What would you do with $1.2 Million? That’s the question after White County government received a grant through the Illinois Department of Commerce and Economic Opportunity. The grant is part of the state’s Energy Transition Fund and is directly related to the closure of Pattiki. The grant must be used to plan for or address an economic and social impact on the communities affected by the closure.
Representatives from five organizations spoke out to implore the board to consider their endeavors at the public meeting Tuesday night. Pete Fulkerson, CWC Unit 5 Board President says the approximate $2.5 million in the district’s capital improvements fund falls far short of covering all identified building deficiencies. He was joined by school board member Nathan Whetstone and Superintendent Jarrod Newell.
Karen Weiss of Southeastern Illinois College also provided a proposal requesting support for the new Stan Williams Career and Training Center currently under construction.
Caleb Hughes spoke out on behalf of a newly formed White County Economic Development Committee made up of himself, Holly Healy, Dr. Clint Taylor, Justin Dartt, Brittany Bayley, Lance Yearby, Luke Sailer, and Malinda Nelson. NCOE Superintendent Matt Vollman spoke briefly as well.
Public comments were capped by a short presentation from Morgan Doggett on behalf of the village of Mill Shoals. That community, Doggett says, desperately needs upgrades to the public water and sewer systems. Currently, the town wide water system, installed in 1964, is estimated to have less than five years left. She says residents face almost weekly main waterline breaks and nearly all residents drink bottled or filtered water. She estimates the project cost at more than $4.6 million dollars. The village runs on an operational budget of $50-$50k annually.
From here, the board will take into consideration those requests and will also talk openly about options at the next county board meeting scheduled for Tuesday, April 18th at the courthouse.
