Consultant previews downtown development plan, and staff brief FRA grade-separation update

Ann Moroney of Johnson Research Group presented a summary of services and the anticipated process for establishing downtown development plans and a potential tax increment financing (TIF) framework at the village's Feb. 2 meeting. Moroney outlined steps the consultant team expects to follow: project kickoffs, data collection and analysis, report preparation, public notices and formal public participation.

Trustee Karen Special additionally reported that, on Jan. 29, community development and engineering staff met with consultants Gannett Fleming Transystems and Christopher Burke Engineering for a quarterly project update with the Federal Railroad Administration. That meeting focused on the environmental review for a grade-separation project intended to create a pedestrian and vehicular underpass; staff discussed next steps in the design process.

Community-development activity reported elsewhere in the meeting included building-department throughput (56 contractors registered, 29 building permits applied for and 45 total permits across categories), occupancy activity (four property closings, three new business occupancy applications, seven occupancy certificates) and local outreach such as a Feb. 14 seed-swap at the Park District community center where the Tree Board and Bee Board will host tables.

The minutes record these as informational updates; no board votes specific to TIF adoption or grade-separation funding were recorded at the Feb. 2 meeting.