Harvey Council votes no to Harvey Lofts LLC project – the Southland Journal

Correction Notice:
This article originally contained incorrect information regarding the Harvey Lofts LLC board vote. It was originally printed that Harvey Lofts LLC was passed unanimously. This is not the case. The corrections are reflected in the article below. The title of the article has also been adjusted to reflect the correction.

Harvey Council votes no to Harvey Lofts LLC project (Harvey, Illinois) - The City of Harvey held its regular city council meeting on November 22.

The board began the meeting by reviewing the invoices for the payment list for November 8 and 22. Ald. Dominique Randle-El from the 5th arrondissement asked the member of the finance committee Ald for a recommendation. Tyrone Rogers (6th) before voting. Rogers said the November 8 bill lists had not had a chance to be presented to the committee because none had taken place and the November 22 bills had just been received earlier in the meeting. the day. The committee plans to have a meeting in the next few days, Rogers said. The lists have been tabled and will be considered at this meeting.

Orders and resolutions

The advice then considered a number of ordinances and resolutions. The first was an ordinance repealing an ordinance, which approved an economic incentive and public-private partnership agreement between the city and Harvey Shopping Center LLC. Rogers proposed deleting the article, which was referred to the finance committee in July, "until we have further consideration."

"Additional information was sent by Shopping Center LLC which was referred to the committee and was believed to have been received by the city law firm and we have yet to receive any information on this just to find out. if it's going to be denied or approved.

Any new agreement

Clark said any additional information submitted by the company would create a whole new deal rather than altering the proposed deal. Rogers said he felt the board was "putting the cart before the horse" with the proposed deal, as new developments were raised at the last finance meeting.

"I think it's only fair to both parties if we can see some documentation of the new deal," Rogers said, noting "why should we be in such a rush to get rid of the old deal before we receive new?"

Ald. Tracy Key (4th) asked why it is not possible to change the order once we have got all the information. Clark said it was possible, but changing it would create a substantially new document.

Ald. Shirley Drewenski (1st) said this had been on the agenda since the end of June, noting that she did not think the ordinance was "rushed". She supports the idea of ​​putting a new deal on the table once the company submits the necessary documents.

"But with regard to this particular ordinance as it was written, based on the discussion that several aldermen have had with this vendor, changes are going to occur," she said. "So changing it would be a possibility, but to get that off the agenda I would suggest that we either let us cancel this order with the guarantee or consider a new proposal."

Council then approved the point, repealing the ordinance.

Economic development

Next, the council considered an ordinance approving an economic redevelopment agreement by and between the city and Harvey Lofts, LLC. The town's lawyer described what the town could lose if the item was not improved, including $ 151,000 and property. The developer is proposing an investment of $ 16.4 million in the project. The project would create 50 construction jobs, building permit income for the city and workforce housing for Amazon and other work, according to a presentation. While Drewenski and Randle-El voted for, the Ald. Quinton Crudup (3rd) abstained from voting and the other alderman voted no

A renewal agreement between the city and Property Registration Champions LLC was next to be reviewed. Before the council vote, Ald. Marshun Tolbert (2nd) asked someone from the company to discuss "what this program has done for the city besides billing people for these fees."

A representative for the company said no residents had paid a fee in the town, but Tolbert said that was not true. The representative asked for the names of those charged so that the issue could be resolved. The company has recorded 779 foreclosed properties, 690 long-term rental registrations and 72 vacant properties, according to the company, noting that the community has received more than $ 100,000 this year through the program.

The program has been in the city since 2019. Since then, the city has collected $ 262,000 in revenue through the program. Rogers said he had not heard of any income generated by the business since he was in the city, which is "tragic," noting that the business has not been transparent. The only city councilor who voted against the deal was Key, who said he had not seen any company representatives attend city council meetings to take stock of their progress since arriving in the city.

Harvey Council votes no to Harvey Lofts LLC project

The board also considered the following:

• Order approving text amendments to the city's zoning ordinance concerning automotive uses and video game terminal establishments

• A resolution approving a letter of understanding with the Illinois Department of Transportation for the Wood Street project

• A resolution authorizing the sale of properties - residential reactivation program