to residents in our area using the latest technology. This service, created by Nixle, delivers trustworthy and important neighborhood-level public safety and community event notifications by web, email and cell phone.
Nixle is completely free, simple and trusted.
The City of Centralia is encouraging all local residents interested in recieving community updates, in real time, to enroll and spread the word.
About Nixle and the Municipal Wire network:
Nixle is a new community information service provider built exclusively to provide secure and reliable communications. Its authenticated service connects municipal agencies and community organizations to residents in real time, delivering information to geographically targeted consumers over their cell phones (via text message), through emails, and or through web access. Nixle is offered at no cost to all municipal governments, their agencies and orgainizations.
Message from the City Manager:
"By going to www.nixle.com and learning about the system, citizens can research the benefits of enrolling in the program. The City of Centralia will use this tool to communicate important local information regarding public safety alerts, traffic hazard information, advisory data and planned community events directly to the public . Best of all, the service is free and users can determine what information they wish to recieve and how they want to use it." - Grant Kleinhenz
Message from the Assistant City Manager:
"Nixle and the Municipal Wire networks that have been created are another example of local governments remaining progressive and finding new and budget friendly ways to communicate with residents and provide important information. Nixle is capitalizing on the technology behind the popular social networking site, Twitter, and focusing it to provide useful localized information." - Alex McElroy

City Recognized For Performance Management Successes

The City of Centralia was recently recognized by the International City Managers Association (ICMA) for their performance measurement and management efforts with a Certificate of Achievement from the ICMA Center for Performance Mesurement (CPM). Centralia is one of only 20 jurisdictions in the nation and one of only 2 municipalities in the State of Illinois to receive such an honor.
(Click the picture above for the whole story)

Looking For Your Input
Annual Citizen Survey

The City of Centralia is asking its citizens to help shape the future of the City by completing and returning the 2009 Annual Citizen Survey (embedded above). The survey contains questions regarding City services, taxes, economic development and spending priorities. Answers to this survey are anonymous and participation is voluntary, although strongly encouraged as the City Council and administration relies on the survey results to determine how best to allocate your tax dollars and to set priorities. As an additional incentive, this year the City is offering the option of having your survey entered into a raffle for a chance to win a $30 gift certificate to a local restaurant. The Survey takes approximately 8-10 minutes to complete, and can be returned City Hall through the mail or dropped off at the Utilites drop-box located on Poplar Street; or to the Clerks Office at City Hall. The deadline to return the survey is August 7, 2009.
Click Here to view Previous Years Results

Award Winning City

City Receives GFOA Budget Document Award

City Receives Prestigious Distinguished Budget Document Award from the Government Finance Officers Association of America and Canada.
The City of Centralia was recently honored by the Government Finance Officers Association of the United States and Canada (GFOA), by announcing that the City has received the GFOA’s Distinguished Budget Presentation Award for its 2009 budget.
The award represents a significant achievement by the City. It reflects the commitment of the governing body and staff to meeting the highest principles of governmental budgeting. In order to receive the budget award, the City had to satisfy nationally recognized guidelines for effective budget presentation. These guidelines are designed to assess how well the City’s budget serves as:

• a policy document
• a financial plan
• an operations guide
• a communications device

Included in the budget, were a 50 page Strategic Plan which outlines the priorities of the City and gives citizens an idea of what long-term goals and plans are; and a 40 page Capital Improvement Plan that authorizes and provides the basis for control of expenditures in the acquisition of significant City assets and construction of all capital facilities. These two plans, along with the City’s Comprehensive Plan, guide both policy and budgetary decisions each budget cycle.
The GFOA is a nonprofit professional association serving 16,800 government finance professionals throughout North America. Of this number, only 1,069 entities received the Distinguished Budget Presentation Award (or 6%), with only 76 entities receiving the award from Illinois. This award has been earned by cities in Illinois such as Chicago, Peoria, and Champaign. The City of Centralia joins with Carbondale as one of 2 cities south of Interstate 74, and one of 6 cities outside of the Chicagoland area to receive the award.
This year marks the third year that the City of Centralia has successfully applied for the award. The budget was reviewed by three randomly-selected independent reviewers from a cadre of GFOA qualified professionals. Those who reviewed the budget stated that it was "Outstanding," "A great overview of the city along with an assortment of demographic and statistical information." "This document is attractively formatted and well organized with an appropriate level of detail" and "Just an excellent document, many outstanding items!" City staff worked very hard to create such a valued policy document to Centralia which will guide the budgeting process for many years to come.

May 30th, 2009 Memorial Day Ceremony held at the Elmwood Cemetery

The Centralian

Spring 2009 - Vol.2 No.1

(Click picture to download the latest edition of the Centralian)
The Centralian, the official newsletter of the City of Centralia, is released twice a year in efforts to keep citizens apprised to local government projects, events, plans and goals for the future. The newsletter is mailed to all resident water customers in the fall and spring and may also be picked up at City Hall or downloaded by clicking the picture above.

Certified Local Government

The City of Centralia is pleased to announce that the City has recently acquired Certified Local Government (CLG) status. This past winter, the City of Centralia and the Centralia Preservation Commission applied to acquire CLG status from the Illinois Historic Preservation Agency (IHPA) in order to better serve the interests of those who value the preservation of our historic landmarks and buildings. Obtaining CLG Status would enable our Commission to participate in the various training and educational opportunities that come from belonging to a larger network of preservation commissions within the State. Furthermore, the financial resources available from IHPA would help assist in the implementation of our local preservation programs. Owners of historic homes or buildings can apply for the property tax assessment freeze program and tax credits through the IHPA.

2009 Band Shell Schedule

(Click the picture above to download 2009 Schedule)

The Pittenger Memorial Band Shell is the place to be this summer for free concerts, entertainment, and movies! The City of Centralia and the Centralia Parks Advisory Board is pleased to announce the 2009 schedule of events at the Band Shell. The Band Shell is located at the corner of S. Sycamore and E. 2nd behind the Centralia Regional Library. New benches in 2006 bring the permanent capacity to 128 seats. Additional improvements include roof replacement, a new marquee sign, and interior painting.

All movies start at dusk. You may want to bring a blanket or chair. The school or organization listed on the schedule will be selecting the movie and theme, but the entire community is invited to attend all movies. Movies are free and concessions (popcorn, nachos and soda) are available for sale. All concerts are free. Show times & rain cancellations (if necessary) will be announced in local media, www.cityofcentralia.org and Channel 99.

Wamac Dedication to the No.5 Mine Disaster of 1947

To view the event click the player above or for slow connections Click Here to download the video

On Wednesday, March 25th the City of Wamac hosted a memorial dedication to those 111 men who lost their lives in the Centralia Coal Co. Mine No. 5 tradgety. More than 300 people gathered at the Wamac City Park to attend the ceremony as Wamac Mayor Jackie "Butch" Mathus unveiled a massive black granite memorial with coal lining the pathway. The event concluded with the reading of the 111 men's names by Wamac Mayor Jackie "Butch" Mathus, Centralia Mayor Becky Ault and Central City Mayor Elect John Johnston.

Click Here to view the City's web article

2009 Budget Document

(Click Picture to Download Document)

For the third consecutive year the City of Centralia’s Budget Document has been submitted to the Government Finance Officers Association (GFOA) for consideration of their annual Distinguished Budget Presentation Award. This award is considered the highest form of recognition in governmental budgeting. In the past two fiscal years the City has received this honor and is once again proud to present the document for consideration.

The City’s budget document is a powerful tool used by City staff to measure performance, document City and departmental goals and visioning, report tax dollar revenues and expenditures and inform residents of completed, active and ongoing projects. A copy of the Budget Document is always available at City Hall for review and is also posted on the City website for citizens to download.

Elmwood Cemetery Improvements

At the Work Session held on February 23, 2009, staff discussed a special project for Elmwood Cemetery which entailed improvements to the two circles located on Chapel Lane. The improvements will include landscaping, new sidewalk ramps, flag poles, brick paver sidewalks and various repairs to existing curb and sidewalks. The project will also include extending water and electric to the two circles to aid in the maintenance of the new landscaping and to allow for flags to flown at night. The main purpose of the improvements is to create spaces for cremains to be buried and a way to honor our veterans at the Pittenger statue. City staff will be starting the project as soon as the Council authorizes the expenditure in an effort to get the area ready for our annual Memorial Day celebration in late May. Staff will order the sod, which is being used to make the project ready for May, and the brick pavers and flag poles and will start immediately with the demolition of the sidewalks and the damaged curb. We will most likely ask the Council to approve a Change Order to the Lincoln Boulevard Sidewalk project due to the low price extended for the ramps and those will be complete by May 1st. Staff is also working with Jim Shoemaker of Howell Paving to get the first half of Chapel Lane from Gragg Street north to the first circle paved in May. This project is budgeted from the General Fund.

The project will be paid using funds from two accounts in the 2009 budget; Special Projects and TIF #6. Staff has proposed using $15,000 from Special Projects 05-02-0-0-502 and $8,500 from TIF #6 63-02-0-0-503. This will leave an unexpended balance in the Special Projects fund of $23,993 and $24,250 in the TIF #6 fund.

City Wide Cleanup Week April 13th through April 17, 2009

The City of Centralia would like to announce that this year’s spring city wide cleanup event is scheduled for Monday, April 13th through April 17, 2009. The curbside pickup of unwanted household items will take place on the same day as regular scheduled trash pickup. Participation is limited to single-family residences, town homes, condominiums and apartments that do not exceed four units per building. All items are to be placed on the curb by 6 a.m. on the assigned pickup day.

Any item(s) not longer than 5 feet or more than 50 pounds left at the curbside at any of the above defined residential units will be picked up except for the following:

- Yard waste, including grass clippings, leaves, brush and tree material
- Household refuse/garbage that should be put out for normal collection
- Large quantities of rocks, concrete and construction materials including roofing materials,
siding and lumber (small amounts will be taken)
- Large appliances such as freezers, refrigerators, stoves, washing machines, dryers, etc. even
if broken up, cut up, crushed or flattened
- Tires or cans of paint
- Large automobile parts such as engines and transmissions
- Lawnmowers or small engines which still contain gasoline or oil
- DO NOT mix with trash to be picked up on normal collection days and DO NOT pile items on
top of other items. Crews WILL NOT sort through material. If an unapproved item is on top
of an approved item, your items will not be collected.

Residents are also asked to place smaller items in a container such as a box or a bag. Please consider recycling any cardboard, glass, aluminum and paper products at Clean & Green’s Recycling Center located on West McCord Street.
All items must be at the curb by 6:00 AM on your normal garbage pickup day. The route WILL ONLY BE COVERED ONCE, NO EXCEPTIONS. This is a service provided by the City of Centralia. The City requests each resident’s cooperation in this project.

Job Skills Workshops

The Crossroads Workforce Center will be hosting Job Skills Workshops in March and April. The events aim to inform and educate members of the community about services that are available to assist in career placement. Some of the services provided include resume building, interview techniques and application advice. All of the strategies learned at these workshops will help to prepare citizens for upcoming Resource/Job Fair on April 8th, where they can meet with local employers and apply for available jobs in the region.
Hosted By:
- City of Centralia
- Illinois Department of Employment Security
- Kaskaskia College
- Crossroads Workforce Centers
- Marion County Housing Authority

Date & Times:
- Wednesday, March 25 10am - 11am
- Thursday, March 26 10am - 11am
- Tuesday March 31 6pm - 7pm
- Thursday April 2 6pm - 7pm

Location:
Crossroads Workforce Center
325 S. Poplar
Centralia, IL 62801

For more information or to register for a workshop, Please Call:
Kaskaskia College Continuing Education Center
(618) 545-3255

Use your legs to save a life! Join the Legs For Life 5K and run or walk for the Leukemia & Lymphoma Society!
Date: March 21, 2009
Time: 8:00 am start
Pre-register by: March 14, 2009
Entry Fee for 5K:
- $15 before 3/14/09
- $20 after 3/14/09,
Entry Fee for Little Legs 1-Miller:
- $10 before 3/14/09
- $15 after 3/14/09,

For more information email: ships93@yahoo.com

There are many charitable events happening in Centralia and the City is eager to applaud and promote all volunteers, organizations and citizen efforts to better the lives of those around them. If you have such an event, program or project you would like to make the City aware of please inform the City Blog staff by sending your flyer and any other pertinent information to: cityofcentralia@gmail.org.
DID YOU KNOW!?
The City also has a comprehensive list of recreational activities on our official website:
- City of Centralia Recreation Department
- City of Centralia Recreation Department list of events
- Chamber of Commerce List of Events

City of Centralia Scenic Tour

The City of Centralia offers many unique and aesthetically appealing amenities from our historical sites, one of a kind carillon, large parks and family friendly lake. City staff is pleased to present some of their favorite photos taken in our community. If you have pictures that make you proud to live in Centralia please share them with us via email at cityofcentralia@gmail.com.

New Staff

The City of Centralia hired Alex McElroy as the new Assistant City Manager. Mr. McElroy completed a master degree in Public Administration from Maxine Levin Goodman College of Urban Affairs at Cleveland State University in Cleveland, OH and a bachelor degree in Political Science from Heidelberg College in Tiffin, OH. Mr. McElroy previously served as the Assistant to the Administrator for Pierce Township where he acted as head of the technology committee, provided aid and support to the fiscal office and assisted the administrator with the daily operations of the township.

An Ohio native, Mr. McElroy stated: "I have certainly been honored with the opportunity to serve the residents of Centralia. Our community has a lot of exciting potential and it is a great time to be a resident of Centralia".

Railroad Landscaping Completed

Did you know that the Amtrak Station in downtown Centralia is the point of departure and arrival for over 20,000 riders every year? Amtrak is having it’s best year ever, with over 25 million riders nationwide in fiscal year 2007. Illinois is a big part of that. The Amtrak website states “Huge gains are tied to increased frequencies in Illinois, with the three routes between Chicago and downstate Illinois showing large increases.” Ridership for the Chicago to Carbondale corridor is up 67% with the addition of a third train on this route in late 2006.

Amtrak trains brought over 250,000 people through Centralia in 2007, and more of them got on and off the train here than ever. The City of Centralia has recognized that this is an important gateway to our community, and an image that those passengers will associate with our community. The City worked with the Centralia Foundation, who owns this land, to asphalt the long-term parking area for the Amtrak Station, as well as the overflow parking for the Recreation Complex. After this asphalt work was completed, the City had a significant amount of new landscaping installed. The Chamber of Commerce Image Committee helped select the winning design, which included the placement of new flag poles and benches on the corner of Broadway & Oak. This improved the look of the downtown not only for those of us driving by on Broadway, but especially for those riding the train.

The City of Centralia and the Chamber of Commerce Image Committee are currently working on further plans to improve the look of other rail crossings in Centralia, especially the 5^th street crossing just south of Downtown.

Centralia Band Shell Scedule - Fall 2008

Click on photo to enlarge

The Fall schedule has been released for the Centralia Pittenger Memorial Band Shell. City staff works hard to provide entertainment throughout the year at the Band Shell. Movies are shown in the spring and fall, and concerts and other events are held whenever possible. We have had the High School Band, a local Battle of the Bands, and many movies, projected right up on the inside of the shell. The best part about it, is that the events are all FREE!

We have been asked "Why don't you show movies in the summer?" Simply because the movie cannot begin until it gets dark enough, and if the movie can't start until past 9:00, it will not finish until past 11:00. Also, it is much easier to advertise to our primary audience - families - when school is in session, and we can send flyers home with the kids.

As we plan for future events at the Band Shell, TELL US WHAT YOU WOULD LIKE TO SEE? Is there a movie you want us to show? A local group you want us to invite to perform?

City Staff Volunteers

The Mayor, City Manger and other department heads spent last Saturday morning volunteering at the Centralia Community Recycling Center. Volunteers at the center help unload paper, glass, plastic and cardboard recyclables from the vehicles of the center patrons, and sorting these into separate containers.

The Centralia community Recycling Center is operated by Keep Centralia Beautiful, which sells these bulk recyclables to pay for the operation of the center, including one full-time and two part-time employees. Keep Centralia Beautiful (also known as Clean & Green) also organizes two annual city-wide cleanups in the fall and spring and works tirelessly to teach children and the community to plant trees, prevent littering, and to recycle.

The Communty Recycling Center is open to receive donations Tuesday and Thursday afternoons, and Saturday mornings. to find out how your family or community group can help, call Keep Centralia Beautiful Coordinator Bev Virobik at 532-8430.

Senator Durbin Visits Centralia to Discuss Amtrak

Senator Richard Durbin (D. Illinois) visited Centralia on Thursday, August 7 and met with local officials to discuss issues with Amtrak. In attendance were Mayor Leonard Ferguson (Salem), Mayor Mary Jane Chesney (Mt. Vernon), Mayor Rebecca Ault (Centralia), Mayor Ken Buchanan (Central City), Mike Young (Centralia Township), Chamber officials, Kaskaskia College, and Representative Kurt Granberg.

Community leaders were very appreciative of Senator Durbin's recent efforts to work with Amtrak and the City of Chicago to find a compromise for Amtrak service into the City of Chicago. Senator Durbin has also workied with State officials to preserve the State subsidy to Amtrak which has allowed service to continue to Centralia. Ridership has continued to grow with rising fuel prices and the City feels this is a valuable asset that has now been protected.

Fuelvend Express Opens For Business

Fuelvend Express held a grand opening and ribbon cutting Thursday afternoon before officially opening for business. Fuelvend Express is located at the corner of Poplar and McCord and is owned and operated by Mike and Joe Cooksey. According to the Morning Sentinel, Mike Cooksey stated, "The city was extremely helpful in its willingness to get things done. There are more resources available in the city than what people think." Fuelvend Express utilized the City's facade program to purchase their front awning. Fuelvend Express will be a great addition to the community.

HAWKINS, INC. REPORTS ACQUISITION OF NEW FACILITY

On July 14, 2008 Hawkins, Inc. (Nasdaq: HWKN) announced the purchase of a 77,000 square foot facility on 10 acres in Centralia. The facility will be primarily used for expansion of the Company’s lactate and other food ingredient manufacturing capacity within its Industrial Group, with the Water Treatment Group using the location as a branch office for its operations as it expands its geographic coverage. It is expected that the facility will be fully operational in the summer of 2009.
Chief Executive Officer, John R. Hawkins, commented, "We have enjoyed significant growth in the volumes of our manufactured specialty food products. As we searched for new capacity and strived to be closer to our raw material suppliers and customers for this product line, we are pleased to have found this existing structure in this strategic location. This acquisition will ultimately allow us to free up capacity at our Minneapolis site for other business growth opportunities." John Sevenich, Vice President-Industrial Group, added, "The facility has everything we need, including adequate rail car siding capacity, which is critical to keeping our supply transportation costs down. We intend to have a state-of-the art specialty chemical manufacturing facility when we are finished with the build-out of this site."
Hawkins, Inc. provides a full range of bulk industrial products complemented with the technical competence and innovation to formulate and blend specialty chemicals. The Company sells and services related products and equipment to safely dispense chemicals in highly controlled environments.
Hawkins serves customers in a wide range of industries, including chemical processing, electronics, energy, environmental services, food processing, metal finishing, pharmaceutical, medical devices, pulp and paper, and water treatment.
Hawkins is headquartered in Minneapolis, Minnesota. The Company operates 18 facilities in Iowa, Illinois, Kansas, Minnesota, Missouri, Montana, Nebraska, New Jersey, South and North Dakota and Wisconsin and services customers in Upper Michigan and Wyoming as well.
Mayor Rebecca Ault recently toured the headquarters in Minneapolis, Minnesota and welcomed Hawkins, Inc. to Centralia. "We are appreciative of the quality employment they will bring to our area and look forward to a strong relationship between the company and the community."

2008 Annual Citizen Survey Underway

The City of Centralia recently mailed its third annual citizen survey. This survey asks Centralians to help shape the future of the City by completing and returning the survey by August 8, 2008. The survey contains questions regarding City services, taxes, economic development, and spending priorities. Answers to this survey are anonymous and participation is voluntary, although strongly encouraged as the City Council and administration relies on the survey results to determine how best to allocate your tax dollars and to set priorities. In response to the previous two surveys the City has allocated an unprecedented amount of money toward road and sidewalk improvements, infrastructure upgrades and economic development. The survey takes approximately 8-10 minutes to complete, and can be returned to City Hall through the mail or dropped off at the Utilities drop-box located on Poplar Street; or to the Clerk’s office at City Hall. The survey may also be downloaded from the City’s website at www.cityofcentralia.org.

Look for our Signs

The City has been begun placing its new "Progress in Progress" signs around town. The first few signs have been placed at the location of the CDAP rehabiliation grant homes located near the intersection of 10th and Maple. New signs will be posted as work commences on street improvements and at other sites around the City.

Housing Seminar a Success

The affordable housing seminar on Thursday, June 5 was a great success for all those who attended.
Susan Hosfield, chairman of the Centralia Area Housing Task Force, gave a brief history of the mortgage industry and how it developed into the current mortgage crisis. She also explained which parts of the country were more affected than others and what the outcome has been.

The class then focused on ways to qualify for home financing, including information about credit scores and the different financing programs. Later, Habitat for Humanity, BCMW and City incentives were also discussed.

Many questions were asked about the CDAP Housing programs. The class was encouraged to fill out CDAP surveys the next time they are sent out by the City. The participants were very impressed with the before and after pictures of the completed CDAP houses.

City Newsletter Now Available

Results from the 2007 Citizen Survey indicated that 60% of Centralians feel that the City could do a better job communicating with citizens about City issues, decisions and services. Since these results were published, City staff has been very proactive in getting out the word to its citizens by creating blogs and forums on our revamped website, and even a cable channel! However, to be sure that we are reaching as many citizens as we possibly can City staff has been hard at work creating the first citizen newsletter "The Centralian". Newsletters were mailed to all City residents on May 29, 2008. If you did not receive a copy of the newsletter you may pick one up at City Hall or read it online.

Cable Channel 99

The City of Centralia, in partnership with Charter Communications, began airing local television content on cable channel 99 in August 2007. Channel 99 features City Council meetings, local government activities and community announcements. The purpose of Channel 99 is to inform and involve the citizens of Centralia concerning the issues facing the City as well as to be the number one source for accurate information regarding local government operations.

Cable Channel 99 is on a loop that varies in length depending on the availability of content. Typically this is a four to five hour loop. New content is added to the channel weekly. Future programming on channel 99 will include high school sporting events, 360 degree tours of the City, and programming from Kaskaskia College. For a program guide please visit the City’s web site at www.cityofcentralia.org.

The City is very excited about this channel, and hopes that all residents with access to Charter Cable will be able to utilize it as a tool to stay abreast of important issues facing the City. The channel is available to all cable television subscribers within the City of Centralia at no additional charge.

For citizens of Centralia that do not subscribe to Charter Cable, Channel 99 Online is now available for viewing on the City’s website at www.cityofcentralia.org. All content is available On-Demand, meaning there is no waiting for your program to begin. Channel 99 Online also contains an archive of past City Council meetings and other video footage that previously aired on Cable Channel 99.

The City of Centralia is excited to announce a partnership with Kaskaskia College to produce fresh new content for Channel 99. Kaskaskia College will soon commence a new media-related course offering, and students of this course will also develop content for Channel 99. Together we will strive to produce content that is accurate and relevant to Centralia

CDAP HOUSING GRANTS—IMPROVING OUR COMMUNITY

The City of Centralia has had some success recently with obtaining funding for Housing Rehabilitation. The City was awarded approximately $300,000 in 2006 and a similar amount was just announced for 2008, through the Community Development Assistance Program (CDAP) with the State of Illinois. Each application is specific to one neighborhood only, and residents to be benefitted are pre-qualified during the application. Qualifying homes must have a household income of no more than 80% of the median income for Marion County and they must own their home. In selecting a target area, Community Development staff surveyed the entire community then used these results to select an area where most of the neighborhood was low-income, home ownership was high, and repairs were needed to the homes.
The area that was funded in 2006 was the 900 and 1000 blocks of South Maple (just south of Calumet). Seven homes in the area have received assistance. The typical amount of investment has been around $40,000 per house. The primary goal of the work is to the home into compliance with all building maintenance codes. This may include new roofing, windows, siding, plumbing (both feed lines and drain lines), electrical wiring, water heaters, furnace, flooring, and even kitchen cabinets. The rehabilitation of the neighborhood also included the demolition of several homes to improve the conditions of blight in the neighborhood.
The City of Centralia submitted the 2008 grant in November of 2007 and just received word this April that the application was funded. The target area for this grant is the 400-600 blocks of North Locust. Approximately eight homes in the are expected to be rehabilitated. Once again, only those residents who qualify as low-income homeowners will be assisted. If more than eight applications are received, they will be ranked according to various criteria. These will include income, the number of people in the home, and the presence of any elderly or disabled residents in the home. The City of Centralia also intends to demolish several dilapidated homes in the target area.

Free preparation of Economic Stimulus Payment tax returns to be offered in Centralia

Volunteers from the Center for Economic Progress will be in Centralia to prepare free Economic Stimulus Tax returns on Tuesday May 27. Free preparation of returns will be offered to seniors and persons with disabilities who received Social Security (SSA), Railroad Retirement or Veterans Benefits during 2007. Filing the Economic Stimulus Payment tax return will qualify recipients for the advance $300 payment from the federal government.

The free service will be conducted in the City Council chambers at Centralia City Hall from 12:00pm-3:00pm on a first-come, first-served basis. Those wishing to be served should bring statements that detail the amount of their Social Security, Railroad Retirement or Veterans Benefits.

For questions regarding eligibility and for further information, please contact the Joe Hinton, Community Relations Specialist, Center for Economic Progress at 312-252-0280 ext 265.

College / Johnson Sewer Project

The College Avenue Sanitary Sewer Rehabilitation project is nearing completion! In February 2006, the City of Centralia was awarded a $315,870 Community Development Assistance Program (CDAP) Public Facilities and Design Engineering grant for the rehabilitation of sanitary sewer and pump station along College Avenue. The project involves the replacement of the Sanitary Sewer Main from Rexford to Monroe Street and the existing lift station at College and Johnson. Video inspection showed the existing Sanitary Sewer Main was in need of complete replacement and plagued by grease deposits. There were also issues with the slope of the existing main. Construction began April 7, 2008 and will be completed by July 9, 2008.
The City’s portion of this project was 25% of the project cost ($105,290), which was budgeted for in the Sewer Fund. The total cost of this project was $421,160.

Downtown Hot Spot

The City of Centralia is considering the creation of a downtown wireless hot spot or wireless cloud that would be available to our patrons. This hot spot would allow anybody with a laptop to immediately connect to the Internet from anywhere in the downtown. Such a feature would especially benefit travelers from out town staying in downtown hotels and eating in downtown restaurants. The initial screen that an Internet user would see would be a portal advertising some of the major attractions in the City and also directing the user to nearby businesses. Then, for a small fee the user could surf the net for a specified amount of time. The hot spot would be paid for user fees as well as by selling advertising space on the portal.