Published: August 01, 2008 10:44 am      

Rossville discusses fate of buildings

ROSSVILLE — A crowd of nearly 70 Rossville residents attended a public meeting Thursday night to listen to the findings of an ad hoc committee concerning the fate of some village-owned downtown buildings.

Residents sat in a warm gymnasium at Rossville-Alvin Grade School as members of the committee, as well as a representative of the Illinois Historic Preservation Agency and Mayor Terry Prillaman explained the options for the buildings.

Prillaman outlined his reasons for seeking to spend money from the Tax Increment Fund to stabilize the buildings.

“I feel we should stabilize these buildings to preserve some of the history of the town,” said Prillaman. “The fact is that it will cost less to stabilize the buildings rather than demolish them and to preserve the tax base and try to get the buildings back on the tax rolls.”

Prillaman also told the audience the village had a structural engineer look at the buildings, and he deemed them structurally sound.

Prillaman explained how the village became the owners of 114, 115, 116, 117 and 118 E. Attica St., as well as a house at 123 E. Attica St. The house has since been sold.

The village acquired the buildings after the previous owner was foreclosed on by the bank and then filed bankruptcy.

The bank did not want to take ownership of the buildings, so the village convinced the bank and the federal bankruptcy court to allow the previous owner to quit claim deed the buildings to the village. The village paid the back real estate taxes of nearly $7,000.

Prillaman outlined the proposal to stabilize the buildings: approximately $80,000 for masonry repairs and $40,200 for roof repairs. The repairs would be paid for out of Tax Increment Funds with a six-year repayment schedule. Since the repairs are for what is deemed a blighted area, TIF money is available for use.

Ad hoc committee members Adam Marganski, Jim Smith and Kevin Young spoke to the audience on their research and what findings they came up with.

Darius Bryjka, an architect with the Illinois Historic Preservation Agency, spoke on his findings. Bryjka said that he and fel-low architect Pat Gleason had inspected the buildings last December.

“We found the buildings all to be salvageable,” Bryjka said.

Bryjka went on to explain there are several different federal tax breaks available to potential buyers who want to fix up the buildings.

Bryjka, Prillaman and the ad hoc committee members all agreed that a plan to market the buildings outside of the general area was needed, as well as getting them listed through various state agencies.

Several audience members spoke during a question-and-answer session at the end of the meeting.

Mark Norton, a local business owner, voiced his support for saving the buildings.

“We need to give support to our current downtown business owners,” Norton said.

Dennis Price, president of the school board, voiced his concerns that any growth in the community must include the schools, and he questioned whether there have been similar situations in any other communities in Illinois.

“If we tear down the buildings, and cost estimates are $500,000 to do that, where will that money come from?” questioned William Ray, a Rossville resident and downtown building owner. “Most merchants downtown are operating more as a hobby than a business.”

Ray cited more needs to be done to bring people into town.

Donnie Garrison said he has lived in Rossville for 38 years and been a building owner for 10 years.

“I fixed up my building with my own money and didn’t receive any tax breaks or help,” said Garrison.

“We have got to work together for this town to survive,” were the comments offered by Richard Lee, a Rossville resident for 65 years.

Marilyn Danner echoed Lee’s sentiments, “We need more input from the community.”

Prillaman told the audience that the ultimate decision is up to the village board, and he hoped a decision could be reached soon so that if stabilization is decided as the way to go, work could be completed before winter.

WHAT’S NEXT

The Rossville Village Board will meet in regular session at 7 p.m. Aug. 18 in the village office.