The city of Kewanee is working to finalize its purchase of land at the Kentville Industrial Park, where the Illinois Department of Corrections has plans to expand its rehabilitation-centered Life Skills Re-Entry Center.
City Manager said he expects the actual sale of the 46 acres, being purchased from the Kewanee Economic Development Corporation for $161,000, to be finalized over the next few weeks.
“Our attorney is drafting the papers to have the land conveyed from the KEDC to the city,” he said.
Once the land is officially purchased, Bradley said its unknown when the state will ask for the land.
The Life Skill Center’s warden has said IDOC is certain that the facility will be expanded, though no official timeline has been established.
“There’s a whole myriad of things we are planning, though there are still quite a few things up in the air, including getting that land,” said Anthony Williams, the center’s warden, in December. “The plan is to expand the things that we could offer to these guys (offenders in the program). We have multiple options that we are considering, multiple uses, but it’s not necessarily a fast process.”
Bradley said city officials will continue to work with the area’s state political representatives as discussions with DOC proceed.
For now, once the land deal with KEDC is completed, the city will have to take a wait and see approach.
“They have indicated that they were interested in doing this and moving forward with it,” he said of prison officials. “As far as anything moving on that, the ball is in the state’s court.”
In other ongoing city business, the city manager said officials had identified a building in Kewanee that might be suitable to house the city dog pound, and is working out the details with the landowner.
He said he hoped to have that deal finalized in time to present to the City Council at its Feb. 22 meeting, where he would ask members to authorize executing purchase documents.
The city has until March 12 to vacate its current pound building, which was being leased until a dispute developed between the building’s owner and pound managers.