The Charleston City Council approved Owen Motor Sports Inc. to become a property within Charleston city limits.

City planner Steve Pamperin said as a whole, the annexation process is lengthy because he had to validate the petition, finalize the maps and communicate with both parties.

“It takes a lot of coordination with the city and time with the property owner,” Pamperin said.

Charleston Mayor Brandon Combs said approximately 50,000 hours of labor and materials went into constructing the business about 10 years ago.

Although the initial process of the annexation started before Combs took office, he wanted to complete it as soon as possible.

“I know when I came on board, we met with Owen and we got it handled,” Combs said.

Owen Motor Sports Inc. is an already established business located on 11660 Old State Rd. However, the business did not receive the benefits of being a part of city limits before.

Now both the business and the city will benefit, council member Jim Dunn said.

The Charleston Fire Department and the Police Department will provide protection for the business by answering any calls if there are thefts, vandalism or fires, while the business will start paying property taxes, which will help increase the city’s overall revenue.

Extending the city limits to the Sarah Bush Lincoln Health Center has increased tax revenue and the amount of city businesses, board member Jim Dunn said.

“We are glad to have the annexation; anything to improve (Charleston’s) tax base is a great thing,” he said.

The permanent utility easement was approved for the Owen Motor Sports property, which grants Charleston officials the right to fix any structural issues.

The council agreed to reject the use of funds for the milling and resurfacing of various local streets due to budget cuts.

Combs said there is a projected shortage of $50,000 from the Motor Fuel Tax funds from the state that made the council reconsider its spending.

Also approved was the recognition of Sept. 17 through Sept. 23 as Constitution Week.

Raffle licenses were approved for The Court Appointed Special Advocates of East Central Illinois, The Trojan Booster Club and The Charleston Area Chamber of Commerce. The council also approved the use of traded construction equipment.

The next city council meeting will be held at 6:30 p.m. in city hall, located on 520 Jackson Ave. on Sept. 20.

Kalyn Hayslett can be reached at 581-2812 or [email protected].