County reports progress on abandoned-property program; Lee Center School redevelopment remains slow

Lee County staff told the Public Safety Committee they have resumed progress on abandoned-property and nuisance-property work after months of limited activity, with property preapprovals and intergovernmental agreements moving forward.

Jeremy (staff member) said the county’s Strong Communities program has picked up pace since a recent staffing addition. "With Joe coming on board, we've moved a little bit quicker with our strong communities program," he said. Jeremy reported the county is working an extension with the Illinois Department of Agriculture (IDA) and that the city of Dixon has submitted four properties that "have been approved through Ida through their preapproval process" and will start moving forward. The city of Amboy has submitted required materials and is pending an intergovernmental agreement.

Jeremy also said one of the county attorneys is working on a large nuisance-property project and that the Lee Center School redevelopment project "is still slowly churning." He said additional inspections and renderings are underway and that when more detailed plans are available the project team will present to the committee.

Committee discussion included coordination across departments, development of a shared citation form for code violations and consideration of stronger building and zoning enforcement to complement health-code actions. Jeremy said the county is working to "build out a better citation form" that can be used across the building and zoning, health, and other departments so enforcement can be more consistent and financially efficient.

No formal votes or binding commitments were made; staff are continuing legal review, intergovernmental agreements, and project inspections.