Civil and Municipal - Mar 2023

103 CIVIL AND MUNICIPAL VOLUME 4, ISSUE 3 Courthouse Museum is located in the heart of downtown, and for outdoor enthusiasts, recreation opportunities, like the TREC Trail System, abound. Already a city of opportunity, Effingham continues to diversify, welcoming new industries such as headlight manufacturing company, Flex-N-Gate, which has recently purchased a 650,000-square-foot facility in the city. Economic Development Director Todd Hull recounts, “They are actually only using half of the facility right now. They will initially employ about 325 people, but they anticipate when they are in full production in the entire facility, they’ll have about 1000 new employees in Effingham.” Another project in the works is a QuickTrip roadside gas station and convenience stop in the city’s north end, a familiar brand that will be a draw for people traveling through the community. Founded in 1887, John Boos and Co., a leading manufacturer of butcher block and stainless steel food service products are Effingham’s oldest company. With plans to add 90,000 square feet to their existing plant, they will also be adding approximately 20 new jobs in the city. “That is a nice project for us, just because the company continues to expand, and they’re doing it in Effingham,” Hull adds. In order to attract new industry Effingham continues to invest in infrastructure improvements, as Steve Miller, City Administrator describes, “The purpose of that is for economic development, so that we have the adequate capacity within our water and our sewer systems, and we can continue to attract industry, as well as commercial and retail. That ties back into economic development, because, without the tax increment financing programs, the business districts, the enterprise zone, some of the infrastructure, and the upgrades and the continued maintenance of the infrastructure would have been very difficult.” EFFINGHAM, I LL INOIS V I S I TEFF I NGHAM I L . COM