The Splash City Water Park in Collinsville is part of the Collinsville Area Recreation District. (Photo courtesy of CARD)

CARD transfers properties, anticipates dissolution

An initiative petition drive to dissolve Collinsville Area Recreation District (CARD) is once again underway; and this time, organizers believe, the effort will be successful. A timeline for dissolution of the district was discussed by the CARD Board of Commissioners during their May 15 meeting.

Established in 1990 to provide affordable recreation opportunities in the greater Collinsville area, the district has since drawn increasing criticism for its high long-term debt levels, property tax levies, and systems of parks that appears to benefit Collinsville more than other areas

The district covers all or part of Collinsville, Glen Carbon, Maryville and Pontoon Beach, as well as some nearby unincorporated Madison County.

At its peak, the district owned or operated nine parks in or near, including Splash City Water Park, Arlington Greens golf course and Willoughby Heritage Farm. The district levies property taxes to pay for long-term debt and operations. District residents get discounts on activity fees.

Longtime district critic and former Maryville Mayor Larry Gulledge last month launched the latest bid to disincorporation; seeking the approximately 5,000 signatures of registered voters within the CARD boundary, to place the issue on the November ballot.

Previous petition drives, targeting the district 2015 in 2016, proved unsuccessful.

However, Cox and other critics say even district officials now feel the district’s days are numbered and have been disposing of assets.  CARD commissioners recently deeded Pleasant Ridge Park to the village of Maryville and gave Splash City and the Willoughby Heritage Farm to the city of Collinsville.

The Arlington Golf Course, operated under a 30-year lease agreement with a golf course management company, is the district’s only remaining property, according to Cox.

The district, at this point, exists only to pay off its $27 million debt — which will still take 17 years. Cox maintains.

The mayors of Pontoon Beach, Glen Carbon and Collinsville all support the dissolution effort.

In addition to property tax revenues, the district will continue to receive a portion of the fees for each round played at the golf course, which can be used to help retire the district’s debt, Cox said.

Volunteers wishing to assist with the petition drive are asked to contact or Gulledge at (618) 345-0783 or Collinsville Township Board Member Derrick Keith Cox at 618-210-1469.

Petitions must be filed with Madison County by late July.

Gov. Bruce Rauner, center, helps cut a ribbon at Sun Basket, a meal-kit distribution center expanding in the underground cave facility known as Rock City in the Monroe County town of Valmeyer.
(Photo courtesy of state of Illinois)

Two candidates pin hopes on third party bids

Two established Metro East-area political figures are launching new political parties in bids for state-level office.

Fiftieth District State Senator Sam McCann, of Plainview — until last month, a Republican — on April 19 announced he is running for governor on a new Conservative Party ticket.

Edwardsville Mayor Hal Patton, who had been seeking the 56th District seat in the State Senate as a Republican, announced April 10 that he now plans to do as the standard-bearer for his new Downstate United party.

Both have launched petition drives to have their names placed on the Nov. 8 general election ballot.

McCann needs to submit petitioners with the signature of 25,000 registered voters by a June 25 deadline.  Patton needs 10,000 signatures.

Patton, who still considers himself a Republican, was removed from the GOP’s March primary ballot by a circuit court judge, after an objector reported to the Illinois Board of Elections that the Edwardsville mayor had signed a nominating petition for a Democratic Illinois General Assembly candidate.  Illinois law prohibit such cross-party interaction.

While third party bids for statewide office are seldom successful, McCann gubernatorial bid is drawing attention as a potential complicating factor in the race between incumbent Republican Gov. Bruce Rauner and Democratic challenger J.B. Prtizker, both of Chicago.

As Illinois’ 50^th District senator, McCann represents most of Jersey County and a small section of northern Madison County; as well as all or part of Pike, Scott, Morgan, Sangamon, Greene and Macoupin counties.

The 56th District includes a small section of southern Jersey County, most of Madison County and a section of northern St. Clair County.

Madison County seeking HVAC contractors

Madison County officials would like to see more contractors take part in its weatherization program.

The county is currently soliciting bids for heating, ventilation and air-conditioning contractors interested in doing work in Community Development’s weatherization program. Contractors that are selected would retrofit HVAC systems in residential homes.

“Year after year we’ve seen the same four contractors,” Chairman Kurt Prenzler said. “We want to see more companies doing work. I want to encourage more people to submit bids.”

To obtain an information package on the program, contractors are required to attend a mandatory informational meeting at 9 a.m., May 22 in the Madison County Administration Building, 157 N. Main St., Suite 145, Edwardsville.

Contractors interested in bidding should call Madison County Weatherization at 618-296-4383 and register, which is a requirement of the grant program that pays for weatherization projects. Program requirements and the process will be discussed at the meeting.

Contractors cannot attend the meeting without registering and cannot bid on jobs without attending the meeting. Bids will be accepted no later than June 5.

The weatherization program operates through state and federal grants and funds as a way to help homeowners save energy. The program is designed to help residents, particularly the elderly, disabled and those households with young children, stay comfortable and save money on energy costs.

According to the U.S. Department of Energy studies have found that the total benefit-cost ratio for residents’ energy bills is 4 to 1. For every dollar spent, each household will save four times the amount spent over 20 years, which 20 years is the life expectancy of the measures done.

Weatherization was done on 67 homes throughout Madison County between July 1, 2016 and June 30, 2017, averaging around $10,319 in improvements. The county received more than $691,000 in funding for the program.

Valmeyer cave to house home-delivered health food service

Sun Basket, a meal-kit service featuring healthful food items, is opening a distribution center in a massive underground Valmeyer cave known as Rock City.

Sun Basket executives say the cave’s natural cooling properties offer opportunities for reduced energy usage and cost savings; which align with the company’s commitment to environmental sustainability.

Admiral Parkway, the site developer, recently upgraded and retrofitted the cave specifically for Sun Basket’s operations. The company is expected to employ 100 workers in the underground Monroe County facility.

Like Blue Apron and Martha Stewart’s Marley Spoon, Sun Basket offers meal-kits, delivered to customers’ doors, but using only organic produce and “clean” ingredients, with dietitian-approved recipes.

The Illinois-based company already offers its meal kit services over 98 percent of the continental United States.

Company officials believe the Valmeyer facility will allow growth of sales to over $1 billion annually.

New employees of the distribution center will reap the benefits of Sun Basket’s Employee Engagement Culture Program, which includes training classes, continuing education courses and weekly farmers’ markets that allow employees to take home surplus produce, the company says.

Sun Basket also has a significant charitable presence in the region. Each week, the company donates an average of 1,000 pounds of food to a number of food pantries, including the Hope Food Pantry of Monroe County.

–Metro East Area News Briefs–