Casey Joins Land Bank, Secures EPA Grant for Sewer Planning

Article Summary: The City of Casey has taken two major steps to address housing and infrastructure challenges, officially joining the Central Illinois Land Bank Authority and securing a state grant to plan for sewer expansion. Economic Development Director Tom Daughhetee announced the achievements, which provide the city with new tools to combat blighted properties and funding to develop engineering plans for unsewered areas on the city’s west side.

Casey Economic Development Key Points:

• Casey was officially voted in as a member of the Central Illinois Land Bank Authority, which helps municipalities more effectively manage vacant and dilapidated properties.

• The city was approved for an Illinois EPA “Unsewered Communities Planning Grant” to fund the creation of plans for sewer system expansion.

• The grant requires no matching funds from the city and will be used for planning and engineering, not construction.

• Economic Development Director Tom Daughhetee also completed the first of a three-year community and economic development certification program.

CASEY — The City of Casey is poised to tackle long-standing housing and infrastructure issues after securing a key partnership and a state-funded grant, officials announced at Monday’s City Council meeting.

Economic Development Director Tom Daughhetee reported that Casey has been officially voted into the Central Illinois Land Bank Authority, a move he said will provide new avenues for addressing problem properties. Additionally, the city has been approved for an Illinois Environmental Protection Agency (IEPA) grant to fund planning for sewer expansion into unsewered parts of the community.

“We’re looking forward to working with them on a lot of the housing issues,” Daughhetee said of the land bank. “It’s good to be joining together with that and take advantage of some new tools that we haven’t had access to before. Another thing we can do to help combat the housing issues we have.”

Land banks are governmental entities that can acquire, hold, manage, and redevelop vacant, abandoned, and tax-delinquent properties. They can streamline the process of returning blighted properties to productive use, which can be a difficult and lengthy legal process for individual municipalities.

Following his land bank meeting, Daughhetee learned that an application submitted by Milano and Grunlow on the city’s behalf had been approved by the IEPA. The “Unsewered Communities Planning Grant” provides the city with funds to develop a comprehensive plan for bringing sewer services to the “far west side along Main Street.”

Daughhetee emphasized that the grant requires no matching funds from the city and is strictly for planning purposes.

“What that allows us to do, it gives us funds… to develop a plan,” he explained. “That’s not saying we’re going to do it or that these funds are not to make that project happen. It’s to create the plans and the engineering plans and all that. So, we’ll have that in our pocket in case we decide to go forward.”

The announcements came after Daughhetee attended the Midwest Community Development Institute, a week-long conference and training session he described as “very valuable.” The institute offers a three-year program to become a certified professional community and economic developer. Daughhetee, who attended with officials from Martinsville and Marshall, said the experience provided valuable interaction with peers from other small, rural towns facing similar challenges.

He noted his tuition was waived in exchange for giving an hour-long presentation to all attendees about Casey’s “big things.”