Casey to Seek $49,000 USDA Grant for Downtown Parking Lot Rebuild

Casey City Council Meeting | June 15, 2026

Article Summary: The Casey City Council approved Resolution #061526B authorizing a USDA Rural Business Development Grant application for a $99,999 rebuild of the public parking lot at South Central Avenue and General Robey Street, with the city committing a 51% local match of $50,999.49 if the grant is awarded.

Downtown Parking Grant Key Points:

• The project would repair curb, gutter and drainage, make the sidewalk ADA compliant, pave the lot with asphalt, and add hardscaping and landscaping to match downtown.
• The grant would cover 49% of costs, or $48,999.51; the city’s 51% share is $50,999.49.
• Economic Development Director Tom Daughhetee said only six of 13 Illinois applicants were funded last year, all with requests between $50,000 and $100,000.
• Mayor Mike Nichols said the city now carries roughly $1.4 million in potential grant match obligations in its budget planning, though he called the odds of winning all of them slim.

CASEY — The Casey City Council on Monday, June 15, 2026, voted unanimously to pursue federal grant money to rebuild the deteriorating public parking lot at South Central Avenue and General Robey Street, capping the project at $99,999 to maximize its scoring under the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s Rural Business Development Grants program.

Alderman Marcy Mumford, reporting on the Economic Development Committee’s June 8 meeting, moved approval of Resolution #061526B, seconded by Alderman Carlene Richardson. The vote was 4-0, with Aldermen Tanner Brown, Mumford, Richardson and Lori Wilson in favor and Aldermen Jeremiah Hanley and Steve Jenkins absent.

According to the resolution, the Downtown Parking Infrastructure Development Project is estimated at a total cost of $99,999, with the grant covering 49% — $48,999.51 — and the city committing a 51% local match of $50,999.49 if awarded. The resolution designates City Clerk Jeremy Mumford as the authorized representative to administer the grant, with Economic Development Director Tom Daughhetee assisting.

The committee’s report describes the project’s scope: repairing the curb, gutter and drainage at the corner, making the sidewalk ADA compliant, paving the parking lot with asphalt, and installing new hardscaping and landscaping to match the rest of downtown. The lot sits south of what was described in discussion as the former Black building.

Grant Strategy Built Around Point Scoring

Daughhetee told the council the RBDG program awards grants ranging from $10,000 to $500,000, but he deliberately set the request just under six figures. He said applicants without a local share are unlikely to score well in the point-based system, and that Illinois awards favor smaller requests.

“Last year there were 13 applicants in the state of Illinois and six were funded, and they were all between 50 and 100,” Daughhetee said, referring to award amounts in thousands of dollars.

Applications are due June 30. Daughhetee said that because it is a federal grant, even an awarded project would likely not see a contract until the 2027-28 fiscal year. He said Director of Public Works Ryan Staley has done preliminary estimates on the curb, gutter and drainage work, and that he had asked Kurt Shaw for an estimate on landscaping similar to the treatment at the welcome center — more compact, he said, because the adjacent building’s owners hope to add a mural and don’t want the wall covered. Daughhetee said photos in the packet show the corner becomes “a lake” when it rains.

Match Obligations Weigh on Budget Planning

The grant’s timing collided with the city’s final appropriations work. Mayor Mike Nichols, whose Finance Committee was set to hold its last budget session the following day, directed Alderman Brown to bring the $51,000 match figure to Treasurer Gail Lorton so it could be added to the city’s budget totals.

Nichols said the city is already carrying three other potential grant matches — figures he cited as $500,000, $555,000 and $375,000 — and acknowledged the combined exposure looks alarming on paper.

“There’s no way in hell we get it all in the same year,” Nichols said, adding that after talking with Daughhetee he put the probability of winning every grant at 1% at most. He said the budget would show the city over budget on paper because of the potential matches, but that failing to reserve the money carries its own risk: “If we get them and then don’t have the money for the city share to do it, you’re not going to get another one, hell or high water, ever.”

Nichols said his preference would be to land the projects one per year going forward.