ROCHELLE — At its meeting Monday, the Rochelle City Council unanimously approved an ordinance authorizing the creation of a housing incentive program to encourage future housing growth.

Mayor John Bearrows has been in discussions with Ogle County, the Flagg-Rochelle Library District, the Flagg-Rochelle Community Park District and Flagg Township about participating in the program as well. 

The program will be a five-year 100 percent city portion-only property tax rebate for newly-built single-family homes and newly-built residential townhomes. The program will be capped at 15 homes per year. Property must be owner-occupied and not used as a rental property.

The program will involve rebate and reimbursement and applicants are required to pay their full tax bill each year. Owners will be required to bring proof of tax payment by Oct. 1 to the city manager’s office. All rebates will be issued no later than Nov. 15 of each year.

The program will begin Jan. 1, 2025, and run for the next five years until possible renewal for more years. The program has $45,000 budgeted for it for 2026.

The city has made efforts in the past to encourage new housing, including not charging permit fees or utility tap on fees since 2018.

TIF District

The council held a public hearing to consider the designation of a tax increment financing (TIF) district for the Caron Ridge Shopping Center, the former site of Sullivan's Foods, to encourage development at the building in the future.

The ordinance to potentially officially establish the TIF district will be presented to the council for approval on Oct. 15.

Downtown

The council unanimously approved a resolution accepting a bid from N-Track Group for $544,065 for its Rebuild Downtown & Main Street Grant Project. The project will see the demolition of a building, new downtown parking lots and improvements to current downtown parking lots.

Two bids were received for the work and N-Track Group was the low bidder. The work will be funded by a grant. City Community Development Director Michelle Pease said the work could begin this fall.

Golf course

The council unanimously approved a resolution to extend its co-ownership agreement of Fairways Golf Course with the Flagg-Rochelle Community Park District for five years with another five-year extension that will take place at the end of the agreement unless either entity declines. The city and park district have jointly owned and helped to fund the golf course for a number of years. The course has seen high round numbers in recent years which has helped to decrease funding needs.

Improvements are tentatively planned for the golf course in coming years including a pro shop renovation, tee box updates, cart path maintenance, and a pickleball court.

RFD

A presentation was made during the meeting on potentially establishing the rank of captain within the Rochelle Fire Department for the first time. The potential new rank comes in response to a recent expansion to RFD's department that will see six total new firefighters hired. The new RFD model would see it utilize one captain, one lieutenant and four firefighters per shift that would be overseen by Chief Dave Sawlsville.

RFD's expansion, which will be funded by a $919,368 grant it recently received, came due to high call numbers in recent years and the new captain model would seek to have more safety during fire incidents and more specific professional development among RFD personnel.

Swearing-in

A swearing-in ceremony was held during the meeting for RFD's newest firefighter, David Montero. Montero began his fire service career in April 2022 with the Ogle-Lee Fire Protection District Flagg Center station. He started working part-time with RFD in January 2023.

Proclamations

City Councilwoman Rosaelia Arteaga read a proclamation in honor of Hispanic Heritage Month Sept. 15-Oct. 15 and presented it to residents Hilario Hernandez and Celia Mayor.

Bearrows read a proclamation in honor of Public Power Week Oct. 6-12 and presented it to Blake Toliver and Shane Waters of Rochelle Municipal Utilities.