Herald and Review from Decatur, Illinois • Page 3

Page A 3 Decatur. Illinois. Saturday. July 26. 1980 Community Civic Center hotel plan draws criticism at hearing would cost existing hotels some of their patrons, but also would attract more business to the city.

"I'm certainly not against another hotel for the downtown," Baker said after the hearing. He said he thinks it might help business at the Ambassador. The final public' hearing on the UDAG application will be at 7 a.m. Monday in the library auditorium at 247 E. North St.

The City Council is expected to vote 30 minutes later to submit the application. liable if the developer defaulted on the bond payments. William Gibson, who in March became general manager of the Sheraton Inn, 450 E. Pershing Road, questioned whether it would be better to delay a new downtown hotel until more stores and restaurants locate downtown. Cherches told him such businesses can be expected after a hotel is built.

After the hearing, Gibson said he is "neutral" on whether a new hotel should be built downtown. He said it Kramer also complained about the hotel project at Monday's City Council meeting. Holiday Inn Innkeeper Schulz predicted that the new hotel would have to charge $50 per room per night to survive. "I don't think you can get that here," he said of his estimate. Cherches told him the hotel will not be built unless the developer, (Quinlan Tyson Realtors, Evans-ton), Radisson Hotel HUD and purchasers of city-issued industrial revenue bonds are convinced that it can survive.

Max C. Baker, manager of the downtown Ambassador Motor Inn, asked what would happen if the developer defaulted on the UDAG funds. A UDAG grant would be issued to the city, which then would loan it to the developer at a reduced interest rate. Cherches said a second mortgage would be attached to the UDAG grant. The city, which would issue about $9.3 million in economic development bonds, is expected to have the first mortgage on the hotel.

The city, however, would not be cost of the new church, which may be completed in December. During the hearing, Hawkins was told by city Community Development Director Charles Cherches that UDAG projects must create permanent jobs. "Primarily it's an economic development type of program," Cherches said. Ralph Kramer, a retired city Fire Department lieutenant, said he thinks it was illegal for the Civic Center Board to use eminent domain powers for a site that ultimately would be for a hotel. Iving loan fund By STEVE CAHALAN Herald ft Raviaw Staff Writer A public hearing involving the proposed Radisson Hotel downtown drew mixed comments Friday night from two Decatur hotel managers, while a third said, "It can't fly." The comment about the air-worthiness of the proposed hotel at the Civic Center site came from Decatur Holiday Inn Innkeeper Dieter Schulz.

A feasibility study for the proposed hotel identified the west-end Holiday Inn as the only real competition for planned "first-class" accommodations at the new hotel. Fifteen persons attended the second of three public hearings at the Decatur Public Library on the city's upcoming application for a $1.73 million federal Urban Development Action Grant for the project. They heard the Rev. C.L. Hawkins pastor of Trinity CME Church, question why his congregation cannot obtain such funds toward construction of a new church at 444 S.

Webster St. The Civic Center Board paid $100,000 for the Trinity church building and parsonage at the Civic Center site. The structures were demolished a year ago for parking. After the hearing. Hawkins said his congregation still needs $115,000 toward the $322,843 construction however, still hope to obtain a franchise this year for another hotel on the city's far northeast end.

The study, details of which first were revealed when the Civic Center Board accepted Quinlan Tyson's lone development bid Monday, also suggested these rate structures: Single occupancy, $34 to $39 a night. Double occupancy, $39 to $44." Suites, $68 to $88. At 70 percent occupancy and an average daily rate of $37, the study said, annual revenue should be $4.5 million. Net income would be $856,000, minus such fixed charges as rent, interest, depreciation, amortization and income taxes. of Evanston and the local investors the firm hopes to attract.

The city would lend the $1.75 million to the developers, who would repay it over a 16-year period, according to the application. The interest rate would vary but average 7 percent during that period. The first payment would come in the third year. The total payback over the 16 years would be $3 million. The resulting city revolving loan fund would be used to make loans at reduced interest rates for additional downtown and inner-city redevelopment, the application says.

While he declined to discuss specifics of the application until after Monday's council ac tion, city Community Development Director Charles Cherches said at a public hearing Friday that a "payback" by the developer to the city would make the proposal more attractive to HUD. Accompanying the new application is a feasibility study on the hotel project, prepared by the Chicago certified public accounting firm of Harris, Kerr, Forster Co. According to the April study, there is "adequate market support" for the proposed 200-room hotel. But once that hotel is built, the study says, additional hotel construction in the city cannot be justified in the near future. Developers of the Park 101 industrial park.

If the City of Decatur obtains a $1.75 million federal grant toward a hotel at the new Civic Center, the money ultimately will be available for loans for downtown and inner-city redevelopment. That information is included in the grant application which the City Council is expected to authorize Monday. The deadline is Thursday for applying this quarter for an Urban Development Action Grant from the Department of Housing and Urban Development. HUD officials in Washington, D.C., are expected to rule on the request in late September. The grant recipient would be the city, rather than developer Quinlan Tyson Realtors v' V' 5 y.

GOP has day Today is Republican Day at the Decatur-Macon County Fair. Here is a schedule of today's events: JUDGING EVENTS 8 a.m. Western Horse Show, grandstand; open class beef breeding, show barn; open class dairy, show barn; open class swine, hog barn; open class sheep, show barn; open class goat, show barn; junior department swine, hog barn; junior department dairy, show barn. 6:30 p.m. 4-H rabbit show, poultry tent.

SPECIAL EVENTS 1:30 p.m. Harness racing, grandstand. 7 p.m. Truck pull, grandstand. 8 p.m.-midnight Pulsar, exhibit building No.

4 Ut4i Tom Bathon of Tamaroa, who finished second in the stock division in Friday evening's tractor pull at the Decatur-Macon County Fair, motors his sled past the grandstand. Tom Longenberger of Bluffton, won the division. Don Hoene of Sigel finished third. (Photo by Doug Gaumon) 137-unit complex for elderly planned County QiOKS Scene i By RON TAYLOR Herald Cr Raviaw Staff Writar Decatur's largest housing complex for the elderly and handicapped is being planned for the city's north side. The $4.2 million complex would contain 137 apartments and be located on a 3.5-acre tract on the west side of North Monroe Street, north of McKinley Avenue and south of Spring Creek.

The land lies within the city limits and already is properly zoned for the project, said city officials. The complex is to be built by Contractors and Engineers Inc. of Des Plaines under the name of Spring Creek Associates Limited. Mario Egidi, president of the firm, said the complex is bejng built under a U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development program.

Plans call for the six-story building to have 122 one-bedroom units; 14 one-bedroom units for the handicapped; and one two-bedroom unit. It will offer subsidized rents through HUD's Section 8 program, Egidi said. The construction is expected to take about one year and cost about $4.2 million. Of this about 40 percent, or about $1.6 million, will be paid in sal aries and employee benefits, mostly to area workers, Egidi said. plans to bring in only a few out-of-town supervisory personnel to work on the project, he said.

Other employees will be hired from the area, he added. Although Charles Catlin Associates of Arlington Heights is the project's architect, the Decatur firm of Salogga, Bradley, Likins and Dillow will be the local supervising architects, he said. Egidi's firm has built 10 other public housing projects, he said. It decided on the Decatur project last year after learning of HUD interest in such a project. and Decatur real estate agent Kevin McKiou, who represented Tom Brinkoetter Co.

on the project, spent more than one year completing the land transaction for it. McKiou said HUD requirements delayed the sale of the property. Egidi said the land cost about $200,000. It was purchased from Walter and Elaine Kostenski who live on the site. This will be the second largest public housing project in Decatur and the largest for the elderly.

HUD requirements call for such projects to be open to low-income people at least 62-years-old and low-income handicapped people older than 55 years. BCP which is planning a 100-unit apartment complex for the elderly, is considering property in the same area. Thomas Hostetler, BCP chairman, said BCP is considering a site north of the creek directly behind the Eagle Discount Super Market. project does not affect the feasibility of building on the northern creek site, Hostetler said. More recently, BCP was considering building in Decatur's Historic District, but residents opposed that site.

Hostetler said the Spring Creek location is a good one but there is a problem with getting control of it because of multiple ownership. Also, as earlier reported, the Decatur Housing Authority plans to build a 100-unit complex for the elderly at Grand Avenue and Van Dyke Street. Capitol Associates of Chicago, a private developer, is planning projects for the elderly by renovating the Hotel Orlando into an 87-unit complex and building a 125-unit complex called Southern Hills near Pershing Road and Oakland Avenue. Court dismisses conspiracy charges against Detroit man Court's injunction pens up nightclub's mechanical bull Owner files lawsuit over pet's death A civil damage suit has been filed in Macon Cunty Circuit Court by the owner of a dog drowned in a neighbor's swimming pool June 9. Russell Anderson, 1876 W.

Center the dog's owner, seeks $175 actual and $2,500 punitive damages from Nelson Hadley, 31, of 1884 W. Cushing St. Hadley was arrested after the dog's death and charged with criminal damage to property, but the charge was dismissed after he agreed to make restitution of $70 or $75. The state's attorney's office was unable Friday to state the exact amount of the restitution but said either $70 or $75 was paid by Hadley to Anderson. Anderson, in the suit, alleges the dog was worth $175 and asks actual damages in that amount.

The $2,500 punitive damages are asked to punish Hadley for his alleged willful, malicious and wanton acts in killing the dog. The suit alleges that Hadley killed the dog by throwing a large rock at it, knocking it into the swimming pool, striking it several times over the head with a wooden club, then holding it under the water with a garden rake until it drowned. Borg Warner division pays fine for vapor The Marvel-ScheblerTillotson Division of Borg Warner Corp. has paid a $180 fine imposed by a federal agency because of a "June 11 vapor leak at the plant. The Decatur plant was evacuated after the vapor escaped from a degr-easing machine.

Investigating the incident were officials of the Decatur Fire Department, Macon County Emergency Service and Disaster Agency and U.S. Occupational Safety and Health Administration. OSHA imposed the fine, alleging that "The lack of knowledge of manufacturer's instruction and failure to use an established procedure resulted in a condition that posed a serious threat to the safety and health of the employees." A spokesman for OSHA in Peoria said an employee of the federal agency will return to the plant to make sure the problem has been corrected. ADM to share in project on energy alternatives Archers Daniels Midland Co. of Decatur will share in an alternative energy project recently funded by the Illinois Resources Energy Commission.

The Decatur project, funded for $180,269, was one of 10 alternative energy projects approved around the state. In conjunction with the University of Illinois-Chicago Circle, ADM will utilize heat provided by solar energy rather than fossil fuels in the production of alcohol. ADM makes alcohol for gasohol in Decatur. ADM spokesman Richard Burket said the solar collector will be built at Chicago Circle's campus. Burket said he' did not expect the solar collector to be in place and operating on the boiler until next year.

Police probe abduction of 32-year-old woman Police are investigating the report of a 32-year-old woman who said she was abducted at Broadway and Central Avenue early Friday and taken to a west side apartment where she was raped. The woman was found on North Monroe Street by a patrolling police officer and taken to Decatur Memorial Hospital where she was treated. She told police three men forced her into the vehicle and took her to the apartment building. After accosting her, two of the men left, while the third passed out. Robbery suspect arrested A 15-year-old boy, believed responsible for the armed robberies Thursday night of the Ho Ho Restaurant at 2959 N.

Oakland Ave. and the Red Bird Service Station at 2215 N. Oakland was arrested by police Friday afternoon and held in juvenile detention quarters Friday night. Fire damages home Fire of undetermined origin caused an estimated $5,500 damage about 6:30 p.m. Friday to the Laurence T.

Leuchtefeld home at 716 E. Whitmer St. to nightclub patrons. He said he also is worried about any structural damage that could result to the building if the 800-pound bull is installed in the nightclub. While Mrs.

Foltz has agreed to the temporary, injunction, she also said she will decide in a week to 10 days whether to sue to have the order lifted. "The best solution would be to have it (the bull) there (at the Silver Saddle)," she said Friday. Meanwhile, Mrs. Foltz said she will look for a new location for the Silver Saddle one where she could install the mechanical bull. If Mrs.

Foltz decides to contest the temporary order, Lewis said he is prepared to fight the matter. Two parties involved in a dispute over whether a Decatur nightclub would be allowed to install a mechanical bucking bull have agreed to drop the matter for now. Lynne Foltz, owner of the Silver Saddle nightclub, 985 W. Pershing Road, and Robert Lewis, owner of the French Quarter Wrest Shopping Center, agreed Friday to a temporary injunction that prevents Mrs. Foltz from "installing, displaying or operating" the mechanical bull in the nightclub.

The Silver Saddle is located in the shopping center. Lewis had objected to the mechanical bull because he said he is concerned about possible injuries to riders or By JOHN HARPSTER Harald Review Staff Writar Charges of conspiring to rob the Citizens National Bank in April 1973 filed July 16 against Johnny M. Rick, 34, of Detroit, were dismissed in Macon County Circuit Court Friday. First Assistant State's Attorney William Wheeler said the dismissal came because a Decatur man, kidnapped April 8, 1978, as part of the conspiracy, could not identify Rick. Rick had been held in the jail since April 8, initially on armed robbery and aggravated battery charges stemming from the robbery of Paul's Place used car lot, then at 110 E.

Eldorado St, on April 8, 1978. Those charges were dismissed when the conspiracy charge was filed. And with the dismissal Friday of the conspiracy charges. Rick was released from jail. Wheeler said Charles W.

Ray, 62, of Decatur, the kidnapped man, was unable to identify Rick. Ray allegedly was kidnapped so that his car could be used in the bank robbery Ray escaped after being locked in the vehicle's trunk, however, notified police and apparently caused the alleged conspirators to call off the robbery plan. Mall sues Bachrach for $46,000 Back rent and costs surpassing $46,000 is being sought from Bachrach Clothing Inc. by the Hickory Point Mall Co. In a suit filed Friday in Macon County Circuit Court, the shopping mall alleges that Bachrach is $46,316 behind on its lease payments and seeks a court order requiring Bachrach to leave the mall.

The suit also requests "additional rent, taxes and lease charges" as well as court costs and attorney fees from Bachrach. According to the suit, the lease agremeent calls for annual minimum rental payments of $53,296 plus percentage rent based on a percentage of gross receipts. The suit alleges that Bachrach was notified by certified letter July 2 "of its default under the lease" and payment was demanded. "The tenant has failed and refused and still fails and refuses to cure said default and remains in breach of the lease," the suit says. On July 18, the mall sent a certified letter demanding that Bachrach vacate its store in the mall, the suit charges.

Bachrach refuses to vacate the premises, the suit contends..