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Politics & Government

Changes to OASIS Grant Program Discussed at Council Meeting

Proposed changes are aimed at making the program more appealing to Ogden Avenue businesses.

Changes to the (OASIS) were proposed during Tuesday night's village council meeting.

The Oasis program provides matching grants to . Those improvements can include landscaping, signage, building facades or improvements to the site itself, which could mean better driveway access, parking spots, sidewalks and more.

On Tuesday, community development director Tom Dabareiner discussed some potential changes to the OASIS program which were based on previous conversations with the council.

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The goal of the changes is to simplify the OASIS program, making it more appealing to property owners and making the program more accessible overall.
Specifically, two of the proposed changes include decreasing the amount of funding the applicant needs to contribute from 50 percent to 25 percent and doubling the maximum grant allowance to $100,000 or $150,000, depending on the size of the property.

The question of “sign-only” projects being funded with OASIS grants drew some comments from the council, including Commissioners Becky Rheintgen and Marilyn Schnell and Mayor Martin Tully.

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Tully took issue with the “sign-only approach”—when businesses are getting money for coming into compliance with the signage code because their business is located on the Ogden Avenue corridor where money is available, according to Tully.

Tully said the OASIS program needs to have criteria for the applicants who are “waiting in the wings” to apply, but that the village is looking for projects that are consistent with the broader goals of the Ogden Avenue Master Plan.

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