The Washington City Council has approved two business building and property improvements totaling almost $32,000, while two more $50,000 grants are under consideration.
The city has $290,000 budgeted for business building and property improvement grants in the 2025-26 fiscal year.
Before she voted on the grants, Alderperson Paula Johnson said she's been opposed in the past to using taxpayer money to help a business, but her opinion is changing as she's learning more about Washington's grant program.
"There can be many benefits to a community by having taxpayer money help a small business, which usually has a very slim profit margin," she said. "A grant can do everything from helping a small business hire more employees to making a business more accessible for people."
With alderpersons John Blundy and Mike McIntyre absent Monday, the council unanimously approved these grants:
• $20,810 to Kristi LaHood Cape, owner of Countryside Banquet & Catering, 650 School Street, for a project to replace the front exterior doors and two sets of side exterior doors. The estimated total project cost is $41,620.
• $10,975 to Sleep Inn, 1101 N. Cummings Lane, for a project to sealcoat and stripe the parking lot and improve the landscaping. The estimated total project cost is $21,950.
First readings were held for two other grants. Council will vote on them Aug. 18:
• $50,000 to the Cherry Tree Shopping Center for a project to expand the storefront of the largest vacant space, next to Get Yourself Motivated, by about 30 linear feet; replace the deteriorating, spalling bricks on the front-facing stairs; sandblast, reinforce and repaint the rear metal stairs; and waterproof the elevated walkway. The estimated total project cost is $104,475.
• $50,000 to Frank and Lucienne Bray, owners of the Ben Franklin store at 1503 Washington Road, for a project to clean and prep the exterior of the building; replace the mansard roof and install store signs; repair the parking lot; and redesign the landscaping at the front and back of the lot. The estimated cost of grant-eligible items in the project is $100,405.
Russell's Cycling & Fitness, 10 Valley Forge Plaza, the fifth applicant in this grant cycle, withdrew its application. No reason was given for the withdrawal.
EDC revived with vacancies filled
Mayor Lilija Stevens' ambitious effort to fill vacancies on city boards and commissions reached another milestone with appointments to the formerly dormant Economic Development Commission and the Planning & Zoning Commission.
The seven-member EDC is now filled with the appointments of Corey Allen, Kevin Beale, Mike Herzog, Drew Hillman and Kregg Soltow, each to a five-year term.
They join Alderperson Bobby Martin III, who was appointed to a five-year term July 21 and will serve as the liaison for the council and EDC with Jon Oliphant, the city's planning and zoning director, and Lisa Uphoff, whose term expires in 2026.
Martin worked with Stevens to choose the most qualified new members of the EDC.
"I've talked to each of the appointees. They're all passionate and excited about getting started," he said. "We plan to have our first meeting Aug. 12. All we need is a location."
Allen has experience in the military, government, not-for-profit, corporate and small business sectors of the economy. Beale has more than 20 years of marketing experience in healthcare, finance, higher education, not-for-profit and workforce development.
Herzog is the president of Washington State Bank and the president of the Washington Chamber of Commerce board. Hillman has experience running a family business in Peoria and Myrtle Beach, S.C. Soltow has a bachelor's and master's degrees in information technology.
Tom Brecklin and Matt Collins were appointed to the Planning & Zoning Commission, which has failed many times in recent years to have a quorum for a meeting. With the appointments of Brecklin and Collins to five-year terms, the seven-member commission is now filled.
Brecklin, the owner of Brecklin's Servicenter on the downtown Washington square, formerly served on the PZC. Collins is the project director for Carle Health in Peoria.
Each appointment was approved unanimously.
City administrator search gets the go-ahead
Other action taken at the meeting included:
• Approval of a contract with Arndt Municipal Support of Charleston to lead the recruitment process for a new city administrator. Jim Arndt, who will head the effort, will be paid a reduced fee of $20,000 for a hybrid recruitment approach that will include a group Arndt has dubbed "Team Washington."
The group is made up of Maureen Chambers, the city's human resources director; new Communications Specialist Amanda Roberts; and Mayor Stevens. Arndt's previous fee offer of $19,500 was increased $500 because his staff will take on candidate searches on social media and in news articles duties in response to concerns expressed July 21 by alderpersons Blundy and Brandon Moss.
City engineer Dennis Carr has served as Washington's interim city administrator since May. Former city manager Jim Snider resigned in August 2024.
• Approval of an employment agreement with Roberts. She'll be paid $85,294 for the 2025-26 fiscal year in the new position and receive the customary benefits given to full-time non-union city employees.
• A first reading of a TIF funding request for a project to remove and replace the back half of the roof on the Denhart Building, 101 Washington Square. The total project cost is $48,000. TIF funding would not exceed $9,600. Council will vote on the request Aug. 18. The historic Denhart Building was constructed in 1872.
• Approval of an extension of a lease agreement for five additional five-year terms from 2042-67 for a Verizon cell phone tower on property located adjacent to the former Blumenstein Farm property on U.S. Business Route 24. The city stands to earn $1.02 million from the lease from now to 2067.
'Then & Now' parade
Stevens said she's recruiting current and former elected officials to ride atop a Washington Fire Department ladder truck in the "Then & Now" bicentennial parade Aug. 16.
The parade, which will begin at 10 a.m., will include a loop around the downtown square and end around 11 a.m. at Washington Park. The Washington Chamber of Commerce and Washington Park District are the parade sponsors.
Washington's bicentennial celebration runs from Aug. 14-23. For more information, visit the bicentennial's Facebook page.
Stevens also said her next monthly "Let's Talk Washington" session will be Aug. 13 at 8 a.m. in the Washington Historical Society's headquarters, 128 Washington Square. Additionally, she has met with Northern Tazewell Fire Chief David Houseworth as part of the initial planning for a city-sponsored 9/11 remembrance ceremony.
Businesses ready to open
Here are highlights of department heads' reports Monday to the council:
JON OLIPHANT, PLANNING & DEVELOPMENT DIRECTOR
• Sunny Side Street, a new restaurant, has tentatively scheduled a soft opening for the second week of September. The restaurant is moving into the former Mariachi Mexican Restaurant Bar and Grill space at 1964 Freedom Parkway.
• Beeney Buildings is tentatively scheduled to open in mid-August. The business, at 1860 W. Cruger Road, will sell storage sheds, chicken coops and deer blinds.
• A soft opening for J&J Toppers' new location at 1875 Constitution Street is tentatively scheduled for Labor Day weekend. The truck accessories company is moving from East Peoria.
JEFF STEVENS, POLICE CHIEF
• Storm sewer installation on Grandyle Drive is impacting traffic on the 400 block of Gillman Avenue, where speed humps have been installed. While speeds and vehicle counts will continue to be measured, generalized conclusions about the speed humps' effectiveness may not be able to be drawn while the sewer work is being done.
• After reports of unintended discharges of the Sig Sauer P320 pistol and its variants, both with and without a 2018 voluntary upgrade and regardless of age, the Washington Police Department is no longer authorizing the pistol in any variant for duty use or off-duty carry. Sig Sauer maintains the P320 and its variants are safe. Washington police officers haven't experienced any unintended discharges from the P320 and its variants.
• The Washington and Morton police departments held a joint rapid response training session at Washington Community High School. Both departments provided state-certified instructors for the training.
• The city's new Board of Police Commissioners was sworn in and officers were elected, an important development because police officer candidates are being evaluated and could potentially begin at a police academy in the early fall.
DENNIS CARR, CITY ENGINEER
• Otto Baum Company of Morton submitted the lone bid for the Candlewood Bridge restoration project. The bid was $597,965, which was $241,777 more than the engineer's estimate of $356,188 and $97,954 more than the $500,000 in motor fuel tax funds the city budgeted for the project.
City staff will meet with Otto Baum representatives to discuss value engineering that can be done to reduce costs if Otto Baum is awarded the contract. A council vote to consider awarding a contract to Otto Baum was changed to a discussion item because the city is waiting to hear from the Illinois Department of Transportation to see if changes can be made to the project plans that have been approved by IDOT. Candlewood Bridge is a historic arch bridge that has been closed since 2023 because of deterioration and the collapse of a wingwall into the creek below.
• The painting of the bicentennial mural on the Toledo, Peoria & Western viaduct will cause U.S. Business Route 24 to be closed during the day for a few more days.
• Because of an error in the construction permit caused by incorrect information submitted by the design team, work on the Catherine Street rehabilitation project has been delayed for a few weeks. Residents have been notified. The project will still be completed by mid-November.
