Zion approves redevelopment deal, police prevention partnership and multiple routine measures

The Zion City Council on Feb. 18 approved a redevelopment agreement with Orion Asset Management LLC and Plano Pharmaceuticals Inc., authorized the city to join a Lake County behavioral threat-assessment pilot, and voted unanimously on a set of other ordinances and contracts, officials said.

The council’s actions included formal approval of a redevelopment agreement for about 21.7 acres in Trumpet Park; authorization to participate in “Protect Lake County,” a behavioral threat-assessment and management (BTAM) initiative funded by the U.S. Department of Homeland Security; a contract for groundwater monitoring at the city’s closed landfill; a right-of-way vacation requested by the Zion Park District; a routine tax-abatement ordinance tied to a 2017 general obligation refunding bond; and approval of several internal personnel promotions in the fire department.

Why it matters: The redevelopment deal is intended to attract a manufacturing and distribution operation to Zion that city staff said could create 40 to 50 jobs in an initial phase and scale to as many as 300 over 10 to 15 years. The BTAM partnership is a prevention-focused public-safety initiative that the police chief said carries no direct cost to the city under the current grant. Several of the other items—landfill monitoring, right-of-way vacation and tax abatement—were presented as routine governance or long-term liability-management matters.

Redevelopment agreement: Administrator Nabel told the council that Lake County Partners connected the city with Orion Asset Management and Plano Pharmaceuticals. The redevelopment agreement (RDA) approved by the council sets incentive terms, uses tax-increment financing to capture incremental taxes from the project, and lays out deliverables and phased incentives tied to expansion. “We anticipate that this the phase 1 of their project would be 40, 50 jobs with expansion up to 300 jobs over the next 10 to 15 [years],” Nabel said. The council voted to approve the RDA by voice and roll call; the motion passed unanimously.

Protect Lake County (BTAM): Chief Barton briefed the council on a countywide pilot project organized by DePaul University, the University of Illinois Chicago and Loyola University and funded by the Department of Homeland Security. Barton described the initiative as a consultative, early-identification resource to help public safety, health and education partners recognize and mitigate concerning behaviors before they escalate. He said the model is not a surveillance or information-collection hub and that participation would require a memorandum of understanding; he also confirmed there is no direct cost to the city under the current DHS-funded pilot. The council authorized the city to join the Protect Lake County MOU; the motion passed unanimously.

Landfill monitoring contract: The council authorized a work agreement with Deegan and Associates LLC for groundwater monitoring, reporting and closed-landfill inspections. Director Roberts said the contract is about $5,000 less than last year and that the city is attempting to move to annual monitoring where possible; he said some testing will remain more frequent for certain landfill cells. The council approved the contract unanimously.

Right-of-way vacation: The Zion Park District requested vacation of an unimproved portion of Ebenezer Avenue between 20 Seventh Street and 20 Eighth Street adjacent to park property. Roberts said the Park District had purchased the adjacent lots and requested the vacation; staff recommended approval. The council voted to vacate the unimproved right-of-way.

Tax-abatement ordinance: The council passed an ordinance to abate the tax levy for principal and interest on $3,140,000 of taxable general obligation refunding bonds (alternate revenue source series 2017) for the 2024 tax year; the ordinance will prevent that bond-related levy from appearing on residents’ property-tax bills, city staff said. A council member asked whether the bond related to the ballpark property; staff responded that the issuance history dated to earlier refundings and refinancing activity. The ordinance was approved.

Fire-department promotions: Chief Street presented a slate of promotions to maintain operational continuity amid an extended medical absence for a manager and an anticipated retirement. Proposed effective dates were March 1 for a deputy chief appointment and May 1 for several promotions. Street said the promotions would not require additional hires under current staffing. The council approved the promotions unanimously.

Other routine approvals: The council adopted its consent agenda, which included approval of minutes from the Feb. 4 meeting and bills and vouchers numbered 147662 through 147759 totaling $452,273.93. All consent items passed on single roll-call votes.

What’s next: Staff told the council they expect some landfill monitoring and reporting to continue for many years and that the redevelopment project will proceed subject to the RDA terms, site approvals and any required permitting. The police chief said training and information-sharing across county partners will continue under the BTAM pilot.

Votes at a glance

- Minutes (Feb. 4): Approved (motion carried unanimously) - Bills & vouchers (147662–147759, $452,273.93): Approved (unanimous) - Ordinance abating 2024 tax levy for GOB series 2017 ($3,140,000): Approved (unanimous) - Contract with Deegan and Associates LLC — landfill groundwater monitoring: Approved (unanimous) - Vacation of unimproved Ebenezer Avenue (between 20 Seventh St. and 20 Eighth St.) — Zion Park District request: Approved (unanimous) - Authorize participation in Protect Lake County BTAM and MOU: Approved (unanimous) - Redevelopment agreement: City of Zion, Orion Asset Management LLC, Plano Pharmaceuticals Inc.: Approved (unanimous) - Fire department promotions (effective March 1 and May 1 as noted by chief): Approved (unanimous)

All motions passed on recorded roll call as shown in the meeting minutes provided to the council; the meeting record shows unanimous votes for each of these items.