Oglesby given deadline from IDNR on Seneca Square Project

 

OGLESBY – The city of Oglesby is between a rock and a hard place with how to move forward with the Seneca Square Project. On Thursday night, Mayor Dom Rivara told officials and residents that the Illinois Department of Natural Resources is giving the city a deadline to commit funds to the project in order to receive the $400,000 grant awarded to them last year. If they don’t, they could owe the state money and will be restricted from applying for other grants for two years. At an estimated 1.5 million dollar project, the city is considering excluding the ice rink to make the project feasible. Former mayor Don Finley says the previous city council had a plan to receive funding from a variety of  sources and it would be the last year for the downtown area to receive around $750,000 in TIF funds. The Seneca Square Project includes a stage, a permanent ice rink and a splash feature with picnic tables.