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Saint Charles council advances major water and sidewalk work, approves $9,000 archaeological survey
Summary
Spicer Engineering presented a five‑year recap of water and sidewalk work; the council approved selecting Rescom for a $9,000 archaeological and tribal survey needed for Safe Routes to School wetlands coordination and moved forward on Phase 2 bidding pending USDA review.
Alexander Spicer of Spicer Engineering reviewed roughly five years of infrastructure work to the Village of Saint Charles, telling the council the program delivered more than 3 miles of new water main, more than 200 new water services and roughly 17,000 feet of new sidewalk.
Spicer said the village used phase‑1 TMF grant money to verify about 800 service lines, which allowed crews to target remaining lead services. "We're still squeezing some of the juice out of the contingency fund, and so we're looking to replace the 4 lead lines that we found," Spicer said, adding that completing the remaining work will leave the village "lead free" for service lines originally connected to lead.
The council heard details on a Safe Routes to School sidewalk project that will add sidewalks on Walnut, Maple and Spruce streets. Spicer said the sidewalks total about 12,000 feet (roughly 2.5 miles), include eight ADA ramps and require driveway adjustments where affected. He described the project as "massive grant" work with a local match; the five‑year portfolio was summarized as about $9 million in projects and roughly $2.2 million in grant funding.
Staff told the council the Safe Routes project requires MDOT/Eagle wetlands verification and tribal coordination before permits can be finalized. Two prior archaeological quotes were substantially higher; staff recommended hiring Rescom to perform the archaeological and tribal survey for $9,000 because Rescom could meet the project schedule and begin fieldwork within about two weeks. A council member moved and the council approved spending $9,000 for the survey.
Spicer also said the village is preparing for Phase 2 of water improvements—about 3,000 feet of additional water main and several service replacements—and is awaiting USDA Rural Development approval of its application before pursuing a fall bid.
Next steps: staff will coordinate the archaeological work, continue USDA coordination for Phase 2, and return to the council with permit and funding details as they become available.
