The Centralia City Council Monday night adopted a resolution affirming the Ten Shared Principles designed to bridge the gap of mistrust between law enforcement and communities of color.
Centralia Police Chief Christopher Locke says the agreement was created in 2018 by the Illinois NAACP and the Illinois Association of Chiefs of Police.
“Really gives us a good framework to work off of. It just talks about how to treat people and respect each other. This is a collaborative effort for all of us. Not just the NAACP or the Illinois Chiefs, but in this case Centralia as a community. It’s all of us. We are one community. I think this will help bring us together and let us address those that negatively impact our quality of life and those that choose to commit crimes. We all want the same thing, a safer community.”
Locke and Francine Nicolson with the NAACP read the ten shared principals before they were adopted. Locke said when he was Police Chief in Fairview Heights they had also approved the resolution and felt it was effective in bringing the community together.
The Centralia City Council approved a resolution to have discussions with the owner of the building at 102 East Broadway and 112 East Broadway for a future Centralia Railroad Corridor TIF Redevelopment agreement. Economic Development Director Derek Sherman says the resolution also expressed intent to reimburse certain redevelopment costs.
“So this is just an Inducement agreement it’s allowing the city to begin negotiating for a TIF agreement. So there is nothing that is set in it like percentages of increment or any incentives yet. Just allowing us to start negotiating and start discussing those options. The goals of the agreement are to help move forward some revitalization that is happening. The applicant is repurposed development and they own the block where Crooked Creek Winery downtown is in and they are wanting to do more improvements to that building. And hopefully this is going to be helping move forward the revitalization of downtown.”
Re:purpose Development has also purchased the Hoffman Hart building in the same block, but that planned renovation is not included in this resolution.
The council approved a resolution waiving bidding requirements and accepting a proposal from Morrow Brothers Ford, Inc through the state bid for a new police truck at a cost of $53,335. The cost includes police equipment, labor and installation.
Eric Emmerich of EJ and 120 Water gave an overview of the scope of work he plans to inventory the lead service lines in the city as now required by the Illinois Environmental Protection Agency. The council authorized the city manager to negotiate a contract to get the work completed at a cost of no more than $15,000.
The council approved a resolution authorizing the use of Raccoon Lake for boat races hosted by the National Boat Racing Association on August 12th and 13th.
