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Fox River Grove board reviews 10-year capital-improvement plan, defers road-resurfacing decision
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Summary
At its Nov. 15, 2023 meeting the Fox River Grove Village Board reviewed a 10-year Capital Improvement Plan covering roads, water mains, vehicles, parks and major assets; the board deferred a decision on resurfacing eight streets, agreed property owners would generally pay for private lead-service-line replacements, and directed higher police-pension contributions.
Fox River Grove — The Village of Fox River Grove Board of Trustees reviewed its 2023 Capital Improvement Plan at a Nov. 15 meeting and chose to delay a decision on a multi-year road-resurfacing schedule while moving forward on several other capital priorities.
Administrator Soderholm presented an overview of the village’s capital funds, a 10-year CIP and specific program recommendations for roads, water-main replacement, vehicle and major-asset replacements, parks improvements, and Community Development Block Grant (CDBG) candidates. The Board reviewed staff’s 20-year road-resurfacing schedule and the eight streets identified for resurfacing: Bridle Path Lane & Court, Morgan Lane, Saddle Lane, Grace Lane, Grove Avenue, South River Road, and the section of County Line Road from Route 22 to North Road. Trustee Steve Knar proposed deferring the resurfacing program to build a balance for potential future economic-development needs; the Board deferred further action on resurfacing and asked staff to return with a recommendation at a later date.
On water infrastructure, the Board discussed the village’s ongoing water-main replacement program, originally developed in 2019. The trustees reached consensus that private property owners would continue to be financially responsible for replacing the private portion of lead service lines, and that the village could consider a financial arrangement with a property owner only as a last resort.
Staff also presented a vehicle-replacement schedule that included both the police department and Public Works. The Board reviewed a staff recommendation to purchase a new Ford F-250 pickup with plow and lift gate for Public Works. The scheduled replacement of the final all-gas police vehicle with a hybrid Ford Explorer may be deferred into fiscal year 2024–25 if hybrid Explorers remain in short supply.
The board considered a list of major asset-replacement items with estimated costs, including nine new police body cameras ($10,600); wastewater-treatment-plant sludge pumps ($71,400); a polymer feed system for the plant ($36,700); rehabilitation of Well #4 at Water Treatment Plant #2 ($52,800); and a Metra lot sealcoat and stripe ($16,000). Staff said they did not select projects from Appendix A at this time.
Parks and recreation recommendations from the Parks Commission were also discussed. Staff recommended pursuing an OSLAD grant and bidding the full Lions Park improvements, including additional parking if a larger project is selected; the Board’s general consensus was to pursue the OSLAD grant and to consider Picnic Grove improvements in the 2025 OSLAD application cycle. The Board supported several smaller park and infrastructure items, directing staff to pursue installation of two 2-foot barrel-section manholes between ponds #2 and #3 and between ponds #3 and #4 at Foxmoor Park, to widen and resurface the Opatrny walking path between Opatrny Drive and Windsor Court, and to sandblast and repaint all village fire hydrants.
The Board elected to defer the Route 14 pedestrian underpass decision and moved the phase III sidewalk connectivity program to next year’s capital meeting for further consideration.
On budget matters, the Board directed staff to increase general-capital-fund contributions to the police pension by approximately $350,000 (up from the current $250,000), with the aim of eliminating the pension fund’s unfunded liability by fiscal year 2032–33. Trustees chose to address water- and sewer-capital deficits through future rate adjustments rather than a one-time general-capital transfer. The Board also decided not to recommend any CDBG projects in this fiscal cycle.
Administrator Soderholm said design-engineering services from Baxter & Woodman would be required to prepare selected road-resurfacing projects for bidding; the Board directed staff to pursue Baxter & Woodman services as needed.
No other business was raised. Trustee Devin Hester moved to adjourn at 9:58 p.m.; Trustee Andrew Migdal seconded. A roll-call vote recorded all six trustees voting yes and the motion passed.
Next steps: staff will return with resurfacing recommendations at a future meeting, pursue design-engineering for resurfacing projects as needed and pursue OSLAD grant opportunities for parks work.