Freshman class fundraiser for roadway T’s approved by council
By Kayleigh Rahn
The Tuscola City Council during its meeting Monday, Sept. 10 agreed to allow the Tuscola Community High School freshman class to begin a fundraiser that would allow class members to sell T’s to be painted on the roads surrounding the high school.
The council and city officials were unsure of the details of the fundraiser, but said the class representatives should meet with City Administrator Drew Hoel and City Foreman Denny Cruzan to discuss a best practice in moving forward.
City councilwoman Terra Waldrop said her concern is the upkeep of the paint to ensure the school spirit display remains neat. Hoel said he had questions regarding the type of paint and how that might affect future road projects along Prairie Street. Cruzan added that Daggy and Van Allen streets wouldn’t be an issue, but because they are oil and chip roads, the paint may only be visible for one year.
For now, the council said Prairie, Daggy, and Van Allen streets can be used, and Hoel’s notes added that, depending on the success of fundraising, the class may consider North Line Road into Ervin Park to the ball diamonds.
“We also want to thank them for coming to us to ask permission,” Mayor Dan Kleiss said.
In other park-related news, the council gave the OK to spend $800 to add the replacement of the ball diamond lights to a state application for open spaces improvements.
In recent months, the council approved an agreement with MSA Professional Services to prepare and submit an Open Space Lands Acquisition and Development (OSLAD) grant to request funding for the tennis and basketball court resurfacing at Ervin Park.
The OSLAD grant program is a state-financed program that provides funding assistance to local government agencies for acquisition or development of land for parks and open space, according to the Illinois Department of Natural Resources website.
The amendment to the existing agreement would have MSA conduct a site visit and photometric analysis, prepare cost estimates and renderings, and add the project scope to the existing grant application, Hoel reported.
Even if the funding request is denied, the city will maintain the studies completed by MSA to begin work in replacing the lighting.
The full story can be found in the Wednesday, Sept. 12 edition of The Tuscola Journal.