Union Block Committee requests $150,000 in county funding

By STEPH TAHTINEN

Mt. Pleasant News

The Union Block Committee and Main Street Mount Pleasant has requested $150,000 in funding from Henry County over the next three years for the Union Block restoration project.

The request, made to the board of supervisors on Tuesday morning, asks for the county to commit $50,000 per year for the next three years to help restore the historical building that burnt in January 2011.

?I would guess if we don?t touch this building, in the next five years it will be falling into the street,? said Lisa Oetkin, Main Street director. ?If we let our buildings die, we will see our downtown die.?

In addition to the economic impact of restoring the building, the committee also focused on the historical significance of the building.

?Mt. Pleasant and Henry County defines itself by its heritage,? said Kiley Miller, executive vice president of the Mt. Pleasant Area Chamber Alliances. ?This is arguably the most important historical structure in our county.?

However, although Supervisor Vice Chairman Kent White said he appreciated the historical significance, but it was pointed out that the supervisors are Henry County and not Mt. Pleasant, and many county residents would have a problem with the county providing so much money to a building in Mt. Pleasant.

?I?m asking you to consider what a tough sell it would be to the citizens of rural Henry County,? said Kent White, supervisor vice chairman. ?You?re asking us to ask the citizens of Lowell (for example) to pay $50,000 for the next three years to refurbish a building on the square in Mt. Pleasant.?

In response, Miller pointed out that the sales tax revenue from Mt. Pleasant goes to benefit the smaller parts of the county

?Do the citizens of Mt. Pleasant get their fair return in their investment in Henry County? No,? said Miller, noting that rural Henry County is being subsidized by the businesses in Mt. Pleasant. He said that he viewed the Union Block building as an investment in the future, as it would improve the retail/downtown area of Mt. Pleasant, which would then improve the local option sales tax, which benefits the county.

The Union Block restoration project is expected to cost about $3 million, though the committee has applied for historical tax credit, which could offset 40 percent of the costs.

?That takes your $3 million down to $1.8,? said Miller.

The committee has also received other grant funding, including a $25,000 Enhance Henry County Communities Foundation grant awarded Monday morning.

The committee is currently working on another grant application that requires the county to be involved, which led to the request made Tuesday. This grant application is due Jan. 15, so the county would need to make its commitment before then.

The county also received two other funding requests in Tuesday?s meeting from the Henry County Fair Board and the public libraries of Henry County.

The Henry County Fair Board requested $20,000 in funding ? an increase of $6,000 from the $14,000 the board has usually received.

Steve Brimhall explained that the county contribution is used to fund the 4-H portion of the fair, and the board uses the money from the demolition derby to fund the rest of the fair.

?Our sources of revenue are limited unless we come up with other ideas for revenue,? said Brimhall.

He noted that the board is also looking to come up with more entertainment ideas for the fair, especially for children.

Gayle Trede, Mt. Pleasant Library Director, also spoke to the supervisors on behalf of the five public libraries in the county ? Mt. Pleasant, New London, Winfield, Hillsboro and Salem. The libraries have requested that their county funding remain the same at $65,000 for the five libraries.

The supervisors also heard from County Engineer Bill Belzer and approved an agreement with the Department of Transportation to work on the bridge over Fish Creek that collapsed in July.

?It will not be finished before harvest time,? said Belzer, who said he would like to have the project bid this summer and it would likely be a winter project.

The estimated project cost is $320,000, of which 80 percent would be reimbursed by the federal government.

In other business, the supervisors heard a budget review from Sheriff Allen Wittmer. Disregarding wages, which are still to be determined, the sheriff department?s budget has been decreased $7,350 from the previous fiscal year.

The board also appointed White as the county?s supervisor on the Southeast Iowa Regional Planning Commission board of directors and Klay Edwards as the private sector member on the commission.