Tuscola officials see opportunities in aftermath of pick

TUSCOLA – The publicity Tuscola has received and the extensive research into its proposed FutureGen site will ultimately help Tuscola to land another major industrial development, community leaders say.

"This has put us on the world map," said Tuscola School Superintendent Joe Burgess, who also is president of the board for Tuscola Economic Development Inc. "Right now would be the easiest time for a company to come to Tuscola because all the environmental studies that were done for FutureGen are complete. I'm positive that a forward-thinking company will take advantage of the opportunity to come to Tuscola."

"The important thing is that all of the remaining FutureGen finalists will have highly marketable sites that have received a lot of investment in development," said Brian Moody, executive director of Tuscola Economic Development Inc.

Moody said companies can invest in the Tuscola site knowing it has already passed the National Environmental Policy Act process.

"We have all the due diligent environmental survey work done for any company that wants to build here," city Administrator Drew Hoel said. "We can turn that over basically for free because it is all public information. Hundreds of thousands of dollars have been spent on each site analyzing them and researching them. That's incredibly valuable."

Hoel said an energy company interested in building a clean coal plant could opt for Tuscola because much of the preparation work has been done for it.

Tuscola Mayor Dan Kleiss said he remains confident that the FutureGen process will ultimately be an economic boost for Tuscola.

"Mattoon isn't that far away from us," Kleiss said. "Some of our current Tuscola citizens will be working for FutureGen, and people who will be moving to the area to work at FutureGen will get the word that Tuscola is a good place to move to."

"All the documents, easements and contacts made over the last two years will only be positive for other projects that we will have," Kleiss said.

"This project has increased the exposure of Tuscola and Douglas County," Moody said, "in a manner which would not have been possible with any marketing plan we could have ever conceived. Our organization remains firmly committed to extending the potential of the East Central Illinois region for the development of new energy technologies."

"We have benefited from this process," Hoel said. "We have one of the three most researched available industrial sites in the country, and we will do our best to capitalize on it."

"We stand firm in knowing that Tuscola offers numerous advantages for other energy projects including an abundant water supply, proximity to Interstate 57, three rail lines, a thriving community, excellent schools and our strategic location near the University of Illinois," Kleiss said.

Tuscola Chamber of Commerce President Kim Higgins praised the good will established as Tuscola and Mattoon worked together to attract FutureGen.

"So many good things have come out of this process," Higgins said. "There have been so many positives, and I know the doors have been opened for other good things in Tuscola. We're on to the next big thing."

"The working relationships we developed between Douglas County and Coles County and between the city of Tuscola and the city of Mattoon have opened up relationships that will endure," said Douglas County Engineer Jim Crane, one of the leaders of Tuscola's FutureGen effort.

"We have to focus on continuing our momentum," Burgess said. "Obviously, with Mattoon being nearby, I think we'll still see some positive economic impact from it.

"There are going to be 1,200 to 1,500 workers down in Mattoon. We need to advertise and promote Tuscola in a positive way for those folks who will be building it or working at it. We'd like some of them to live here in Tuscola and shop here in Tuscola."

Tuscola City Treasurer Alta Long, who helped negotiate many of the right-of-way contracts and property options for land proposed for FutureGen, said local officials will be contacting the affected landowners in the coming weeks about options for what happens next.

"It's an awesome site; one of the top four sites in the United States," Long said.

Alderman Tim Seip thanked the many people who worked to try to land FutureGen for Tuscola.

"There's a lot of people who put a lot of hours in who deserve our thanks," Seip said. "The residents, the industries, all our businesses and our economic teams from both counties all had a hand in bringing this to Illinois."

"We have to continue to market our community if we want to see continued development," Moody said. "We want to continue to expand the Tuscola tax base to make it broader so there is less tax burden on the people who live here."

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