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Dan's 2019
Goals & Accomplishments

Dan has served on the Ottawa Economic Development Task Force for fifteen years, served on the LaSalle County Economic Development Committee and is currently a Board member on the North Central Illinois Economic Development Corporation along with Mayor Eschbach.
The Route 71 sewer project was initiated to provide sanitary sewer service to annexed properties at the intersection of Interstate 80 and Illinois Route 71 as well as additional properties along Illinois Route 71 located within the new Interstate 80 TIF District. The project included the installation of 18,000 feet of sanitary sewer ranging in size from 8-inch to 24-inch at a cost of $3,500,000.  Construction of the project began on March 9, 2018 and is planned to be completed on November 30, 2018. Funding for the project was $1.5mil from TIF funds and $2mil from The Ottawa Enterprise Zone Fund that will be repaid over ten years from the new tax revenues generated from the annexation of two Truck Stops (Real Estate, Sales & Gambling)
In addition to the sewer project, Engineering Design has begun for a new water main to serve the properties located along Illinois Route 71 within the new Interstate 80 TIF District.  The project will also require permits from Illinois Environmental Protection Agency, the United States Army Corps of Engineers and the Illinois Department of Natural Resources.  Engineering Design and permitting will be completed in 2019. We will look at possible funding mechanisms as we feel this will be a major driver in Economic Growth along the Rte 71 Corridor.
Design plans are currently being prepared to replace a 14-inch diameter water main that broke under the Fox River and has been isolated and unused since September 2017. Replacement is at an estimated cost of $800,000.00. In addition to historic preservation and endangered species reviews and signoffs, permits will be required from the Illinois Environmental Protection Agency, the United States Army Corps of Engineers and the Illinois Department of Natural Resources.  Engineering Design and permitting are planned to be completed by January 1, 2019, with contract award and construction to begin April 15, 2019. We are also coordinating the water main design with officials at Ottawa High School in conjunction with their new flood wall expansion.
Dan was on the negotiating team for the City when they purchased the former Central School site from the Ottawa Elementary School Board. Since then he has been involved with all aspects of the transformation from Demolition to potential repurposing of the waterfront. He has been frustrated with the Utilities who are responsible for additional environmental cleanup of the “Mill Race area” but pleased that they are finally agreeing to begin work in 2019 and the property should have a “No Further Remediation” letter from the Environmental Protection Agency in 2020 at which time serious development discussions can move forward.
As Finance Commissioner Dan worked with the Ottawa Visitors Center Board to become more transparent and changed the support structure from the City to a guaranteed monthly revenue stream from the City’s Hotel/Motel taxes. This allowed the board to create a budget with known revenues to advertise the historical sites and special events in the city. In 2017 the OVC pursued purchasing its own building (corner of LaSalle & Washington St.) and was looking for ways to finance the project. Dan suggested to use excess funds available in the Hotel/Motel fund to make the purchase with the OVC repaying the zero-interest loan at a cost comparable with their monthly rent at the former site.
The City entered into an agreement with the Illinois Department of Natural Resources to restore a portion of the canal and re-water from Walnut Street East to Guion Street. The original engineer’s estimate was $600,000 and funding was to come from TIF fund ($200,000), Hotel-Motel Fund ($200,000) and private donations ($200,000). Bids were opened and came in just over $1mil so the City did not move forward on the project. City is looking at some design changes and rebid in early 2019 hoping to get more competitive bids. If the bids remain high we will need to find additional funding or restore the canal back to what is was before the project started.
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