FEDERAL AID

A comprehensive plan for the growth and development of Virden, Illinois, will be prepared with the aid of a $3,000 Federal grant approved recently for the State's Housing Board by Urban Renewal Commissioner Richard L. Steiner. Virden, a community of 3,206 population (1950 Census) is located in Macoupin County, 25 miles south-west of Springfield.

The Federal grant, matched by an equal amount from Virden, will finance necessary planning work. The work will include: studies of population, economic base, land use, thoroughfares, public utilities, and community facilities; and preparation of zoning and subdivision regulations.

The Department of City Planning and Landscape Architecture of the College of Fine and Applied Arts of the University of Illinois will provide technical supervision under administrative direction of the Housing Board.

The project is expected to be completed in 18 months. Results will be presented in the form of reports, maps, plans, charts, and other graphic materials.

The Federal grant was approved under the urban planning assistance program authorized by the Housing Act of 1954 to provide funds to official State planning agencies to aid them in giving planning assistance to communities of less than 25,000 population. Similar grants are available to official State, metropolitan, and regional planning bodies for work in metropolitan areas and urban regions. The grants may not exceed 50 percent of the cost of the work for which they are made. State and local funds make up the remainder.

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Approval of a loan of $188,000 to the town of Wamac, Marion County, Illinois, to finance the construction of a sanitary sewer system was announced by Commissioner John C. Hazeltine of the Community Facilities Administration.

Wamac is approximately five miles south of Centralia is an active oil field. It had a population of 1,429 in 1950.

The community has no municipal sewerage facilities. Septic tanks are reported to be polluting the downstream water supply.

This loan is contingent on the inability of the applicant to obtain private financing at reasonable terms.

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The Illinois State Housing Board will prepare a comprehensive plan to guide the growth and development of the City of Effingham with the aid of a $5,500 Federal grant approved recently by Urban Renewal Commissioner Richard L. Steiner.

The Federal grant, matched by an equal amount from Effingham, will be used to carry out

November 1958 / Illinois Municipal Review / Page 264

necessary planning work. The work will include studies of population, economic base, land use, thoroughfares, public utilities and facilities, along with preparation of zoning and subdivision regulations.

The Department of City Planning and Landscape Architecture of the University of Illinois will provide technical supervision of the work under administrative supervision of the State Housing Board. The work is scheduled to be completed in one year. Results will be presented in the form of reports, maps, plans, charts, and other graphic material.

The grant was approved under the urban planning assistance program authorized by the Housing Act of 1954 to provide Federal funds to State planning agencies to aid them in giving planning assistance to communities of less than 35,000 population. Similar grants are available to official State, metropolitan, and regional planning agencies for work in metropolitan areas and urban regions. The grants may not exceed 50 percent of the cost of the work for which they are made. State and local funds make up the remainder.

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The Illinois State Housing Board will prepare elements of comprehensive plans for the growth and development of two communities—Girard and Ashland—with the aid of a $5,000 Federal grant approved by Urban Renewal Commissioner Richard L. Steiner.

The Federal grant matched by an equal amount of funds from the two communities—will finance planning work involved. The work will include: preparation of zoning and subdivision regulations and plans for schools and recreation, public utilities, and thoroughfares; and studies of population and economic base.

The Department of City Planning and Landscape Architecture of the College of Fine and Applied Arts, University of Illinois, will supply technical supervision of the undertaking. The State Housing Board will provide administrative supervision.

The work is expected to be completed in 18 months. Results will be presented in the form of maps, plans, charts, and other graphic material.

The grant was approved under the urban planning assistance program authorized by the Housing Act of 1954 to provide Federal funds to State planning agencies to aid them in giving planning assistance to communities of less than 25,000 population. Similar grants are available to official State, metropolitan, and regional planning agencies for work in metropolitan areas and urban regions. The grants may not exceed 50 percent of the cost of the work for which they are made. State and local funds make up the remainder.

November 1958 / Illinois Municipal Review / Page 265