Four Major Pinckneyville Initiatives
</element><element id="paragraph-1" type="body"><![CDATA[There are multiple development projects in the works throughout Pinckneyville that will literally change the face of the town if completed. Both Pinckneyville Community High School and Pinckneyville Community Hospital are planning to build new facilities in the near future.
The Illinois Department of Transportation is moving forward with a plan for a west bypass around the town when Route 127 is expanded from two to four lanes between Murphysboro and Nashville.
The Foundation for the Future of Pinckneyville is working to bring two museums to town, using existing structures that will be altered to suit their needs.
Economic Development Coordinator Carrie Ford received a signed purchase agreement from Hush Bullet Inc. to purchase the TUMS building for $600,000.
Hush Bullet Inc. will pay $300,000 and finance the other half of the purchase price over the next five years at five percent interest.
The City Council authorized Ford to send Hush Bullet's Revolving Loan application to the state for approval. Normally, the local revolving loan committee makes a recommendation to the city on whether or not to grant a revolving loan, but because Hush Bullet Inc. deals with firearms and ammunition the state must grant approval first.
Hush Bullet Inc. manufactures ammunition. They expect to employ about 20 people once the operation is relocated to Pinckneyville.
There are three other ongoing Economic Development projects in the Friendly Little City.
First, Kellerman Brothers is nearly finished putting in a parking lot on the west side of the McDaniel's Furniture building. Seeding and striping are the only things left to complete on that project, Ford said.
Wet weather caused the city to extend the project deadline twice. Pinckneyville received $99,000 USDA grant through Rural Development to complete the parking lot, which will provide access to 11,000 square feet of space in the former Illinois Fish Farmer's Co-op which is not used by the furniture store. The parking lot can also provide access to additional acreage in the city's east business park.
Also on the east side of town, crews are working on three phases of improvements to the Cooper B-Line factory including new water and sewer lines and road work that includes widening the entrance to the factory.
Pinckneyville received a $659,827 Department of Commerce and Economic Opportunity grant to put in a new sewer line to the factory and to upgrade Snowy Owl Road from Route 154 to Longspur. The sewer project is nearly complete. Amerent is the contractor doing the sewer work. E.T. Simonds was the low bidder on the road work.
The city also received a $165,752 grant from Delta Regional Authority to put in a new water main for Cooper B-Line. Red Dot Construction is the contractor on that phase of the project.
At the July 27 City Council meeting, a change order extending the water main project for Cooper B-Line to loop the 10" line around to hook into the city's 12" high pressure line was approved. The loop will allow for more breaks, which can isolate problems when the occur while continuing service to the factory and nearby residential customers when repairs must be done. The project, awarded to Red Dot Construction, came in under bid. The state has allowed the city to use the remaining grant funds to extend the project.
The final project currently in the works is the south shopping center project. The city has received a $150,000 Rural Development IPP Loan and has approved a total expenditure of $250,000 on the shopping center. The center, which will house Kellerman's Feed Store, Best One Tire and JC's Air Conditioning is awaiting EPA approval before it can move forward.
Economic Development Consultant Harold Palmer said that the city's funds for the project are in the bank. The first TIF request was for $180,000.
Rural Development gave the city a $99,000 grant to upgrade the water line and make changes to Brown Street for the shopping center. The total cost of the Brown Street project is $135,000. The city's share of the project is mainly materials.
The city is working with Robert Spencer of the Perry County Soil and Water Conservation District to mitigate wetlands that will be disturbed if an occupant is found for a site on the west edge of town.
The City Council had cleared away some brush, hoping to entice a car dealership to relocate to town.
Ford said that there are several other projects being discussed. They are in various stages. Some may pan out and some may not. Some of the projects under discussion hinge upon other projects, she said.