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Council reviews resurfacing targets, authorizes item for next agenda after debate over Union Street scope
Summary
City staff outlined additional resurfacing targets and requested authorization to expend up to $487,000. Councilors debated whether to expand the Union Street project to include adjacent segments and sidewalks; staff said some funds from the sewer construction line would offset costs and that final contractor bids were due March 19.
City staff asked the council to authorize additional resurfacing targets and to place the authorization on the regular agenda after describing available funding and pending bid dates.
The matter is consequential because the road work affects daily travel and long-standing promises to neighborhoods where utility work required later reconstruction. Staff said a mix of grant and local funds would cover most work but that some streets and sidewalk repairs may require separate projects.
Shane Rimmer (city project lead) told the council that two resurfacing contracts previously awarded to PH Broughton included local funds ($670,000) and Rebuild Illinois grant funds ($430,000), and that additional targets estimated at $462,000 would be submitted to contractors for bid. “With all of those, we're estimating, a cost of, dollars 462,000. And ultimately we're asking for, an authorization to expend up to 487,000,” Rimmer said, citing a $25,000 contingency.
Council members pressed to accelerate work on Union Street, where prior utility trenches had left a bumpy surface and residents had been promised a replacement. Alderman Bateman urged the city not to delay: “We promised these people when we dug a 10 foot wide trench down the middle of the road, we promise these people a new street once everything's settled,” he said. Staff replied that the sewer construction line carries roughly $525,000 that can offset the cost of rehabbing the portion of Union Street already under contract, but doing the full length would be considerably more and could wait until Tremont Street project work clarifies grades.
Staff also said IDOT environmental sign-off had delayed the Rebuild Illinois-funded work; final approvals and plan reviews were completed in late February and the bid opening for that package was scheduled for March 19. Rimmer said PH Broughton had indicated willingness to hold unit prices if additional quantities were added to the contract.
The council agreed to place the resurfacing targets and the requested authorization on the regular agenda for formal action and to consider inclusion in the upcoming budget process; staff will return with bid results.
No final contract authorization or roll-call vote was recorded during the meeting.
