Nokomis council hears downtown revitalization plan

NOKOMIS — The Nokomis City Council heard a downtown revitalization plan for a commercial building during its most recent meeting on Monday, March 9. It was among two other major items for discussion in the meeting.

The council heard a proposal from AmeriCorps volunteer Audra Elam on projects she, in partnership with the Newkomis non-profit, has been working on.

Elam is addressing the issue of vacant residential and commercial properties in Nokomis. They have been in contact with the land bank for assistance in acquiring or helping interested individuals acquire and renovate these properties in order to attract new businesses and potential new residents to Nokomis.

Buildings that can be rehabbed will be key targets for renovation, while others will be demolished. In addition, Newkomis will be undertaking the actual projects. The main focus of the organization’s Housing Committee will be to repair and upgrade homes to attract new families.

Small business competition

Elam also noted that Newkomis is sponsoring a small-business competition through its Business Development/Dining & Retail Committee. It will be a competition of national reach to attract a new business to Nokomis.

Among the incentives for the winner is getting a free building, the former Hippy Trip bar, located at 124 W. Front St., which requires some work. While some exterior work with tuckpointing will be necessary, the major work will be inside, with new everything needing installation. Newkomis received the building as a donation last fall from Bank and Trust Company following a foreclosure on the property earlier in the year.

The competition seeks new businesses or well-established businesses seeking to expand operations to Nokomis. The competition will have a robust three-tiered program designed to bring a successful, viable business to the community.

The three tiers of Newkomis’ small business competition

The first phase of the competition is a simple application with a basic business idea. An independent panel of judges will whittle down the submissions to a set number of semi-finalists to advance to the next round.

The second phase of the competition digs significantly deeper with a six-week small business development program. During this program, those attending the program will learn how to develop a business plan, which is required for a secondary submission due at the end of the phase. A separate panel of judges will evaluate those submissions down to a set number of finalists.

A third and final phase involves a Shark Tank-like public presentation, where a yet-to-be-determined number of points will be added to a potential business’s score

Among the guidelines is that the business must be in operation within a year of winning the competition and must remain in business under the same ownership for five years. Failure to meet those, among other guidelines in the contract, will result in consequences.

Nokomis council approves exception to business district grant

Part of the incentive package Newkomis will make available to the winner of the competition would depend, in part, on what the city would be able to offer from the business district fund.

Traditionally, grant funds are capped at $25,000 per project, but given the required exterior tuckpointing and interior electrical, among other issues, a motion was made by Commissioner Charlie O’Malley to grant an exception for $50,000, which was approved by the council.

The grant funds aren’t the only thing the winner would be entitled to. Due to the building’s placement within the city’s Tax Increment Funding (TIF) district, there is also a sales tax exemption for building materials used in the rehabbing project.

NPD is having issues with bodycams

Police Chief Earin Land and another officer are requesting approval to continue the grant application process for bodycams for the department. Due to state law, they are required to wear bodycams.

Their current provider, LensLock, is not providing the services needed and paid for by the city, so they’re seeking alternatives and perhaps a way to get out of the LensLock contract.

One issue of discussion was that the videos they have flagged for court cases are disappearing and/or have disappeared. When the department flags videos, they’re supposed to be preserved and available to the department and the state’s attorney’s office. However, that has not been happening as videos are disappearing from the cloud server.

Another issue surrounds the poor battery timing on the bodycams, which die before the end of a shift. This forces officers to shut the cameras off when there is no activity. In turn, they must turn them back on when police action is in progress.

This causes a delay in officer response, which they agree is unreasonable. Attempts by the department to acquire a copy of the contract have been deemed unsuccessful. This calls into question as to whether the contract can be cancelled.

With the council’s approval, the police department will continue the grant application process. Should they receive the grant, the cameras will be provided at no cost. The city’s cost will simply lie on squad car cameras, software, data storage, and installation.

There was a discussion on acquiring eight bodycams and one dashcam. If that plan proceeds, the dashcam will be placed inside the K-9 unit as a test to determine if it meets the needs of the department.

Great Rivers and Routes contract greenlit

Kaitlyn Fath, executive director of the Montgomery County Economic Development Corporation, spoke before the council.

Great Rivers and Routes sent a contract renewal to Nokomis, but had not taken any action before the meeting.

Fath proposed that Nokomis chip in with Hillsboro and Litchfield under the county’s program with GRR, which may end up cheaper than doing it by themselves.

The council approved the motion to approve the contract with GRR through MCEDC.

Other business

Other items discussed in the March 9 meeting include:

• Ordinance 2148 to amend 38-8-5 of Chapter 33: Street Regulations, Article VIII of the city’s municipal code regarding snow removal. Motion passes.
• Ordinance 2149 to amend 1-2-26 and 1-2-50 of the administrative code to establish an anti-nepotism policy. Motion passes.
• No action was taken on Ordinance 2150, which would accept parcels for a new subdivision.
• The city received $42,286.26 in revenue and paid bills for $118,349.76.
• The city’s cleanup days will be May 18-25, while the electronic recycling day will be on May 30.

The city council reconvenes on March 23 at 7 p.m.