The July 14, 2026 committee meeting covered a lot of ground, focusing heavily on downtown economic development, infrastructure improvements, and long-term financial planning for city maintenance. The most significant outcomes included the approval of a $50,000 contract with an outside firm to draft a new economic development strategic plan and the launch of a new Downtown Enhancement Grant program to fund exterior building improvements. Additionally, the council tackled complex intersection safety issues and explored shifting the hefty maintenance costs of a major stormwater basin directly to the properties it serves.
Public Comment
The public comment period allows residents to address the committee on topics not strictly listed on the agenda.
- A resident expanded on a previous complaint regarding the city’s over-reliance on Tax Increment Financing (TIF) districts, distributing a 2016 letter to the council to demonstrate how TIF funds are diverted from local taxing bodies.
- The resident corrected a previous mathematical error they had made regarding a $772,000 increment, but maintained that the city has too many overlapping districts (specifically pointing out parts of TIF 1, 3, 4, and 6).
- The resident argued that renaming these zones to “redevelopment areas” is just a rebranding effort and expressed frustration that taxpayers are footing the bill to bring private properties up to code on 23- to 40-year timelines.
Consent Agenda
Routine administrative and financial items are bundled into the consent agenda for a single, unified vote to save time.
- The committee unanimously passed Resolution 2026-79-R, authorizing payment for Microsoft Enterprise Services.
- The committee unanimously passed Resolution 2026-78-R, accepting additional grants of easement for the Woodland Hills Electric Undergrounding project.
2026 Economic Development Strategic Plan
The city sought to replace a stalled internal economic planning initiative with a fresh, actionable roadmap drafted by an external consulting firm.
- The committee unanimously approved a $50,000 fixed-cost contract with a consulting firm to develop the strategic plan over a seven-month timeline.
- A Consultant presented their firm’s approach, emphasizing that the city needs a “business plan” rather than just a high-level strategic plan.
- Actionable deliverables will include assigning a specific organization to conduct 15 business retention outreach calls per month, setting up a CRM tool to track business data, and developing an annual business survey.
- Several Alderpersons expressed that they view this contract as an opportunity for “capacity building,” hoping the process empowers city staff and local leaders to better utilize stakeholder groups like the Chamber of Commerce and Main Street.
Annexation of Deerpath Road Properties
The city is actively working to annex unincorporated “islands” of land entirely surrounded by the city to unify utility services and jurisdictional boundaries.
- The committee approved Ordinance 2026-28 to annex five properties (four residential, one utility-owned) into the 7th Ward under an R0 zoning designation.
- The city will absorb all annexation-related costs, including recording and plat requests.
- Existing property conditions, such as the keeping of animals and current electrical providers, will be grandfathered in as long as they were legal under the county.
- Residents’ property assessments will not change, but their tax rate will increase by approximately 7% as they transition from the rural fire district to the city’s taxing district.
- City Staff noted that the tax increase is often entirely offset by the significantly lower garbage collection rates available under the city’s overarching waste contract.
Downtown Enhancement Grant (DEG) Program
The city established the DEG to replace the underutilized Gateway Grant, providing general fund money to incentivize exterior improvements for properties situated outside of the city’s TIF districts.
- The program offers up to $25,000 per project in matching grants (requiring at least 50% private investment) for facades, landscaping, and signage, with an initial annual city budget of $75,000.
- The grant explicitly excludes residential properties and interior build-outs, focusing purely on aesthetic, street-facing improvements.
- Properties can only receive DEG funding once every 15 years, and improvements must be maintained without unapproved alterations for at least three years.
- A debate occurred over the 15-year restriction; one Alderperson argued that if a retail space experiences rapid tenant turnover, the new businesses will be unfairly locked out of funds, while another countered that the city should not be repeatedly funding facade changes for short-term tenants.
- An Alderperson suggested exploring future grants for costly interior fire suppression systems, noting they are often a major stumbling block for redeveloping older downtown buildings.
Webster Street Building Demolition
The city-owned property at 330-338 Webster Street must be demolished to safely remediate an underground storage tank, as mandated by the State Fire Marshal.
- City Staff explained that saving the structure is financially unviable due to the required tank removal, coupled with severe existing HVAC, electrical, and roofing deficiencies.
- The demolition must be expedited to utilize available funding in TIF 3 before that specific district is truncated later in the year to make way for TIF 7.
- A local toy drive temporarily utilizing the space will be relocated to another downtown property with the help of a local landlord.
- Following demolition, the city intends to market the parcel to real estate brokers as a catalyst site for downtown mixed-use or single-family attached townhomes.
Wastewater Treatment Plant Phase 2A
The council needed to authorize a minor change order to formally close out the financial accounting for a recently completed wastewater infrastructure project.
- The project was officially completed on June 22nd.
- The committee approved change order number 7, which included an additional clerical savings of $1,185.81.
- The final change order cost was reduced to $28,131.01, keeping the massive infrastructure project well within 1% of its original budget.
Assistant City Administrator Pay Grade Change
Due to the impending retirement of the city’s IT Director, the city opted to reallocate management duties rather than immediately hire a direct replacement.
- The Assistant City Administrator will take over management of the IT division, serving as a transitional step toward managing more of the city’s back-office support functions.
- The pay grade increase aligns the position’s salary with similar project-management administrator roles in neighboring municipalities like Geneva and Warrenville.
- Several Alderpersons strongly supported the move, praising the administrator’s handling of the citywide strategic plan, emergency operations, and a massive record retention and destruction project that freed up physical space across departments.
Wilson Street Streetscape Update
Failing 20-year-old tree grates and electrical systems along a downtown block of Wilson Street necessitate disruptive repairs, prompting a review of a broader streetscape redesign.
- City Staff presented several design concepts: Option A featured $120,000 decorative lighting poles, Option E ($265,305) involved simply swapping existing planters for advanced “Silva cells,” and Option D ($387,000) included Silva cells plus three additional shade trees.
- Silva cells are an underground structural system that prevents soil compaction, allowing tree roots to thrive under pavement (similar to highly successful trees previously planted on River Street).
- The committee reached a consensus against the expensive lighting features, favoring Option D to increase the downtown tree canopy.
- City Staff noted concerns that new trees planted on the south side of the street may struggle to grow due to the buildings blocking necessary sunlight.
- Final design choices will depend on the final budget availability from the streets department.
McKee Road Tributary SSA Implementation
The city is currently paying $75,000 annually from general funds to maintain a 30-acre regional stormwater basin, prompting an initiative to shift that financial burden to the private developments relying on it.
- The engineered detention facility, built between 1998 and 2001, features expensive native wetland and prairie plants, costing the city roughly $610,000 in upkeep since 2009.
- City Staff proposed implementing a Special Service Area (SSA) to charge the basin’s maintenance costs back to the hydraulically connected properties (e.g., Walmart, Winding Creek).
- An Alderperson questioned if fees could be assessed based on impermeable surface area (e.g., heavily paved parking lots) rather than standard property value, but City Staff clarified that county tax mechanisms strictly require the use of Equalized Assessed Value (EAV).
- City Staff warned that implementing a retroactive SSA is a complex, hostile process; it requires certified mail to hundreds of property owners and can be legally defeated if 51% of owners and registered voters object.
- The committee directed City Staff to compile an EAV spreadsheet to model the potential tax impact before officially initiating the SSA process.
First and Water Street Intersection
The streets department requested a permanent engineering solution to replace failing temporary plastic bollards at a highly trafficked, skewed intersection with poor sightlines.
- City Staff presented two options: Option 1 involved simply pouring a standard curb, while Option 2 involved realigning the curb and pushing the crosswalk further west to shorten the pedestrian crossing distance.
- Option 2 poses significant engineering challenges, as flattening the new crosswalk ramps to meet the 2% slope required by the ADA would create a jarring physical “bump” in a road that naturally features an 8% to 10% grade.
- Alderpersons suggested alternative safety measures, including dropping the speed limit from 30 mph to 20 or 25 mph, and installing a four-way stop.
- A Police Chief noted that a formal warrant analysis is legally required before installing a stop sign, which will take about a month.
- The committee opted to leave the temporary bollards in place for now while requesting that the speed limit reduction be placed on a future agenda and exploring a holistic redesign that could include crosswalks on all four legs of the intersection.
City Council IRP Task Force Liaison
The city required an official council representative for the newly formed Integrated Resource Plan (IRP) task force.
- An Alderperson holding a master’s degree in electrical engineering and serving as the co-chair of the electric utility committee was nominated and unanimously appointed.
- A City Staff Member provided an update on the task force, noting that consultants from Brattle are currently conducting an infrastructure study using local solar and EV data, with a revised draft of the IRP expected soon.
Project Status and Other Business
City Staff provided a series of updates on internal operations, hiring, and ongoing infrastructure projects.
- The demolition of the riverfront chimney is approximately two-thirds complete.
- The city’s economic development webpage has been fully redesigned to be more attractive and navigable for site selectors and developers.
- A ribbon-cutting ceremony was held for the Peace Bridge pedestrian ramp, alongside the dedication of “Peace Plaza,” which features a peace pole donated by the local Rotary Club.
- The search for a new Fire Chief will begin internally; if no suitable internal candidate is found, the search will expand externally.
- A Human Resources Representative confirmed that the city has altered how it covers GLP-1 weight loss drugs for employees; by migrating users to a direct-from-manufacturer “RxSave” discount card, the city has maintained employee coverage while cutting its municipal claims costs by nearly 50%.
DOC: https://bataviail.community.highbond.com/Portal/MeetingInformation.aspx?Id=272
Author: Jim Fahrenbach
Leave a Reply