Lockport approves Arcadis engagement for STAR Innovation District RFQ; consent agenda items passed

City officials approved engaging Arcadis to prepare a request-for‑qualifications (RFQ) and to vet potential data‑center developers for the STAR Innovation District and approved several routine consent items, including a façade and site‑improvement grant.

A City staff member in the Community Development division told council the Arcadis contract follows up on the STAR Innovation District workshop and includes three tasks: vetting about nine to ten data‑center developers using an in‑house data‑center team, developing an RFQ, and preparing the RFQ for release. The staff member said Arcadis will run initial scoring and respond to RFIs; the intent is to identify a developer partner for a first phase of the district.

Councilmember Jonathan asked whether Arcadis’ work would coordinate with the city’s Washington lobbyist on federal funding opportunities. The staff member said that the contract scope does not include lobbying but that the city is in touch with its lobbyist and state officials and that Arcadis’ developer shortlist is likely to include firms already familiar with federal and state incentives.

Consent agenda and votes: the council approved a consent agenda that included Committee of the Whole minutes from Feb. 5, regular council minutes from Feb. 5, bills through Feb. 8, payroll for the period ending Feb. 2, and a façade and site‑improvement grant of $43,790 for 1000 South Hamilton. The motion for the consent agenda passed on a roll call vote recorded in the meeting; staff read the items and council recorded affirmatives during the roll call.

Public works and intergovernmental cooperation: Brian (Public Works staff) presented Resolution 25‑019 to continue an intergovernmental agreement with the Illinois Public Works Mutual Aid Network, describing an expansion of the group’s scope from purely emergency disaster response to day‑to‑day mutual assistance among municipalities (for example, sharing chippers after storms). Brian said the IGA formalizes an amended governance structure to allow the organization more flexibility to operate like a governmental league. Council discussed that the mutual aid arrangement is generally pro bono assistance among municipalities and that FEMA reimbursement or other state funding could apply for large declared disasters. Council indicated support for placing the IGA on consent.

Budget amendment and TIF cleanup: Lisa (finance staff) described a budget amendment to close out the just‑ended fiscal year. She said the amendment shifts development‑engineering revenues and expenses from the engineering department to the community and economic development (CED) department to match where staff and consulting charges were posted, and increases both revenues and expenses in the TIF fund because TIF receipts were higher than budgeted and the TIF structure requires returning 28% to taxing bodies.

Data‑center and STAR District questions: council members asked whether Arcadis’ outreach could confirm whether physical constraints (major rail lines, nearby fuel tanks) would deter data‑center developers. The staff member said Arcadis’ vetting task will include asking shortlisted firms whether site constraints would discourage them from bidding; if a majority of firms decline after vetting, the city could halt the effort before proceeding to a full RFP.

Ending The council approved the Arcadis engagement and the consent agenda items; staff will proceed with the RFQ process steps and return to council if vetting indicates the project is viable or if additional council direction is necessary. The public‑works IGA and budget amendment were presented for consent and will be implemented under staff authority as described.