Kendall County Highway Committee met Jan. 11.
Here are the minutes provided by the committee:
MEMBERS PRESENT: Scott Gryder, Matt Kellogg, Brian DeBolt & Scott Gengler
STAFF PRESENT: Michele Riley and Francis Klaas
ALSO PRESENT: Ryan Sikes and PJ Fitzpatrick
The committee meeting convened at 3:30 P.M. with roll call of committee members. Cesich absent. Quorum established.
Motion DeBolt; second Kellogg, to approve the agenda as presented. Motion approved unanimously.
Motion DeBolt; second Gengler, to approve the Highway Committee meeting minutes from December 14, 2021. Motion approved unanimously.
Motion Kellogg; second DeBolt to recommend approval of a Preliminary Engineering Services Agreement with Willett Hofmann & Associates, Inc. in the amount of $59,048 for the inspection of County Bridges in 2022 and 2023. Gryder indicated that WHA has inspected bridges for the County over the past several years and has done a good job. By roll call vote, motion approved unanimously.
Motion DeBolt; second Gengler to recommend approval of a Resolution for Improvement Under the Illinois Highway Code appropriating $600,000 for the improvement of Fox Road from Fox Lawn Subdivision to Ill. Rte. 47. Klaas described the project as being in line with the county goal to have county highways start and stop at other county highways or state highways. This easterly mile of Fox Road is under the jurisdiction of the City of Yorkville; but after improvement by the County, will then be considered a county highway. This project is similar to other projects completed in the Village of Newark, Village of Millington, and the City of Plano. Yorkville and Kendall County have been discussing this project for years. The proposed project will be governed by an IGA, which is being drafted by the SAO at this time. DeBolt asked what specific improvements would be included in the project. Klaas stated that it would include asphalt safety shoulders, resurfacing, a small amount of curb & gutter, as well as sidewalks that would connect White Oak Way to Morgan Street. Gengler asked if the sidewalk terminates at White Oak Way. Klaas said that it did because there was no good way to extend the sidewalk westerly to Rivers Edge Subdivision, even though some day that should happen. By roll call vote, motion approved unanimously.
Motion Kellogg; second Gengler to recommend approval of a Preliminary Engineering Services Agreement with Hutchison Engineering, Inc. in the amount of $895,700 for Phase I Engineering on the Ridge Road Corridor between Holt Road and Black Road. Gryder reminded the committee that this effort is the beginning of converting Ridge Road to 4-lanes. He also indicated that Hutchison Engineering has been doing other work for the County in this Ridge Road area. Klaas noted that the dollars involved with this project are large; but that there will be extensive work required to get the Phase I Engineering completed over multiple years. He stated that Ridge Road is a really busy corridor. Currently, Ridge Road has almost twice as much traffic as U.S. Rte. 52 at that intersection. He compared the proposed work effort to the Phase I effort required for the Collins Road Extension project in Oswego. Gengler asked how soon the engineering could get started. Klaas stated that it could begin immediately after Board approval of the agreement. By roll call vote, motion approved unanimously.
Under Chairman’s Report, Gryder reported on the recent meeting between Kendall County and the Village of Oswego regarding land acquisition for the Collins Road Extension project. Kendall was seeking assistance from the Village in regard to some of the potential development properties along the corridor. The Village indicated that they would engage these properties and land owners to help get the necessary right-of-way for the project. Another meeting is scheduled in 2 weeks to continue discussions.
During the course of the prior meeting, Village of Oswego had requested an update on County efforts to improve the intersection of Plainfield Road and Woolley Road. Gryder had told the Village that the County was going to study the entire segment of Plainfield Road, from Grove
Road to Collins Road, which includes the intersection of concern. Preliminary engineering, land acquisition, and construction is all currently programmed in the 5-Year Plan for this project. Klaas indicated that he will be bringing a preliminary engineering services agreement to the Highway Committee within the next 60 days to get started on this project.
Gryder continued his report with his recent meeting with the Mayor of Morris to talk about planning issues. They discussed some of the issues along the Route 47 corridor, and reported that Morris has water and sewer facilities installed within just 1 mile of the County’s southern border. They discussed zoning issues, possible TIF Districts, and had a general conversation about matters of common concern. He directed the County Engineer to try to set up a meeting with the Grundy County Highway Committee, as has been done in the past.
Under other business, DeBolt reported that he has had nothing but good reports from local residents about the blinker stop signs recently installed at a couple intersections in the County. He also indicated that, in a recent conversation with the Sheriff, there may be some other potential intersections where the blinker signs would do some good. He was going to coordinate with the Sheriff and bring that information back to committee. Kellogg asked about the durability of these types of signs. Klaas indicated that the signs recently purchased where built by TAPCO, and are the standard of the industry. He thinks they are pretty reliable and we should be able to get between 5 and 10 years of service. Gengler asked about the cost of each sign. Klaas stated that they cost about $1,700 each. Committee discussed some of the various stop sign installations around the county, and various traffic control elements.
Kellogg provided update on the status of the multi-use path construction and maintenance along Route 71, from Ill. Rte. 126 to Orchard Road. He indicated that Forest Preserve, City of Yorkville and Village of Oswego will be discussing an IGA to determine long term maintenance for this trail. The IGA would hopefully include language that would provide for municipal takeover of the trail as properties are annexed into those municipalities. Might also be a 20-year sunset on Forest Preserve maintenance based on percentage of trail left in the unincorporated area. He also indicated that there has been renewed interest about the possibility of changing the rules for TAP funds, and using them for long term maintenance of trails.
Motion DeBolt; second Kellogg, to forward Highway Department bills for the month of January in the amount of $199,181.04 to the Finance Committee for approval. By roll call vote, motion approved unanimously.
Motion Gengler; second Kellogg, to adjourn the meeting at 3:51 P.M. Motion carried unanimously.
https://www.kendallcountyil.gov/home/showpublisheddocument/22939/637819823855730000
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