Fox River Grove board directs staff to advance 2025 capital projects, alters Lions Park plan

The Fox River Grove Village Board met in a special session on Nov. 11, 2025, to review the 2025 Capital Improvement Plan and gave staff direction to advance multiple park, road and utility projects. Administrator Soderholm presented an overview of capital funds, a 10-year CIP, road resurfacing and water-main replacement programs, vehicle and asset-replacement schedules, and recommended project priorities.

The board supported moving forward with the Lions Park master plan but removed the three proposed half courts from this phase; instead trustees asked staff to extend electrical service to the court areas to allow flexibility for future uses. The board also asked staff to include funding in next year’s budget to explore right-of-way improvements along the Route 14 corridor.

Staff said design work completed during the current budget year positions water-main replacements for 2026 on Gladys Avenue (Algonquin Road to South River Road) and Liberty Avenue (Elder Lane to Lincoln Avenue). The administrator reported the vehicle replacement schedule recommends purchasing two Ford Explorer patrol vehicles for the police department; no Public Works vehicle replacements are planned for this cycle.

The board reviewed a list of major asset replacements with line-item costs including: Lions Park boat ramp, $62,200; Lions Park shelter, $208,100; four police squad laptops, $14,600; Motorola radio replacement, $43,574; Union Pacific lot resurfacing, $54,700; small commuter lots sealcoat and stripe, $5,900; wastewater treatment plant secondary clarifiers (underwater gearboxes, 2), $25,000; Water Treatment Plant No. 1 well #1 rehabilitation, $54,100; and Webers Lift Station generator, $91,800.

Trustees expressed support for staff recommendations to repair the aeration tower at Water Treatment Plant No. 1 and to relocate a utility pole at the Wastewater Treatment Plant. The board also prioritized an additional phase of the sidewalk connectivity program near Lions Park — specifically South River Road from the boat launch to Grove Avenue and Millard from South River Road to Grace Lane — and elected to revisit Picnic Grove Park improvements at next year’s CIP meeting.

Board members authorized staff to begin incorporating long-term land-acquisition planning for Block C into future forecasts to prepare for downtown economic-development strategies. Administrator Soderholm told the board that design-engineering services from Baxter & Woodman would be required to prepare the 2026 road-resurfacing project for bidding, and the board directed staff to pursue Baxter & Woodman as needed.

There is a discrepancy within the meeting record about the trustee roster: the narrative roll call lists Trustees Curtiss, Hester, Joseph, Knar, Migdal and Wall as present, while the minutes header lists Trustee Melissa Schladt. The minutes do not reconcile that difference.

The meeting concluded with a motion to adjourn by Trustee Andrew Migdal, seconded by Trustee Jennifer Curtiss; the roll call recorded Trustees Curtiss, Hester, Joseph, Knar, Migdal and Wall voting yes and the motion passed at 8:23 p.m. Shelley J. Caesar is recorded as village clerk on the minutes dated Dec. 2, 2025.