Avon council approves road contracts, multiple tax abatements, Riverwalk district and fee changes; postpones one abatement

At its meeting, the Avon Town Council approved several infrastructure contracts, multiple tax-abatement compliance forms, and two ordinances, and declared one police vehicle surplus.

Road maintenance: Public Works Director Steve Moore recommended awarding the annual crack-sealing project to Howard Paving and a preservative-seal contract to Rejuvenate Tech. The council moved and approved the crack-sealing award; the recorded bid for the crack-sealing project was read as $71,998.40 and the award carried by roll call. The preservative-seal award was also approved; the amount read in the transcript appears as "$196,5204" and was unclear in the record, which staff flagged for clarification.

Tax abatements: Town staff reviewed CF-1 compliance forms for multiple projects. Staff said Avon Logistics’ Chicago Industrial building exceeded its original improvement estimate (original estimate cited at about $57 million; current reported value cited at $64 million) and recommended approving the CF-1. Staff reviewed Avon Landings (including a building with Sephora as a tenant), Reagan Logistics, Harland Bakeries, and RISE, providing payroll and assessed-value updates. The council moved to approve a slate of CF-1 forms (Avon Logistics building one and two; Avon Landings building one and Sephora; Reagan Logistics first building; Veterans Drive parcel; Harland; and RISE) but intentionally excluded Reagan Logistics’ second building at 10207 Veterans Drive pending corrected CF-1 data; the motion passed by roll call.

Chicago Industrial resolution: The council opened and closed a public hearing on resolution 2026-16 (confirming tax abatement for Chicago Industrial’s proposed 613,000-square-foot speculative industrial building on County Road 100 South) with no public speakers, discussed the tiered 10-year abatement schedule and staff calculations showing the town would receive more than 50% of tax revenues over the term, and then adopted the resolution.

Ordinances and other actions: The council adopted ordinance 2026-07 to establish a Riverwalk District along White Lick Creek, a municipal riverfront district that would allow the town to make recommendations to the Alcohol and Tobacco Commission on permits in the district. The council also adopted ordinance 2026-08 to update building-permit fees (the first revision since 2019); the ordinance takes effect after a 90-day waiting period to allow the development community time to adjust. Deputy Chief Steve Barton recommended declaring a 2016 Ford Fusion from the unmarked police fleet surplus because of frequent maintenance needs; the council adopted the surplus resolution.

All votes reported in the meeting record were carried by roll call as read by the clerk; staff noted one CF-1 was being held for correction and would return for council action once updated.