Kendall County Times

City of Yorkville Public Works Committee met Aug. 20.

Here are the minutes provided by the committee:

IN ATTENDANCE: 

Committee Members 

Chairman Ken Koch 

Alderman Craig Soling 

Alderman Matt Marek

Alderman Rusty Corneils

Other City Officials 

City Administrator Bart Olson 

Public Works Director Eric Dhuse

Engineer Brad Sanderson, EEI 

Director Parks & Recreation Tim Evans 

Alderman Joe Plocher 

Alderman Chris Funkhouser

Other Guests: 

Mr. Chris Hansen, Kluber 

Samantha Frantik, Kluber

Joey Weslo, Kendall County Record (via Zoom)

The meeting was called to order at 6:00pm by Chairman Ken Koch.

Citizen Comments: None

Previous Meeting Minutes: July 16, 2024

The minutes were approved as presented.

Chairman Koch stated items #6 and #7 would be moved to the top of the agenda.

New Business:

6. PW2024-71 Public Works and Parks Building Plan Update 

Mr. Chris Hansen of Kluber Architects and Engineers provided a handout of the presentation to be given to the City Council on August 27th. The handout showed the proposed combined Public Works and Parks Department facility which is tentatively 116,311 sq. ft. Other Public Works facilities were toured and comments from staff,

Aldermen and Engineering were taken into consideration for the design. Mr. Hansen gave a detailed explanation of the features. He said the fitness room and larger lockers were added back in to the plan. The fleet garage and parking area were increased as well as the mezzanine area. The plan includes a salt dome, outdoor storage area, drive-through service bays and expansion areas are possible. Since the building will be for both departments, the work space will be 60% for Public Works and 40% for Parks. Mr. Hansen gave a preliminary construction cost estimate.

Mr. Olson asked the committee for feedback for the plan. The proposal will be taken to City Council for a vote on the general scope and cost of the building. The next step is to hire a Construction Manager who will finalize the plan after all the input is received and look for ways to cut costs.

Following are some of the comments by the committee and others present:

1. Concern that the building will be at capacity in 5 years.

2. Carport will give flexibility and additions could be made to the garage. Garage as planned, should serve the city well for 15-20 years. Some equipment may not be replaced, then not as much space may be needed.

3. Discussed pre-cast material and construction, racking system, utilities, electrical panels. 

4. Concerns for weight capacity in mezzanine, would like to see more vehicle and vertical storage, cost of add-ons are very expensive.

5. Concern for employee parking on west, not near their work equipment—possibly shift entire parking site to the west 20 feet for better flow? More parking needed for Parks employees.

6. General cost of building is concerning, hope that the Construction Manager can cut costs, more staff will be added in the future as well.

7. Install electrical outlets on pillars outdoors.

8. Use the Wolf St. building for storage which has 10,000 sq. ft.? That building may be sold, but there is still 5,000 sq. ft. at the Tower Lane location.

9. Importance of a maintenance manager since there is a 3-week wait time when equipment breaks. 

10. If costs are cut in the fleet, day to day operation inconvenienced.

11. How will increase be funded? $40 million placeholder in budget, sell 25-year bonds, funding from parks, streets, sewers, general fund and already identified funding sources. To be discussed more in depth at future meetings.

12. Construction to start in April 2025, finished by May 2026.

13. Request for revised site plan for functionality and re-tool interior garage for efficiency.

Mr. Olson said the Construction Manager can help with design development items. He said this will now move forward to City Council with committee recommendations with some variables possible such as the parking lot layout on the west side, interior layout of building and outdoor receptacles.

7. PW2024-72 Kluber Construction Manager RFQ Status Update 

Mr. Olson said the next step is for the RFP package to be released and to advertise for a construction company There will be a 2-3 week turnaround for hiring, interviews and a recommendation to City Council. Then bids will be taken for the trades and then a Construction Manager will be hired. He recommended at least 2 Aldermen should be included in the Construction Manager interviews. The Committee discussed various ways in which the information could be provided to all Aldermen. They discussed recording the interviews for which permission would need to be included in the RFQ. After consideration, it was decided that a Q&A summary would suffice.

(return to order of agenda)

1. PW 2024-66 Water Reports for April – July 2024 

Mr. Dhuse said the water usage was normal except for June which was above average. He said that month was the 10th hottest June and drier than normal resulting in usage of 100 gallons per person, per day. Those rates decreased in July. These reports will be moved to the City Council consent agenda per IEPA rules.

2. PW 2024-67 Road Reconstructions Related to C1 Yorkville, LLC 

a. Faxon Road Reconstruction Professional Services Agreement - Design Engineering 

b. Beecher Road Reconstruction Professional Services Agreement – Design Engineering 

These are the agreements for design engineering for Faxon and Beecher Road improvements. The developer will pay for this work and there will be no cost to the city unless electric poles are moved and that would be at 50% cost to the city. Mr. Dhuse said the agreements are with EEI in the amounts of $193,620 for Faxon and $89,268 for Beecher. The committee was OK with these and they will move to the City Council consent agenda.

3. PW 2024-68 Kennedy Road and Freedom Place Intersection Improvements 

Mr. Sanderson said bids were taken in April to be able to complete this project before school started, however, the right-of-way has not been acquired yet. He said staff recommended rejecting the bids at this time until the right-of-way can be secured and he included a draft letter for the contractors. Due to the stand of mature oak trees, Alderman Funkhouser asked if the project could be shifted to the east, however, moving the poles, trails and the grading would not be cost-effective. Mr. Olson said an appraiser and acquisition specialist will be hired to assist the process. This moves to the consent agenda and a formal motion will be needed at City Council to reject the bids.

4. PW 2024-69 DuPage Water Commission/Lake Michigan Water Sourcing Projects Costs Summary – August 2024 

Running financial tallies had been requested by Alderman Koch for the Lake Michigan Water Project. This report shows approved contracts amounts and money spent as approved by the Council. This report will be updated periodically.

5. PW 2024-70 Quiet Zone Study 

a. BNSF Railroad – Quiet Zone Study – Preliminary Engineering 

b. Downtown Railroad - Quiet Zone Study – Preliminary Engineering 

Mr. Olson said EEI recently did a quiet zone study for the county for Cannonball Rd. in Bristol and the county is going forward with a quiet zone. Since EEI was able to do the study relatively cheaply, it was decided to look at the downtown area (Railnet) and crossings in the northern part of the city (BNSF). There are multiple downtown crossings and all would need to be done for the most impact. He said this would be beneficial when festivals are held. The downtown cost would be $60,000 and it would be broken into phases. He said grants and funds are available for improvements. Staff is asking for approval of both agreements at a total cost of $75,000. Mr. Olson noted this is not budgeted, but other projects have come in below cost so no budget amendment is needed.

Mr. Sanderson said public, staff and Council input is needed and closures will be recommended. Multiple public hearings will be required as part of the process. If streets are not closed, there would be large expenditures at each crossing for gates and warning systems. It was noted that the train engineer can still sound the horn if necessary. Mr. Sanderson added that traffic counts would be done to determine local traffic patterns. The impact on businesses and the possibilities of one-ways was also discussed. Alderman Plocher asked about using TIF funds and Mr. Olson replied he believes they can be used for the improvements, however, not for the studies. The committee was in favor of these studies and this will proceed to City Council on the regular agenda.

Old Business: None

Additional Business: 

Mr. Sanderson said DuPage Water Commission (DWC) is asking the city to move along on the architectural styles for the receiving stations, north and south, and would like bids by the end of the year. There will be 2 buildings at each site--a meter station owned by DWC and a receiving station owned by the city. Staff recommends the low-maintenance, existing architectural style used in similar buildings in the city. The exterior will be modernized with colors and textures. This matter will be moved to the next City Council on the Mayor's report.

There was no further business and the meeting adjourned at 8:00pm.

https://www.yorkville.il.us/ArchiveCenter/ViewFile/Item/5860