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Wednesday, September 7, 2016 n SERVING DIXON AND THE SURROUNDING AREA SINCE 1851
STERLING CITY COUNCIL
DIXON | CITY COUNCIL
Council OKs rent payment agreement Nonprofit will reimburse city for rental assistance in low-income housing BY PAM EGGEMEIER peggemeier@saukvalley.com 815-625-3600, ext. 5570 @pam_eggemeier
Photos by Alex T. Paschal/apaschal@saukvalley.com
The Dixon City Council approved a $300,636 project on Tuesday to remove, repair and repaint the railings along Galena Avenue Bridge after more than a year of delays.
Council won over
Members like what they see in Dixon One proposal; bridge and road work projects also get the nod BY RACHEL RODGERS rrodgers@saukvalley.com 815-625-3600, ext. 5529 @rj_rodgers
DIXON – The road to Dixon One has had its bumps along the way, but the city is moving forward after seeing the culmination of work from the past 8 months. The City Council gave a nod of approval to the Dixon One advisory task force Tuesday for providing the framework to create a hub for city marketing, tourism, business outreach and development under one roof. “It’s amazing how it came together at the end,” Mayor Li Arellano Jr. said. “It took a phenomenal amount of work, and the end product gives us a very good basis to work off of.” The proposal calls for consolidating the Dixon Area Chamber of Commerce and Dixon Main Street to provide the foundation for the organization, which would be governed by a board of directors and be operated by staff including an executive director, marketing coordinator and events coordinator. DIXON ONE continued on A54
A section of Bradshaw Street (above) and Brinton Avenue will see improvements this year after the Dixon City Council approved $263,352 to repave the roads and install handicapped ramps. The resurfacing will take place on Bradshaw from North Galena to Washington avenues and on North Brinton from Bradshaw to North Court streets.
STERLING – The city will be reimbursed by Sterling Today to fulfill a funding requirement for the Lawrence Lofts redevelopment project. The Sterling City Council approved an agreement Tuesday that will pay the developer of the 20 apartments above the Whiteside County Courthouse at 101 E. Third St. for a rental assistance program. The program applies to only two units. Nineteen of the apartments were to be rent-restricted under the federal lowincome housing tax credit program for tenants with an income of 60 percent or less of area median income. To satisfy the requirements for tax credits, two units also must be made available to tenants at 30 percent or less of area median income. The agreement stipulates that funds from the new Central Business District East tax increment financing district can be used to reimburse the developer for costs of the rental assistance program. The city will use TIF money for the two studio units, but Sterling Today has agreed to then reimburse the city. “The TIF will write the check, and the nonprofit will pay the city,” City Manager Scott Shumard said. “It’s just a procedural thing to comply with the federal tax credits program.” The agreement calls for the developer to be paid $200 per month per unit by the city, at a total amount not to exceed $52,800 over the 11-year life of the pact. The developers, known as Lawrence Lofts LP, are private investors organized by Rock Island Economic Growth Corp., a national nonprofit organization that put together several layers of financing for the project. Janna Groharing, executive director of Sterling Today, said a start date has not yet been announced, but she expects construction will soon begin. STERLING continued on A54
OGLE COUNTY
Owner puts down a new steak Popular diner, Grubsteakers, reopens a year and half after a tornado knocked it down BY VINDE WELLS vwells@shawmedia.com Shaw Media
ROCHELLE – Seventeen months after it was destroyed by a tornado, a well-known Ogle County restaurant is ready to reopen in its brand-new building. Ava Mirtoska, owner of Grubsteakers, on the northeast corner of state Routes 64 and 251,
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said she expects to be back in business bright and early this morning for the breakfast crowd. “I am so excited. I can’t wait,” she said Monday, while running last-minute errands. “I’m happy to be back where I belong.” Opening-day hours will be 6 a.m. to 9 p.m. Grubsteakers was in the direct path of the tornado that tore through Lee, Ogle, and DeKalb counties on April 9, 2015. Two weeks after the storm, Mirtoska was recognized by the Ogle County Board for her actions that night: She saw the storm approaching and, with just minutes to spare, ushered her customers and employees into a storm cellar. GRUBSTEAKERS continued on A124 ABBY.................... A8 BUSINESS.......... A12 COMICS................B6
CROSSWORD.....B11 FOOD...............A9-10 LIFESTYLE............ A8
Earleen Hinton/Shaw Media
Grubsteakers owner Ava Mirtoska stands in the one of the restaurant’s new dining areas. The restaurant will open Wednesday, nearly a year and a half after a tornado brought the restaurant down.
LOTTERY.............. A2 OBITUARIES......... A4 OPINION............... A6
Today’s weather High 87. Low 72. More on A3.
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