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TOLONO — Mayor Rob Murphy has a makeover in mind for Tolono, starting with a face-lift for the downtown and getting the long-term budget in shape.
“The downtown looks rough, and I don’t want that persona out there. I want the downtown to look nice and inviting,” Murphy said.
The village has started hosting community events — from sleigh rides to bar crawls — during Murphy’s tenure, but now the village is looking at more permanent ways to be more welcoming like overhauling streets, sidewalks and storefronts.
Current estimates put the cost of the entire project at just under $2.5 million.
The village board is planning to get work started by the end of the year with what Murphy is calling Phase 2: Main Street from North Vorcey Street to North Bourne Street and Bourne from Main to Western Avenue.
Street and sidewalk upgrades will include things like new lampposts and flower boxes.
Storefront renovations will require collaboration with the business owners, but Murphy mentioned removing stairs to get into one building as something he hopes to fix to make the sidewalks “more conducive to the businesses.”
Tolono has already seen success with providing supplemental funds for local business owners to upgrade their businesses.
For example, Loose Cobra owner Matt Talbot fixed up his recording studio, which always seems to be booked out, Murphy said, and the old IGA building that Talbot turned into art studios is also on the list for a façade upgrade.
A lot of the downtown improvements won’t require cooperation from business owners, but Murphy hopes that improving the street itself will encourage them to step up their game.
“I’m really super excited because that’s what a lot of people wanted,” Murphy said. “We tried all kinds of different avenues and we couldn’t get certain people who owned the property to cooperate, so we decided we’re just going to fix up everything around them.”
Tolono is also working to qualify for a grant to build a trail along U.S. 45 from Unity West Elementary School to near the Casey’s gas station.
“We have a lot of people who work at Casey’s or Dollar General or just want to come to town and they walk the 45 corridor,” Murphy said.
That route takes pedestrians under the Norfolk Southern railroad tracks, forcing them to walk on the highway in the viaduct.
Murphy said it’s his “biggest fear” that someone would be hit by a vehicle while walking there, but there is space to fit a sidewalk under the railroad overpass.
Over the next year, the village will create a “shovel ready” plan so that when the board can reapply for grants, they’ll be more likely to qualify.
These plans and more fall under Murphy’s goal to create a forward-thinking plan for the village, rather than focusing on the current year without regard for the future.
“When I’m done being mayor, hopefully it continues forward with these plans because when I took over, it like we’re just maintaining the place,” Murphy said. “Like, just put a little tar paper over the leaky roof. No, we need to actually fix things.”
Some of those plans aren’t big projects like renovating the entire downtown, but Murphy is still looking forward to more administrative work such as budgeting for replacement funds for public works and the police department.
They’ll be putting aside some cash each year for things like police radios, police cars and a new dump truck — all big costs that would be hard to cover without preparation.
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