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Alton committee favors demolitions, street closures and budget resolutions

Telegraph - 6/26/2018

June 26--ALTON -- Parking, demolitions and special event street closures dominated Monday's agenda for the aldermanic Committee of the Whole to recommend.

At that regular meeting, the panel also recommended that the City Council approve a budget and appropriation ordinance for fiscal year 2018-19, which began April 1.

State statute requires the city to have the budget in place by June 30, although aldermen may vote to amend it until Sept. 30. The Telegraph will publish a separate, detailed story on the budget in coming days.

At Monday's committee meeting, members recommended the Council approve resolutions effecting permission for the city to: establish eight handicapped parking spaces, two spaces with 15-minute limits and a "no parking" space in the 100 block of East Fourth Street between Alby and Easton streets; sign a sidewalk café lease with The Underground, 219 W. Third St.; accept deed for 1224 W. Ninth St.; amend the current "no parking" ordinance for the west side of the 2500 block of Virden Street to only prohibit parking from 7 a.m. to 4 p.m. Monday through Friday.

The panel also tentatively approved resolutions allowing:

--Alton Main Street to use the city-owned parking lot next to Jacoby Arts Center, 627 E. Broadway, and also sidewalks on the south side of East Broadway between Henry and Ridge streets from 7 to 10 p.m. Thursday evenings in July and August. The organization will use the spaces for its "Night Market on Broadway" series. Officials, though, had questions about the locations involved and the event itself at the committee meeting, saying they needed more information before Wednesday's City Council meeting before approving the resolution.

--Temporary closure of portions of Illinois Route 140 in Upper Alton to allow for the Greater Madison County Federation of Labor's annual parade, from about 10 to 11:30 a.m. on August 25.

--Officials to sign a proposal for professional services from Scheffel Boyle, certified public accounts. The agreement allows the firm to conduct the city's annual audit for FY 2017-18 for $39,700; the police and firemen's pensions' audits for $5,700, plus fees of $1,850 for each of the funds because of "increased complexities in preparing the annual statement of the police and fire pension funds for the Department of Insurance," plus the federal, single audit costing $5,150-7,200.

--The city to pay an application fee of $2,418.75 to the Illinois Department of Transportation to obtain a federal, Surface Transportation Program grant that would cover 75 percent of costs to improve 0.57 miles of Brown Street, from Washington Avenue to Worden Avenue. The work would include, curb and sidewalk replacements to conform with the Americans With Disabilities Act and resurfacing. If the city does not obtain one of the grants, which are awarded based on a rating system, IDOT will refund the $2,418.75.

The Committee also recommended the city pursue legal means to effect demolition of derelict houses at: 78 E. Elm St., 3 E. 10th St., and 1414 Fletcher St.

All of the resolutions, which the committee voted 6-0 to approve, will come before the Council at its 6:30 p.m. Wednesday meeting in Alton City Hall. Alderman Michael Velloff, 3rd Ward, was absent.

Reach Linda N. Weller at 618-208-6450 or on Twitter @Linda_Weller

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