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DeKalb County, Illinois |
Minutes of the
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The regular monthly meeting of the Public Infrastructure and Development Committee of the DeKalb County Board met on Thursday, August 5, 2004 at 7:00 P.M. in the Conference Room of the DeKalb County Highway Department, DeKalb, Illinois.
Chairman Wilson called the meeting to order. Committee members present were Chairman Wilson, Vice-Chairman MacMurdo, Mr. Faivre, Ms. Fauci, Ms. Fullerton, Mr. Gudmunson, Mr. Slack, and Mr. VanBuer. Also present were William Lorence, County Engineer, Wayne Davey, Highway Department Support Services Manager, Mr. Ray Bockman, County Administrator, and Mr. Greg Mullberg, Farm Bureau.
APPROVAL OF MINUTES:
Motion made by Mr. Slack and seconded by Mr. MacMurdo to approve the minutes of July 1, 2004. The motion to approve the minutes carried unanimously.
Further discussion was held concerning the Public Infrastructure & Development Subcommittee report presented by Mr. VanBuer at the July meeting. A copy of the report has been provided to all Board members and a copy of this report will be provided to new Public Infrastructure & Development members assigned in the fall. Committee members were asked what they would like to see done in response to this report. Exploration of homerule was discussed as well as the purchasing of development rights from landowners. It was recommended that a new subcommittee be established with members having expertise in the areas the Committee wanted to explore further. Chairman Wilson will discuss the report further with the Board Chairman to keep these issues in the forefront and express the need to further explore the recommendations of this subcommittee.
APPROVAL OF AGENDA:
Motion made by Mr. MacMurdo to approve the agenda and Ms. Fullerton seconded this motion. The motion carried unanimously to approve the agenda.
CHAIRMAN’S COMMENTS:
Chairman Wilson thanked all committee members for taking the time out of their busy schedule to attend the Global III tour at the Rochelle Railport. Committee members thanked Mr. Wilson for setting up the tour as they found it very informative and interesting.
COUNTY ENGINEER’S COMMENTS:
Mr. Lorence informed the Committee that the Kirkland Road Bridge design engineering is 70% completed and Irene Road Bridge is finally underway. The old bridge was blown up the week of July 26 with no problems. Waterman Road is nearing completion with just a few minor driveway adjustments needed. The Peace Road resurfacing project from Route 64 to Plank Road should start the week of August 9, 2004. The project has a completion date of August 31, 2004. It is estimated that this project will take approximately 10 working days to complete.
Mr. Lorence informed the Committee that the John Deere Dealership (DeKalb Implement) had just completed a land transaction for their new location at Illinois Route 64 and Glidden Road. The price paid for that land was $30,000.00 an acre. This is important because
the County is currently looking to extend the right-of-way along Glidden Road. The extension would be used to widen the shoulders for safety purposes.
Mr. Lorence informed the Committee he would be attending the 2004 ARTBA Annual Convention in Boston September 7-12.
The Committee inquired into the status of Somonauk Road Corridor Access Study. Mr. Lorence informed the Committee that Kenig, Lindgren, O’Hara, Aboona, Inc., a Transportation and Parking Planning Consultant firm, has been retained by the Town of Cortland and financed by the Developers to complete a study. This study would recommend appropriate access points to Somonauk Road taking into consideration the future development of Loves Road, Fenstermaker Road and Airport Road. After the study is complete a presentation will be made to the Committee. This presentation will be tentatively scheduled for either October or November of this year. The County Engineer will review the study and make a recommendation to the Committee if or when this portion of Somonauk Road should be turned over to the Town of Cortland to maintain. The Committee would then review this recommendation and further recommend to the full County Board what action should be taken on this matter.
A copy of the Highway Department’s proposed budget was presented to the Committee for their review. Line item increases were pointed out and explained to the Committee. Construction equipment and other equipment lines had the largest requested increases. This was due to the scheduled replacement of one wheel loader and server for the Department. Some additional lines were added to the Highway budget to break out certain costs to allow the Department better visibility of costs. The fund balances for 2005 remain in good shape for the projects scheduled. However, projecting out to the 2006 budget year the County’s MFT and Matching Tax budgets will be experiencing a shortfall of close to $200,000 and $500,000 respectively if planned projects are funded. No new revenue sources have been identified as of yet to ease this anticipated deficit.
The County Administrator advised the Committee that additional revenue could come in the form of a gas tax of up to .04 per gallon. This would have to be recommended by the Legislative Committee and the PI&D Committee. After a favorable recommendation from these Committees, legislation would have to be pursued to allow the County Board to place the issue before the voters. Mr. Bockman indicated the County will continue to maintain the current roadway system, but without further revenue the development of new roads or new lanes on existing roads would be next to impossible. With the increase in development throughout the County, and the desire for additional North/South routes to move traffic through DeKalb County, the PI&D Committee will need to seriously consider additional revenue sources in the future.
The Committee agreed to look at this issue when the new Committee is appointed in the fall and explore ways to increase revenue without putting an additional tax burden on the citizens of the County.
ADJOURNMENT:
There being no further business to be brought before the Committee Mr. MacMurdo moved to adjourn, seconded by Mr. VanBuer. Motion carried unanimously and the August 5, 2004 meeting adjourned at 8:30pm.
Respectfully Submitted
______________________ John A. Wilson Chairman |
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