The Vandalia City Council approved a tax increment finance agreement at its meeting Monday night that will be the last TIF agreement approved for a while. Vandalia Mayor Rick Gottman stated at the October 16th meeting that there would be a temporary freeze following Monday night’s meeting so that the council could meet with a consultant and learn more about TIF and have some of their questions answered. On Monday night, the council approved an agreement with Dr. Joseph Solan of the Vandalia Back Pain Center for $34,667.50 for repairs to the building and parking lot located at 427 W. Orchard Street. The agreement was approved by a vote of 7-0 with councilman Andy Lester abstaining from the vote.
During the meeting, the council also approved an ordinance that amends the TIF redevelopment plan and project area by removing property. The property is owned by councilman Andy Lester and as long as he owns property in the TIF district, he is not able to have a vote on anything TIF related. Mayor Gottman informed the board that Lester felt that in order to better serve his ward on the council, he wanted to be able to vote and discuss important things such as TIF agreement. The council voted unanimously to approve the ordinance removing Lester’s property from the TIF area.