By Ted Schnell • BocaJump
The Elgin City Council on Wednesday voted unanimously to approve a $925,800 grant-loan program to assist homeowners fight erosion along in the Tyler Creek.
Funding for the program is from an escrow account that initially was intended to fund construction of a regional detention basin for the watershed as Valley Creek subdivision and other developments were built. The regional detention basin was rejected by a federal agency, but the city remains obligated to use the funds to protect Tyler Creek, City Manager Sean Stegall told the City Council on Wednesday evening.
Under the Tyler Creek Fund Streambank Assistance Program, residents or homeowners associations within the area could apply for a half grant, half loan to fund shoreline stabilization and related work. Applications would be considered on a first-come first-serve basis until funds are exhausted.
Residents would be billed for repayments over 10 years, in the same way the city bills for special assessments – via the city’s water/sewer bills.
For more background on the program, click on:
PADS secures annual funding
Also Wednesday, the City Council voted without discussion to approve an annual purchase of service agreement with Public Action to Deliver Shelter that includes $21,190 in support for the agency’s overnight shelter and meals for the city’s homeless.
For years, the 22-year-old agency depended on local churches to house the program on a rotating basis. But the agency started a years-long search for a permanent home that culminated in July 2007 with its securing a site at 1730 Berkley St., on the West Side.
Finding a permanent home allowed PADS to switch gears. It now provides not only emergency shelter to between 40 and 50 people a day, but also a full-service case management program with support services that include mental health, housing, health care, recovery and education.
A city staff report on the program notes that families with children are among the fastest growing segment of the homeless population, and that half the adults who use the shelter work regularly but are characterized as the working poor.
