ACTION REQUESTED:
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Communication from the City Manager and Community Development Director with a Request to APPROVE a CONTRACT with JIMAX for Demolition of Residential Properties as the Primary Contractor and RIVER CITY DEMOLITION as a Backup Contractor.
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BACKGROUND: The City of Peoria has instituted an aggressive demolition program over the last five years in an effort to remove blight from neighborhoods and eliminate a major public safety hazard. Since 2012, the Community Development Department has demolished 377 dangerous structures in the City of Peoria.
In 2017, the Community Development Department will continue to demolish dangerous structures as funding allows. Going into 2017, the budget is demonstrated as set forth in Attachment A.
Please note that BRP funds were awarded through a competitive State grant administered by IHDA and funded by the Treasury Department. The funds can only be used in census tract 50, and the entire lot has to be clear cut. This involves a more expensive demolition, as all trees must be removed. In addition, the grant pays for alternative ground cover to be tested in an effort to find better long-term solutions to vacant lot maintenance.
The main obstacle to doing additional demolitions is lack of funding. Recently an employee for the Community Development Department drove the south side to do an informal survey of boarded up buildings that met demolition criteria. Over 223 residential structures were identified. This did not include vacant properties and demolition candidates that were not boarded up.
The Community Development Department will continue to seek alternative funding streams to eliminate blighted structures in the City of Peoria. In 2014, the Community Development Department was awarded a $75,000 grant from the State of Illinois for demolitions in the far south side. In 2015, $300,000 was allocated and spent for residential demolitions in the South Village TIF, and the Department was awar...
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