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In a work session Monday, Edwardsville City Council members began the process of hashing out the details of a new Neighborhood Revitalization Act.

The act, which gives tax abatements to homeowners who rehabilitate or build a property in a certain location, was first discussed by the council at the previous meeting. City Administrator Michael Webb said from that discussion he put together preliminary guidelines that designate such things as the area, the percentage of tax abatement and the number of years of the abatement.

“We’re basically looking to get clarification from the last meeting,” he said. “The act requires a number of steps be taken. Two of those things are what the area should be and what should be the conditions for that area.”

Webb definined a possible boundary for the program that would encompass what is generally known as Old Town. The area would be bounded by the Union Pacific Railroad on the north, 9th Street on the east, the Kansas River on the south and 3rd and 4th Streets on the west.

Mayor William “Heinz” Rodgers said he would rather see a smaller area for the city’s first attempt at the act.

“Call me a conservative, but personally I’d rather start with a smaller zone,” he said. “That way, we can work out the kinks and learn from the experience. We can always add another zone or expand the zone later.”

Webb said the purpose behind the zone was that the area offered three different potentials of residents who take advantage of the program. At the north end, or Old Town, Webb said there would be more rehabilitation of older, smaller homes. In the middle of the zone, which includes the buildings owned by the city and City Hall, Webb said there was more potential for commercial rehabilitations. And at the south end, in the River Falls subdivision, he said there was potential for new buildings in the six lots that are still vacant.

As far as the parameters of the plan go, Webb divided the plan into single-family residential properties, multi-family properties and commercial properties, and included abatement amounts for all three categors. For example, with single-family rehabilitations, there would be a 10-year term at 95 percent tax abatement with a $5,000 minimum investment. For single-family new buildings, there would be a 5-year term at 50 percent tax abatement with a $50,000 minimum investment.

Webb said he still had more research to do as far as what type of rehabilitation was included and how the abatements would affect the city tax roles and schools.

y, March 9, prior to the regular City Council meeting to further discuss the Neighborhood Revitalization Act.

In other business Monday, the council:

• Met with Cemetery Board members in a work session before the regular meeting to discuss the management of cemetery accounts. Webb said the city auditor had noted for several years that the city should account for cemetery activities in its accounting system rather than a separate manual account maintained by the Cemetery Board.

After reviewing the account process and the city’s code of ordinances, Webb said it was the staff’s recommendation to keep the system as it is with the board maintaining its own account. He said he would like the board to turn in receipts, bank statements and copies of checks on a more regular basis so that, come audit time, the information would easily be at hand. He said he thought this was one of the reasons the auditors made the suggestion in the first place.

• Approved, 5-0, minutes from the Feb. 9 meeting.

• Approved, 5-0, payment of bills totaling $261,490.96, which includes $125,693.83 of 2006 GO Bond payments.

• Confirmed, 5-0, the mayoral appointment of Jason Conner to the Parks and Recreations Advisory Board.

• Approved, 5-0, the application of Mac’s Place, 580 S. 4th St., for several amusement devices, such as video game machines.

• Approved, 5-0, the Industrial Restoration Bond renewals of Carlisle Tire & Wheel, Fastenal, Herff Jones, LaGasse, Medart and Office Max.

• Heard a report from Webb regarding Millard Refrigerated Services, 2350 South 98th St., that the Edwardsville business recently won a property tax appeal that reduced its value from $22-25 million to $15 million. This could mean a $250,000 drop in revenues for Edwardsville. Webb said he was still waiting for more information about the issue and would report back when he knew more details.

• Heard a year-end report from Police Chief Mark Mathies about the Edwardsville Police Department. He reported that in 2008, the department had about 445 calls for service per month. He said that 1,671 citations were issued in 2008 compared to 1,481 in 2007. He also said the city had seen a 15-20 percent drop in the crime rate since last year.

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