Frankfort trustees approved grants Monday to lure a new business to the village’s business park and to expand an existing business.
Al Tabron Development will receive a $19,600 grant in connection with its plan to construct a $1.4 million light-industrial building, 885 Lambrecht Road, that will be subdivided to host as many as eight businesses.
“The payout on these, from a grant perspective, is maximum of $1 per square foot of development,” Trustee Doug Walker said. “The efficiency of these kind of grants is very high. The investment that the developer is putting into this is much greater than any money the village is putting in.”
The industrial grant program, created in 2013, offers awards of up to $25,000 to companies that locate or expand operations in the business park.
The Village Board on Monday night also approved $10,000 to help Elisabeth Connolly expand her Cottage Creations gift and home decor store. The downtown shop is moving from a 700-square-foot storefront at 110 W. Kansas St. to a 1,500-square-foot store at 28 W. Kansas St. and will be renamed Isabel’s Journey.
Village Administrator Jerry Ducay thanked residents for shopping in Frankfort, as witnessed by this month’s record sales tax haul of $572,000. The August payment from the state, resulting from May sales, was $42,000 more than the village had budgeted for its largest monthly revenue stream.
“It’s early in the fiscal year, but it’s a great way to start, and it’s all because our residents are spending money in town,” Ducay said. “That money translates to money the village does not need to charge in property taxes.”
Ducay also said changes made Monday to agreements with cellphone companies for using village water towers for their antennas will bring in another $37,000 a year, putting the annual revenue from such leases at $500,000.
Patrick Guinane is a freelance reporter.