Elgin OKs home restorations but with reservations

Elgin city leaders on Wednesday signed off on a plan to rehabilitate the first of 12 foreclosed homes using $281,000 federal stimulus money, but not without reservations.

Councilman John Prigge cast the only "no" vote, saying after the meeting he questioned whether the city should be in the restoration business.

"Just because we're getting federal money doesn't mean we don't have to be good stewards of the money," he said. "At this point, I'm not convinced every option we have has been explored. I couldn't find a silver lining in this cloud at all."

The city bought the home at 318 South St. in February for $83,900, and Wednesday's vote approved a $197,045 bid from J & B Builders - the lowest of five proposals - to restore it to a single-family home, complete with new mechanicals and energy-efficient features like better insulation and a tankless water heater.

The U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development gave the city $2.1 million as part of the Neighborhood Stabilization Program, which is part of the federal stimulus plan.

Councilman David Kaptain voted "yes" but said he would have preferred the city buy smaller homes such as bungalows with the money. But neighbors and city staff members preferred the larger home on South Street, and he said he respects the process.

"We're tying to kill too many birds with one stone," he said. "For this kind of money, we should be able to buy two or three (homes)."

City Manager Sean Stegall has said the city bought "the worst of the worst" homes in an effort to improve blights on neighborhoods.

The city will consider bids on the other homes on Aug. 25 and Sept. 8. The city also has partnered with the Fox Valley Habitat for Humanity on other projects to help reduce costs.

The South Street rehabilitation project will take three months to complete.