Effingham, IL-(Effingham Radio)- The Effingham City Council held a regular meeting yesterday at 5pm. City Council Member Larry Micenheimer was not present at this meeting.
The meeting started with the omnibus vote agenda being voted on and approved. The next item was a recognition of the City Employee of the Year, which was awarded to Charity Higgs.
The next action item was the appointment of Lawrence (Larry) Thies to be EMA Director. He replaces Dave Budde, who retired.
Larry said he is “excited for the opportunity,” and “thanks the Council for choosing him.”
The Council then went over and voted on numerous action items, including accepting a proposal for an extension of Heritage Avenue from Henrietta Street to Medical Park Drive. The Council also discussed amending the Effingham City/County Enterprise Zone to include residential property that could be rehabilitated. There was also discussion about the refurbishing of WS Broom and Boots & Soles, both of which will go to final vote at the next meeting. There was also some good news heard regarding the health insurance premiums for the City. The premium will be going down 3.5% for the next year.
The Council also renewed the contract with Outfront Media for the City’s St. Louis billboard highlighting Effingham. The City has rented the billboard for roughly ten years, and Tourism Director Jodi Thoele said that the Council has the option to go with a 1-year contract like usual, or a 2-year contract that would lock-in the rate for the following year as well. Usually the price increases yearly. The only issue would be if the vinyl cover would be updated the second year for free or not, since the cover would likely fade significantly the second year. The cost of the potential buy for the vinyl covering was compared with what would be saved with the 2-year plan.
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