Dixon City Council to consider Lee-Ogle Enterprise Zone expansion

DIXON – The Dixon City Council will vote Monday on three ordinances that expand the boundaries of the Lee-Ogle County Enterprise Zone in preparation for three projects planned in rural Lee and Ogle counties.

The enterprise zone is designed to stimulate economic growth by offering state and local tax incentives to projects within the zone’s boundaries. For project developers, two major incentives are a sales tax exemption on all project building materials and potential property tax abatements after construction is completed, zone administrator Andy Shaw said in a previous interview with Shaw Local.

The projects involve building an entertainment complex along with a separate bar and restaurant between Amboy and Sublette, increasing power output at the Byron nuclear plant, and constructing another building at HA International’s existing manufacturing plant just outside Oregon, Shaw said at the Jan. 23 Lee County Board meeting.

If the council approves the three ordinances, the city of Dixon will be added to the enterprise zone advisory board’s list of local governments in support of the zone’s expansion. The advisory board is seeking approval from all governments within the zone’s boundaries before submitting an application to the state for final approval, Shaw said.

The ordinances were approved Jan. 23 by the Lee County Board and Jan. 21 by the Ogle County Board.

The council meets at 5:30 p.m. Monday in the council chambers on the second floor of Dixon City Hall, 121 W. Second St.

Other actions for consideration include:

  • a resolution to temporarily close Route 2 from Fourth Avenue to Peoria Avenue and from south of Boyd Street to West River Street for the Reagan 5K Run/Walk. The closure will start about 7 a.m. and last until 11 a.m. July 5, according to the meeting agenda packet.
  • the purchase of a Kenworth dump truck for $262,346 from Bonnell Industries to be used for snow removal and summer construction work. The city budgeted $310,000 in its capital fund for the purchase. If approved, the new equipment would replace a 2001 International dump truck, according to the packet.

The full agenda for the upcoming meeting can be viewed on the city of Dixon’s website.

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Payton Felix

Payton Felix

Payton Felix reports on local news in the Sauk Valley for the Shaw Local News Network. She received her Bachelor of Arts in English from the University of Illinois at Chicago in May of 2023.