New gas station/mini mall discussed

The Richmond Finance Committee met on Tuesday.

Mac Patel was present at the meeting with his attorney Donald Stinespring. Patel would like to build a mini retail mall with a gas station and a car wash on that parcel.

The road to completion of Patel's business has been filled with potholes. Patel bought the vacant property across the street from Van’s Food Store about three years ago. “At first we were told to bring the drawings (of the buildings) and we could begin construction right away,” said Patel.

Patel was told by the previous town administration to talk to IDOT about the Route 12 entrance to his proposed business. IDOT suggested that the road needed to be widened and a turning lane be put in to ease congestion. The cost of these changes is over $300,000 and Patel balked at the suggestion. Village Manager Tim Savage said that IDOT was consulted but the village had the final say as to whether the road needed to be changed.

“The zoning board asked Patel to go to IDOT,” said Stinespring, “but it is not an IDOT requirement.” Stinespring emphasized that Patel’s property is already zoned for a gas station. “Only the car wash facility needs to be considered for conditional use,” said Stinespring

Patel brought in a new drawing of the proposed building. It looks like a railroad station. “At the last board meeting I attended a trustee suggested that the building should look like a train station,” said Patel.

Recently Patel proposed that he would pay for the road work out of his pocket if the village would rebate 50% of the sales taxes collected until 2/3 of the cost is paid back to Patel. There is a time limit of 10 years on the contract as proposed.

“Mac will take the risk if the bill is not paid within 10 years,” said Stinespring. “ It is possible that sales receipts would not meet expectations. Receipts would include those paid by Patel’s tenants.

Trustee Dan Deters said, “We need to consider the quality of life in Richmond not just sales tax money,” said Deters. “I am concerned about the safety of the children crossing the street from the middle school. I am also concerned about the appearance of the building.” Deters prefers developers to pay for their impact rather than taxpayers sharing the burden. “The village is not just about dollar signs,” said Deters. He also expressed his concern that brining solely the financial aspect to the board for quick approval would weaken the village’s bargaining power.

“There is no need to hurry, “ said Deters. “If the board agrees with this proposal we just need to make sure it is done right.”