Board approves $80,819.92 no-bid contract to upgrade River Street ADA parking and crosswalks

The Village of East Dundee voted to waive formal bidding requirements and approve an $80,819.92 contract with Chadwick Contracting to reconstruct parking stalls, upgrade ADA parking, install curb and sidewalk improvements and add crosswalk striping on River Street.

What the work includes: staff and contractors said the project will reconfigure shallow parking stalls in front of Main Street Dental, the Jiu Jitsu studio and River Street Tavern, increase stall depth, add or relocate compliant ADA spaces, replace curb ramps and correct sidewalk cross-slope issues from Jackson Street to Hill Street, and install thermoplastic crosswalk striping at three intersections. The package also includes storm-inlet work and minor regrading tied to the parking adjustments. Contractor and staff estimated the work would take about eight to nine calendar days to complete once scheduled; staff said concrete pours would be timed to minimize business disruption.

Why trustees debated it: trustees and business owners raised concerns over the no-bid waiver, the timing of construction, the loss or movement of ADA parking near some restaurants and whether additional ADA spaces could be added closer to Bandito Varney’s (a downtown business). Trustee discussion included a request to examine the adjacent public parking lot for possible ADA spots closer to Bandito and to time the work around business closures (staff said work in front of Main Street Dental was scheduled on a day that office is closed and other pours would be scheduled to minimize disruption).

Staff response and mitigation: staff said the need for the additional work emerged after McHugh Engineering’s design for the new parking garage and that some elements could not reasonably have been included in the original contract or bid package until survey and design progressed. Staff also said Chadwick was already performing related utility work and that combining tasks would reduce overall cost and disruption versus a separate procurement.

Outcome: the board voted to waive bidding requirements and approve the contract with Chadwick Contracting for $80,819.92. The minutes show an affirmative vote by trustees on the measure.

Next steps: staff will schedule the work with the contractor and coordinate concrete pours and closures with affected businesses; engineers will evaluate adding an ADA parking space near Bandito Varney’s and report back to the board if feasible.