By Dave Fidlin
Correspondent
A dormant, city-owned parcel of land could soon go toward a house for a family in need.
The Whitewater Common Council voted Dec. 16 to donate the property, 125 N. Wakely St., to nonprofit organization Habitat for Humanity with the understanding a home will eventually be built on the property.
The city several years ago took control of the property. Black mold was discovered within the previous home on the property, and it was subsequently razed. Once the remediation was completed, the site became surplus property.
“This seemed like one of the best, if not the best, options for this property,” City Manager Cameron Clapper said.
Council member James Winship agreed, pointing to the relatively few options within the Whitewater area for Habitat for Humanity to build homes.
“I think this is a win-win opportunity,” Winship said.
Once the home is constructed and a qualifying family occupies it, the property will return to the city’s tax rolls.
In other business Dec. 16, the Whitewater Common Council:
• Awarded a $27,099 contract to Johnsburg, Ill.-based Radicom to maintain the city’s extensive public safety infrastructure, particularly with 911-dispatch equipment;
• Adopted a resolution to borrow $35,343 to fund past owed property taxes for a parcel of land, formerly owned by Elkhorn Road Ventures, near Elkhorn and Bluff roads.
Foreclosure proceedings for the property wrapped recently, and the city is paying back taxes as a condition of acquiring the property.
• Adopted a resolution recognizing the city’s 2015 salary structure. The document, however, remains tentative as a wage and compensation study is underway; findings from it could alter salaries after the new year.
There have been few changes to the salary structure in year-over-year comparisons, although a few positions have been added and subtracted, based on prior decisions during 2015 budget deliberations.
The now defunct positions of sports coordinator, management analyst and accounting technical II were deleted from the document, while the new positions of recreation program coordinator, utilities administrative assistant and human resources coordinator were added.
