Neighbors Helping Neighbors in Highland to be ‘revitalized, ramped up’

A private/public partnership to combat blight and deterioration of older homes in Highland will now be housed completely beneath the city’s roof.

In a memo to council members, Lisa Peck, the Highland’s Community and Economic Development director, and Building and Zoning Official Kevin Limestall, said the Neighbors Helping Neighbors (NHN) is being “revitalized and ramped up.”

“While most people are able to keep up with the maintenance needs, others do not have the financial means or manpower to be able to do so. As our division performs the enforcement of property maintenance concerns, we are continually exploring ways in which we could assist property owners in keeping up with their housing repairs,” the memo said. “That is where this program will assist in helping to get the maintenance performed, help stabilize neighborhood one client at a time and fostering homeownership pride in their property.”

The city had previously sponsored such a citizen-led program, but it operated separately and apart from the municipal government. However, the new NHN will be an official city committee, whose members will be a combination of residents appointed by the mayor, along with city officials.

The Highland City Council voted unanimously on March 7 to create a 10-person NHN committee, which will be compromised of seven community members and three ex-officio members from city government.

Peck said that having NHN as wholly a city operation would provide insurance coverage for committee members as they perform their duties, and it would ease paperwork, accounting and grant seeking. In addition to grants, the program is funded by donations, a portion of city building permit fees and assistance from other area organizations.

The NHN program is not designed to replace any existing county-funded programs or to be a loan program, but rather, it is intended to assist people who need help with property maintenance, but have fallen through the cracks of other programs.

“You are not going to get into a house that’s ready to fall down and try and rebuild it,” said Darrel Newman, owner of Personal Preference Services in Highland and an NHN volunteer.

Newman gave an example of the type of person the program is meant to aid. He said a woman in her 90s called him not long ago to say she was having problems with her gutters. The issue was bad enough that water was filling up her window wells. It was an easy fix, but she was afraid, not knowing who to call.

Such small-dollar investments can have big-dollar paybacks, Newman said, as they keep homes from falling into disrepair and dragging down neighborhood property values in the process.

“That was a simple little problem that you probably wouldn’t even notice,” he said. “But by spring, that would have created a huge problem that she probably wouldn’t have been able to fix… You can drive through town and see those kinds of problems everywhere.”

BONNIE McGinley appointed to Police Pension Board

The council unanimously approved Bonnie McGinley to serve on the Police Pension Board. She will fill the remainder of the term of Dennis Buckalew, who recently stepped down from the board. Buckalew’s term expires May 1, but Mayor Joe Michaelis said he will nominate McGinley for a full two-year term in April. The position will require McGinley to complete 32 hours of public pension training.

Hold-harmless agreement no longer need for use of Square

The council voted to eliminate the requirement for persons or groups requesting use of the Square to hold-harmless agreement indemnifying the city.

The Illinois Municipal League Risk Management Association said such agreements were not necessary, so long as certificates of insurance from were obtained naming the city as “also insured,” which is already being done for all events held on city property.

In a memo to the council, Lisa Schoeck, human resources director, said that eliminating the require ment would also eliminate work for city staff, which was unnecessary.

Viacom channels renewed for HCS

The council approved renewing a contract with Viacom and Highland Communication Services (HCS). Channels provided by Viacom include MTV, BET, Comedy Central, MTV U, MTV 2, Nickelodeon, Nick@Nite, NickJr., NickToons, Spike, TVLAND, VH1, and VH1 Classic.

“All Viacom rates will increase approximately 7 percent respectively per subscriber. This will impact our video content costs and reduce revenue,” Angela Imming, director of technology and innovation, wrote in a memo.

A separate agreement was also OKed for HCS to carry The Sportsman Channel.

Grant applications to county approved

The council approved seeking Park Enhancement Program (PEP) funds from Madison County for the following projects:

▪ Re-vegetate Old City Lake Dam;

▪ 4-Diamonds, one new backstop;

▪ Spindler Park, install three parking lot lights;

▪ Rinderer Park, purchase two drinking fountains; and

▪ Korte Recreation Center, pour sidewalks.

The city will also seek Community Development Block Grant funding for water/sewer infrastructure improvements.

Recognition and proclamations

Mayor Michaelis s read documents proclaiming the week of March 6 - 12, 2016 as Girl Scout Week and March 29, 2016 as “Thank A Vietnam Veteran Day.”

Mayor Michaelis also recognize the Highland High School dance team and its coach, Michelle Deets, on winning first-place in Class 2A at the IHSA Competitive Dance State Finals. McKenzie Rosen was also recognized for being named the 2016 Miss IDTA.

This story was originally published March 18, 2016 at 2:32 AM with the headline "Neighbors Helping Neighbors in Highland to be ‘revitalized, ramped up’."