Kendall County Times

Kendall County Highway Committee met Feb. 13.

Here are the minutes provided by the committee:

MEMBERS PRESENT: Zach Bachmann, Dan Koukol, Brian DeBolt, and Scott Gengler

STAFF PRESENT: Michele Riley, John Burscheid, and Francis Klaas

ALSO PRESENT: Jeremy Hudek

The committee meeting convened at 3:33 P.M. with roll call of committee members. Rodriguez absent. Quorum established.

Motion DeBolt; second Koukol to approve the agenda as presented. Motion approved unanimously.

Motion DeBolt; second Gengler, to approve the Highway Committee minutes from January 9, 2024. Motion approved unanimously.

Motion DeBolt; second Koukol, to recommend approval of an intergovernmental agreement for the dedication of Kendall County Transportation Alternatives Program (“KC-TAP”) funding and authorizations to the Kendall County Forest Preserve District to construct the Hoover-Fox River Bluffs Forest Preserves Connecting Trail (2024). Chairman Bachmann noted that the committee

had discussed this on multiple occasions and should be ready to move forward to county board. Klaas added that the Forest Preserve was moving simultaneously to take the IGA to the board next Tuesday. Motion approved unanimously.

Motion Gengler; second DeBolt, to recommend approval of a Resolution for Maintenance Under the Illinois Highway Code appropriating $1,750,000 from the Motor Fuel Tax Fund of Kendall County. DeBolt asked if the projects funded by this resolution were listed in the 5-Year Plan. Klaas stated that they were not specifically listed, but were included as a placeholder in each year of the 5-Year Plan and labeled as HMA resurfacing. Gengler asked what the specific projects were for 2024. Klaas stated that they included resurfacing of Ridge Road from Wheeler Road to Ill. Rte. 126, Fox River Drive from Newark to Millington, and Cannonball Trail from Ill. Rte. 47 to BNSF Railroad. Motion approved unanimously.

Motion Koukol; second DeBolt, to recommend approval of a Preliminary Engineering Services Agreement between Kendall County and Hutchison Engineering, Inc. in the amount of $1,620,000 for Phase 2 Engineering on Ridge Road Reconstruction from Holt Road to Black Road. Koukol thought that the cost for Phase 2 Engineering seemed a bit high. Klaas indicated that, in relative terms, the fee was fairly inexpensive. He compared the cost for Ridge Road to Phase 2 costs for Eldamain Road… Ridge being significantly cheaper. Bachmann noted that the Phase 2 Engineering costs amounted to about 5.5% of the estimated construction cost. This cost is very competitive compared to other projects. After further consideration, the motion was approved unanimously.

Motion DeBolt; second Gengler, to recommend approval of agreement between Kendall County and Mathewson Right-of-Way Company for right-of-way consulting services on Ridge Road in an amount not to exceed $360,000. Bachmann stated that it would be very desirable to get an agreement in place for land acquisition, so that the County could begin these efforts as soon as IDOT approves the Project Development Report. Klaas stated that, because of the federal funds in the construction of this project, the County must follow all rules and regulations contained in the Federal Uniform Manual for Land Acquisition. This means that every parcel of land acquired will have to be appraised by a State-certified appraiser. There must also be a review appraisal by a State-certified appraiser. The agreement includes all negotiations, recording fees, and certification by Illinois Department of Transportation. Koukol asked how many parcels were needed on the project. Klaas said that he was estimating 40 parcels would be needed. Motion approved unanimously.

Motion DeBolt; second Gengler, to recommend approval of a Preliminary Engineering Services Agreement between Kendall County and Willett Hofmann & Associates, Inc. in an amount not to exceed $48,875 for the inspection of county bridges in 2024 and 2025. Chairman Bachmann noted that the bridge inspections are required by the National Bridge Inspection System (NBIS), no one at the Kendall County Highway Department is qualified to perform the inspections, and Willett Hofmann & Associates has been performing these inspections for Kendall County for quite a few years. Motion approved unanimously.

Motion Gengler; second DeBolt, to approve the low bid from Gjovik Ford in the amount of $233,938.18 for 4 pickup trucks and miscellaneous equipment. Koukol thought that this was a very good price for 4 pickups, considering the cost for pickups these days. He also asked if there were other bids. Klaas stated that a notice was published and competitively bid, but there were no other bids received besides Gjovik’s. Koukol also asked how long it would take to get the pickups. Klaas thought it would be 3 to 4 months. DeBolt asked what would happen with the old pickups that the Highway Department was liquidating. Klaas indicated that they were currently programmed to go to the Facilities Management Department. Motion approved unanimously.

Motion DeBolt; second Koukol, to recommend approval of an Ordinance Granting Variance to the Kendall County Highway Access Regulation Ordinance for Water Lily Solar Project, LLC. Klaas described the project related to the requested variance. It is for construction of a solar field near the corner of Ridge Road and Wildy Road in the corporate limits of the Village of Minooka. The petitioner is requesting a temporary full access to the east side of Ridge Road approximately 950’ north of Wildy Road. When the County reconstructs Ridge Road to 4 lanes, it will have a raised center median, which will prohibit any left turns. At that time, the temporary full access will revert to a right in / right out access. Klaas stated that this would be very low impact on Ridge Road and fully supported the temporary full access. Motion approved unanimously.

Motion Koukol; second Gengler, to recommend approval of an Ordinance Granting Variance to the Kendall County Highway Access Regulation Ordinance for Lantana Solar Project, LLC. Klaas indicated that this variance request was almost identical to the previous one. Lantana is immediately north of Water Lily. The requested temporary full access was for the east side of Ridge Road approximately 1,800’ north of Wildy Road. The full access would also go away when Ridge Road is reconstructed; and the access would revert to a right in / right out access. DeBolt wondered where these projects would tie into the grid. Klaas stated that the Minooka peaker plant was less than a mile east of these projects, so they could tie into the grid easily. Klaas also noted that there was an L-shaped parcel at the corner of Ridge & Wildy that is being reserved for commercial purposes and was going to be controlled by the Village of Minooka. DeBolt asked Klaas to remind the Village that they would not be allowed to have full access to Ridge Road so close to Wildy Road. Klaas thought that there would be right in / right out on Ridge Road to the Village parcel and a full access on Wildy Road. He will coordinate with the Village. Motion approved unanimously.

In regard to paving Pavillion Road for Kendall Township and City of Yorkville, Klaas described how the County has typically repaired routes for other agencies when those routes were used as detour routes for county projects. Pavillion Road was used for a long time as a detour route for Highpoint / Eldamain Road during the construction of Eldamain Road. Klaas stated that there was quite a bit of damage to Pavillion Road during the detour. Emergency patching had to be done on the township’s portion. Now that the detour is over, Kendall Township is asking that Pavillion Road be repaired by the County. Klaas thought that the County should repair Pavillion Road by providing a hot mix asphalt resurfacing from Ill. Rte. 71 to a point at the north end of the Township’s jurisdiction… a total distance of about ¾ mile with a cost of around $100,000. He had already talked to the City about the north end of Pavillion Road and the City agreed that it did not need to be repaired. Koukol wondered if the Township would be willing to share in the repair cost. Klaas indicated that he had spoken to the City and they had all their money tied up in other projects this year. Klaas didn’t think the County should charge the Township and not the City for the work to be done. Klaas indicated that there was money budgeted in the Transportation Sales Tax Fund for this work; but he wanted to get an indication of whether the Board was in favor of it before he discussed the preparation of an IGA with the State’s Attorney Office. He reiterated the fact that this was the same sort of thing that was recently done for Fox Township after the Millington Bridge was completed. The committee members were generally in favor of this work and Bachmann agreed to bring the matter up at the next C.O.W. meeting on Thursday.

Under the Chairman’s Report, Bachmann advised the committee that Eldamain Road Extension had been selected as a Public Works Project of the Year in the category Transportation - $25 million, but less than $75 million by the APWA, Fox Valley Branch.

In other business, DeBolt asked about the status of the reclamation near the temporary concrete batch plant on the east side of Eldamain Road on Neil Borneman’s property. He noted that there was an area that had not been covered with topsoil and landscaped. Klaas was not aware of the status but said he would look into it.

Motion Koukol; second Gengler to forward Highway Department bills for the month of February in the amount of $127,089.70 to the Finance Committee for approval.

Motion DeBolt; second Koukol to adjourn the meeting at 4:05 PM. Motion carried unanimously.

Action Items

1. Intergovernmental agreement for the dedication of Kendall County Transportation Alternatives Program (“KC-TAP”) funding and authorizations to the Kendall County Forest Preserve District to construct the Hoover-Fox River Bluffs Forest Preserves Connecting Trail (2024)

2. Resolution for Maintenance Under the Illinois Highway Code appropriating $1,750,000 from the Motor Fuel Tax Fund of Kendall County

3. Preliminary Engineering Services Agreement between Kendall County and Hutchison Engineering, Inc. in the amount of $1,620,000 for Phase 2 Engineering on Ridge Road Reconstruction from Holt Road to Black Road

4. Agreement between Kendall County and Mathewson Right-of-Way Company for right of-way consulting services on Ridge Road in an amount not to exceed $360,000

5. Preliminary Engineering Services Agreement between Kendall County and Willett Hofmann & Associates, Inc. in an amount not to exceed $48,875 for the inspection of county bridges in 2024 and 2025

6. Approve the low bid from Gjovik Ford in the amount of $233,938.18 for 4 pickup trucks and miscellaneous equipment

7. Ordinance Granting Variance to the Kendall County Highway Access Regulation Ordinance for Water Lily Solar Project, LLC

8. Ordinance Granting Variance to the Kendall County Highway Access Regulation Ordinance for Lantana Solar Project, LLC

https://www.kendallcountyil.gov/home/showpublisheddocument/29600