The Rochelle City Council has unanimously approved two parameters ordinances authorizing the future issuance of general obligation bonds to fund projects at the Rochelle Technology Center and the Rochelle Municipal Airport.

The first approval Monday, Nov. 24, was not to exceed $1.5 million for financing electrical upgrades at the Rochelle Technology Center. City Advanced Communications Director Pat Brust said the project would involve electrical upgrades to the system that supports Rochelle Municipal Utilities fiber service customers, city data center customers, and the information technology system of the city itself. The project could cost in the area of $550,000.

The Rochelle Technology Center has two electrical feeds coming into the building, along with a large diesel generator. All three currently feed into one battery backup that then feeds the computer system. The project would provide redundancy so there isn’t one single power choke point in the building. Having multiple power feeds and redundancy in the case of outages would differentiate the Rochelle Technology Center from other small data centers, Brust said.

“Our current setup was identified by some potential customers as a reason not to come and lease space from us,” Brust said. “We’re looking at updating some of that equipment to make us more available to other people. The building is 15 years old and some of the equipment we have in the battery section is close to end of life. This is a way for us to generate revenue.”

Brust said the project strictly involves the Rochelle Technology Center and has nothing to do with a large proposed data center potentially locating elsewhere in the city.

The second approval was not to exceed $3.5 million for financing the addition of a new eight-unit airplane T-hangar at the Rochelle Municipal Airport. The cost of constructing the new hangar is $1.9 million, City Public Works Director Tim Isley said.

All current city-owned hangar space at the airport is currently full with a waiting list of 15 planes. The hangar project could see $1.2 million in grant funding after the city funded it up front. The Rochelle Municipal Airport currently has seven different hangars with about 40 aircraft based there.

Monthly rent and property leasing are the biggest sources of revenue at the airport. More hangar space would result in more lease revenue along with more traffic and fuel sales at the airport. The airport receives funding from the state and federal governments and more takeoff and landing at the airport would result in more federal funding, Isley said.

The new hangar would result in about $2,000 or more in monthly lease payments to the city. The city hopes to start construction on the new hangar in early spring 2026.

“This has been needed and now the dollars are right to do it,” Mayor John Bearrows said. “We have a great little airport.”

The tech center bonds will be repaid primarily through tech center revenues and other legally available city funds. The airport project bonds will be repaid using pledged revenues, federal grants and other city funds.

City Manager Jeff Fiegenschuh called the tech center improvements “desperately needed” and said Monday’s approvals were just for parameters. The council has not issued the bonds yet and will hold a public hearing on the matter at its Dec. 8 meeting.

“If anything falls outside the parameters, we will not be issuing debt,” Fiegenschuh said. “This is just establishing the parameters for us to investigate. If the projects come in at less than the approved bond amount, we will only issue that much debt.”

Grant program

The council unanimously approved a resolution establishing a small business interior improvement grant program for businesses located within its Downtown TIF (tax increment financing) District.

Starting Jan. 1, 2026, the city will provide 50% matching grants with a maximum city portion of $10,000 to downtown businesses or building owners who complete eligible interior improvements. The city will budget $30,000 for the program in its first year.

City Community Development Director Michelle Pease said the grants will be given out on a first-come, first-served basis.

“I’ve had two businesses already reach out and say they’re really interested and excited about being able to use this program,” Pease said. “Businesses will have to be approved for the grant prior to the work being completed.”

Improvements must be made within six months of application approval. A complete list of eligible expenses, boundary map and application procedures are available for pick up at the city’s community development department at 420 N. Sixth St. and on the city’s website at www.cityofrochelle.net.

“It’s a great way to help our local businesses,” Bearrows said. “We saw that during the COVID-19 pandemic and we’re still trying to do things to help them. And a lot of them haven’t really bounced back 100% yet from the pandemic. It’s a great program.”

The city already has a similar city-wide facade grant program that only applies to business exteriors.

Alcohol

The council unanimously approved an ordinance amending its code to remove restrictions on the sale of alcoholic beverages on Christmas Eve and Christmas Day. Establishments will now follow regularly permitted hours on both Dec. 24 and 25.

Before the amendment, alcohol sales rules mandated early closure at 7 p.m. on Christmas Eve and closure on Christmas Day.

The move was made to “modernize liquor regulations, provide consistency in operating hours, and support business operations.”

“What started this was a letter from tavern owners,” Bearrows said. “A few of them have done Thanksgiving promotions and wanted to do the same thing on Christmas for people without a place to go. I know this is being done in other towns and it’s only fair to local businesses that they’re allowed to do it here.”