Council Still At Odds With Former 23Apartments Owner Over Loan Foregiveness

By Gordon HopkinsThe City of Fairbury has denied Steve Foutch, until recently the owner of Fairbury 23 Apartments, to be on the agenda for the city council meeting, scheduled for this evening.City council meetings are normally held on Tuesdays but due to the Independence Day holiday, this meeting was scheduled for Wednesday, July 5, 2023. In 2004, Steve Foutch, until recently the owner of Fairbury 23 Apartments, was loaned $202,000 by the City of Fairbury to convert the former school building into low-income housing. The city is now asking for repayment of that loan.Foutch spoke at a previous city council meeting on Tuesday, June 6, where he indicated the loan was supposed to be forgiven in the deal he made. He said that the agreement to make the loan forgivable was made with Ralph Knobel, who passed away in 2018.The funds did not come from Fairbury taxpayers or other city revenue. In 2003, the city was given two grants: $130,000 was money from the Cranston-Gonzalez National Affordable Housing Act of 1990 (HOME program) and $72,000 was CDBG (Community Development Block Grant Programs) money. Both of these were grants given to the city for the express purpose of creating affordable housing. According to Fairbury Mayor Spencer Brown, the money was then given to Mr. Foutch in 2004, not as a grant but as a loan. Since the last city council meeting, Foutch has sent numerous additional documents that he says support his claim. However, Mayor Brown disagrees. In an email sent to Foutch, Fairbury City Clerk Erin Reimer wrote, “There has been no change in the direction the city is wishing to seek since the determination was made to not move forward with your request to forgive said loans at the June 6, 2023, council meeting where the motion to forgive the loans died for lack of a second. Upon your request dated June 7, 2023, to be placed back on the council agenda, the city requested you present an outline of new findings and documentation that would define the loans as forgivable. At this time, the city has yet to receive any new documents stating the loan is forgivable, therefore the agenda request has not been fulfilled and the original decision will be upheld.” FJN reached out to some city council members about the city’s refusal to let Foutch on the agenda.Council president Kelly Davis said, “This is the first I’ve heard of this. I’ll have to do some asking of questions.”Councilperson Brain Schmidt said, “My only opinion on that whole situation is that his paperwork looks terrible. I really wish he had some of his story in writing. I have a hard time making any decision based on a story from 20 years ago.”Councilperson Bradley Kuzelka told FJN, “Apparently there was some information Mr. Foutch sent the city that didn’t make it to any of the council members. However, I don’t think it would have changed the outcome of the agenda item as we ended up discussing the missing info during the meeting briefly. It might have though. Who knows?”

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