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Saint Charles reviews multi‑year water, sidewalk projects; Spicer outlines lead‑line removals and grants
Summary
Spicer Engineering briefed the Village of Saint Charles council on roughly five years of infrastructure work — including water main replacements, lead service line removals, Safe Routes to School sidewalks and related grants — and described next steps pending USDA and state approvals.
Spicer Engineering gave the Village of Saint Charles council an overview of infrastructure work completed and planned, saying the last five years included extensive water main and sidewalk work and that grant funding has covered a large share of costs.
The presentation by Alexander Spicer summarized recent work as “over 3 miles of new water main, over 200 water services, 17,000 feet of sidewalk” and roughly $9 million in project activity with about $2.2 million in grant funding. He said hydro‑excavation work verified about 800 service locations and that the firm expects to use remaining contingency funds to replace four lead service lines identified during the work.
The council heard specifics for projects grouped under different grant programs. Spicer described a recently completed package that included water main and service replacements, sidewalk work and street resurfacing; a second phase expected to go to bid in the fall would add about 3,000 feet of water main and additional service replacements. He said phase‑2 timing depends on Rural Development (USDA RD) approval of the village’s application.
Spicer also outlined a Safe Routes to School sidewalk project that would place sidewalks on Walnut, Maple and Spruce streets — about 12,000 feet (roughly 2½ miles) — with curb ramps and driveway replacements. He told the council the sidewalk package is primarily grant‑funded, with a local match component.
Spicer identified contingency balances tied to recent projects — about $85,000 on one phase and $88,000 on a TMF grant — and said those contingencies give the village flexibility to address additional repairs without unexpected contractor change orders. He noted that verifying services through hydro‑excavation allowed the village to locate potential lead connections and that, by verifying service material at nearly every address, staff can be confident which remaining services must be replaced to eliminate lead from the system.
Council members and staff discussed rate studies. Spicer and a municipal analytics consultant referenced in the presentation said the village has used grant funds to pay for water‑rate analysis and that the council will have additional rate information in January to inform any future rate decisions. Spicer told the council that under state reporting requirements the village must complete certain inventory work by 2042 and that the current program is on track to finish the reporting this year.
The council later took a separate vote to accept new water rates as set up by Spicer Engineering to take effect in the third quarter; that action was voted on and recorded in the meeting minutes.
Looking ahead, Spicer said staff will pursue additional grants and noted that work in the right‑of‑way (including wetlands, fiber and new mains) means some mitigation and permitting (MDOT, RD, and tribal coordination for archaeological and wetland reviews) must be completed before certain contracts can proceed.
