The Lisbon History Center’s exterior walls will be paid for via a downtown reinvestment grant for 2022.
City administrator Brandon Siggins said that the city has not had any applicants for the program this year, leaving $20,000 in the fund. Siggins said he explored this option with Speer Financial and Ted Nelson, both of whom said that TIF funds can be used for this improvement.
Siggins said that the chances that anyone else would be able to apply, be approved and have their projects paid by July 1 is unlikely.
As long as bond counsel approves this plan, he said this will cover the missing $15,000 to $20,000 for needed repairs to the History Center wall, and Siggins said this was a creative way to allocate funds that the city has planned. Work is slated to begin on the building in mid-April, as long as temperatures are warm enough.
The downtown reinvestment grant is also seeing changes that will take effect July 1, 2023, increasing the amounts for indoor and exterior repairs for each grant, reflecting the changing costs of construction projects.
The reinvestment grants are used for improvements to building interiors or exteriors.
Mayor Doug O’Connor asked if improvements to sidewalks can be covered by the grant.
The new downtown reinvestment grants will move to a revolving program businesses can apply for.