Committee approves application to pursue sidewalk IT grant linking Field Drive to Lincoln Park

The finance committee voted to move forward with an application for an initial sidewalk project to link Field Drive to Lincoln Park along Steven Drive, a staff member said. The packet shows the yellow segment as the first phase of a longer plan to eventually tie together multiple parks and walking trails.

Jill, who presented the concept to the committee, said district engineers and IDOT reviewers asked to see the "big picture" of how the sidewalks would connect both parks and improve safety along Route 3. She told members the maximum IT grant award is $5 million but that any grant would require a 50% local match. "What you see in yellow is a sidewalk that we're proposing that we could link Field Drive over to Steven Drive and the Lincoln Park walking trail," Jill said during her presentation.

Staff estimated the initial phase could cost about $500,000, a figure attendees described as a preliminary guess that would require engineering to confirm. Potential match sources discussed included MFC dollars, surplus funds and interest from street C.D. accounts. Committee members asked for clarification on the scope and for more time to review detailed capital-plan materials before larger funding commitments are made.

A council member moved and the committee carried a motion to apply for the initial $500,000 phase of the IT grant; the vote on the motion was recorded as a voice vote in the transcript. The committee emphasized that the application period opens later this summer and that final project boundaries and match sources must be approved before construction contracts or grant acceptance go forward.

The committee will return to the capital plan in a future meeting after members have time to review the packet and receive engineering estimates.