Mayor DeWitte, members of the City Council, Mark Koenen, and I at the ceremonial groundbreaking.

It was a beautiful day in St. Charles yesterday!

The sun was shining. There was not a cloud in the sky. The temperature was in the low 80s.

And, the City of St. Charles celebrated with a ceremonial groundbreaking for a new bridge across the Fox River – the Red Gate Bridge.

Over 100 people attended the event held at the point where Red Gate Road will be extended across IL Route 31 and the Fox River to connect with IL Route 25. Local residents, business owners, and city leaders joined with federal, state, and county officials to celebrate this occasion. Speakers included:

• Norman Stoner, Illinois Division Administrator - Federal Highway Administration
• Randy Ramey, State Representative
• Karen McConnaughay, Kane County Board Chairman
• John Hoscheit, Kane County Forest Preserve District President
• Don DeWitte, Mayor

Other current and former elected officials who came to celebrate included:

• Chris Lauzen, State Senator
• Phil Lewis, Kane County Board
• Mark Davoust, Kane County Board
• Cathy Hurlbut, Kane County Board
• Mike Kenyon, Kane County Board
• Jerry Swanson, St. Charles Township Supervisor
• Colleen Lang, St. Charles Township Assessor
• Warren Kammerer, Former Kane County Board Chairman
• Sue Klinkhamer, Former Mayor of St. Charles
• Kevin Burns, Mayor of Geneva
• Jeff Schielke, Mayor of Batavia
• Patsy Smith, President of Campton Hills
• Jan Carlson, Former Kane County Board Member and current Regional Transportation Authority Board Member
• Caryl Van Overmeiren, Former Kane County Board and Metra Board member
• Betsy Penny, Former Alderman for St. Charles
• Pat Perez, Kane County Sheriff
• Jim Gaffney, District 303 School Board Member and President of the Fox River & Countryside Fire Protection District
• Mike Hill, St. Charles Library Board Member
• Ron Johnson, St. Charles Township Road Commissioner

Several other federal and state legislators sent representatives or staff members to participate on their behalf.

It was a day where all seemed right and good in the Fox Valley.  Everyone recognized that this bridge is being built for the right reasons:

1. to enhance transportation infrastructure
2. to alleviate congestion in downtown St. Charles
3. to connect the St. Charles community in a new way
4. to provide a new recreational amenity and enhance access to existing forest preserve district lands and bike trails
5. to enhance public safety
6. to save residents of St. Charles and the surrounding area time and money

This project has been discussed for a long time. Speakers at the groundbreaking talked about all of the discussion and debate that has occurred over the years. They also commented on the fact that this has yielded a stronger project, a better project that now enjoys overwhelming support. It is a project that will serve residents present and future, and allow our community to grow and prosper.

The project is based on thorough study, careful analysis, detailed technical review, federal and state oversight, and overwhelming popular opinion. There is no such thing as a perfect roadway expansion project, but the Red Gate Bridge project is about as close as you’re going to find in St. Charles.

For a slide show of images of the bridge location and artist renderings, please click here.

On Monday, August 15th, the St. Charles City Council approved an intergovernmental agreement with School District #303 to transfer ownership of the former Little Woods School from District 303 to the City. This is an excellent example of two local governments cooperating on a transaction that provides benefits to each agency and is good for taxpayers.

School District #303 is the owner of a parcel of property commonly referred to as the Little Woods School site. The site is approximately 2.25 acres in area located on the west side of Illinois Route 25 near its intersection with Pinelands Road. You can view an aerial photo of the site here. 

In 2007, the city obtained a “first right of refusal” to purchase the Little Woods School property in exchange for the lease of some city-owned property near the District 303 transportation facility (bus barn) on Peck Road. At that time, the school district needed some property from the city to accommodate its school bus operations. The “first right of refusal” ensured that the city would get the first opportunity to acquire the Little Woods property, if the school district wanted to sell it.

Also in 2007, a 10-Year Water System Master Plan was done to evaluate the city’s current water supply and distribution system to determine alternatives for future upgrades and improvements. One of the recommendations at that time was locating an elevated water storage tank at one of the following locations:

• Illinois Route 25 and Country Club Road
• Illinois Route 31 and Red Gate Road

The recommendation was to locate a water tower in these area for the following reasons:

1. Provide additional storage required in the long term, 
2. Facilitate maintenance in the system, for example water tower and system infrastructure service and maintenance, and 
3. Accommodate emergency shut-downs.

In 2010, Dr. Don Schlomann, Superintendent of School District 303, contacted me and indicated that the school district planned to consolidate its administrative offices, relocate personnel from the Little Woods School, and sell the facility. This was being pursued as a way to save over $100,000 annually on the costs of operating the facility. When Dr. Schlomann indicated that Little Woods was being closed, it represented the perfect opportunity to pursue the city’s water tower plan, given the site’s location and topography.

Benefits of constructing a tower at this location include:

• Increased flows in sections of both east and west sides of town.
• Substantial impact on improving and maintaining pressure with the loss of the Campton Hills Road water tower due to either scheduled maintenance or emergency repair.
• Improve and maintain pressure with loss of Well #8 booster station (located in the Central Manufacturing District on Kirk Road) due to either scheduled maintenance or emergency repair.
• Allows modification to operation of Well # 8 booster station that will save approximately $30,000 annually (2010 dollars) in electrical costs.

In further discussing the transfer of the property, the school district expressed a preference to have the City provide the District with “in kind” consideration by providing high school resource officers for a period of time, in lieu of receiving money. For several years, the city and school district have had an agreement that places police officers in both high schools to assist with a variety of incidents. The duties of officers include:

1. Promote rapport between police officers and students in the school.
2. Make presentations to students, parents, and staff members on law and law enforcement, safety, and good citizenship.
3. Refer troubled students to proper professional help within the student services division of the school and police department.
4. Plan preventative substance abuse programs.
5. Work with parents on runaway students.
6. Assist school officials in the enforcement of truancy laws and work with truancy detail.

In exchange for the transfer of the Little Woods school to the city, the city agreed to extend the agreement for police officers at St. Charles North High School and St. Charles East High School for an additional eight (8) years from June 7, 2011 through June 6, 2019.

In the next several weeks, District 303 will be permitted to remove certain items that it can use in other buildings such as window air-conditioning units, chalkboards, fire extinguishers, and door hardware. District 303 will also remove and preserve the the building’s cornerstone for commemorative purposes.

The City intends to take possession of the property in mid-September, at which time the facility will be razed. The city will maintain the site until such time as a plan is approved to construct the water tower.

In St. Charles, residents are served by a variety of governmental agencies that work diligently to provide high quality services, programs, and facilities for the community. It is important that the local government representatives communicate regularly regarding their programs and activities and work cooperatively for the benefit of our constituents. The current economic climate will force more government entities to look at working more closely to serve common populations. The Little Woods School transaction is a model of intergovernmental cooperation and represents a true ‘win-win.’

As everyone knows by now, Family Circle magazine named St. Charles #1 in its Annual Survey of Best Towns and Cities for families. The comprehensive survey included communities from across the country and is featured in the magazine’s August 2011 issue. You can read more about the recognition here.

Since the award was announced, there has been quite a bit of discussion about what it means for our community and how we, as a city, should celebrate.

Representatives of several organizations have gathered to discuss this. We have also secured the needed permissions from Family Circle to use their logo and other information for our promotional efforts.

At this time, the following items are being pursued:

1. banners for Main Street
2. signs for the gateways to St. Charles
3. reprints of the article for distribution at local facilities
4. buttons
5. a brochure that could be used by realtors and others to help market St. Charles to prospective homeowners
6. a “badge” that can be used on publications and other documents used by government and civic organizations

Before we finalize our plans, we’d like to hear from you. What do you think that St. Charles should do to commemorate the Family Circle recognition? How should we make sure that St. Charles capitalizes on the award to ensure that it is not just a “flash in the pan,” but has a lasting impact and remains a source of pride?

You can submit your ideas to Lisa Garhan, the City’s Community & Public Affairs Coordinator. She can be contacted via e-mail here.

The City of St. Charles is currently studying a licensing program and additional regulations for rental properties in the community. Preliminary analysis indicates that there could be as many as 4,300 residential rental units in St. Charles, although it is difficult to know the exact number because landlords are not required to register or obtain a license from the City. We also believe that the recession’s impact on the housing market has resulted in an increase in the number of rental properties. The inability to sell a home has caused many owners to turn to renting. In addition, the rental market has grown as a number of Americans don’t want to own a home because it is too risky, cannot obtain financing due to foreclosure or bankruptcy, or simply cannot afford to purchase one because they are unemployed.

For several years, St. Charles has maintained programs to address property maintenance, crime, and other nuisances that may take place throughout the community. The City attempts to work cooperatively with residents and property owners until such strategies prove ineffective. Then, we begin a legal process to mandate compliance through administrative adjudication (a process that is conducted locally with a hearing officer) or through the court system (typically at the Kane County courthouse with a judge). That process doesn’t always move as quickly as some would like or result in the best outcomes. For that reason, prevention is a major focus and a rental licensing program can be effective.

St. Charles has strong relationships with many rental communities via the Apartment Complex Officer Program. Under this program, participating complexes sign an agreement with the City that outlines how the two parties will coordinate enforcement efforts of unwanted behavior within the complex. Communication is also greatly enhanced.

A rental licensing program has been periodically discussed in St. Charles since 2003. At the direction of the City Council, staff is now preparing materials for the consideration of the City Council.

The programs are offered in many other area communities including Schaumburg, Elgin, and Addison. They typically consist of 4 main components:

1. a license to allow a property owner to engage in the business of renting residential property
2. a mandatory training program for property owners that provides information regarding a variety of landlord-tenant matters, including eviction proceedings
3. a “crime-free” addendum that is required for all leases and obligates owners to evict tenants engaged in certain criminal activities
4. mandatory inspections of rental units to ensure compliance with building and property maintenance codes

In addition, a license fee is charged to cover the costs of the program and to ensure that such programs are not subsidized by other taxpayers. The license fee should be directly tied to, and fully recoup, the costs of the program.

There are a lot of good landlords who rent property in our community. They screen their tenants, keep up with routine maintenance and repairs, and are intolerant of illegal activities. There are many others who can do a much better job. This City’s goal is to “raise the bar” for those that wish to engage in renting residential property and ensure that we keep our neighborhoods safe and attractive.

We have already heard from several landlords who are concerned about the City infringing on their ability to conduct business. We have also heard from property owners who support the rental housing regulations and training program that the city is proposing.

A rental licensing/crime free housing ordinance is a significant undertaking that requires careful study and deliberation. The City Council will begin the public review and debate of the rental licensing program at the September 12th meeting of the Planning & Development Committee. All interested parties are encouraged to attend.

If you have further questions about the city’s efforts, you may contact Rita Tungare, Director of Community Development, or James Lamkin, Chief of Police.

Over the past few years, technology has rapidly changed and new methods of communication have been implemented by forward-thinking organizations. St. Charles has changed the way that we communicate with stakeholders, including the deployment of Facebook, Twitter, e-mail list serves, blogs, and RSS feeds. All have been well-received by constituents who have also adopted new ways to communicate with their co-workers, family, and friends.

Over the past year, the City has seen a significant growth of users to the City’s Facebook and Twitter pages, and in overall visitors to our website. The City has been able to embrace more electronic communication efforts with efficiency. As part of the continued evolution of the City’s overall communication strategy, The Den newsletter went electronic in July 2011.

The new Den, along with many of the City’s other electronic news resources, will be timely, easy to use, and will align with the goals defined in our strategic plan – to use open, clear communication methods for sharing information with all stakeholders to foster understanding and trust, and to enhance communication initiatives to adapt to changing demographic, societal, and technological trends.

The conversion to an electronic format will also be more efficient for the City to produce and distribute. It will provide for greater flexibility because the City is no longer limited to a set number of printed pages each month, allowing City officials and staff to provide even more information than in the past. Finally, it will allow anyone to sign up and receive the newsletter, including businesses, non-profit/community organizations, retirees, and residents who have relocated to another community.

So far, many residents have embraced the change. Hundreds of subscribers have provided their e-mail address to allow the City to deliver the Den directly to their in-box. You can do the same and sign up for City e-News here.

You can also view the July, 2011 edition of The Den here.

Did you know that the City of St. Charles levies a special property tax to support local mental health agencies?

Pursuant to the Community Mental Health Act, the City has established a Mental Health Board and a tax levy that authorizes expenditures “…to construct, repair, operate, maintain and regulate community mental health facilities to provide mental health services as defined by the local community mental health board, including services for, persons with a developmental disability or substance use disorder, for residents thereof and/or to contract therefor with any private or public entity which provides such facilities and services…”

The City’s mental health tax levy has been in place since 1986, when voters approved a referendum to establish the tax. The referendum was approved with 53% in favor of the initiative. Mayor Fred Norris presided over the first meeting of the Mental Health Board in April, 1986.

Although the referendum authorized a tax rate of up to $.15 per $100 of assessed value, the tax is levied at the rate of $.04 per $100 of assessed value. This means that the owner of a $400,000 home pays approximately $50 per year. The tax proceeds started small at just over $100,000 in the first year and have grown with the community.  This year, the amount collected will be approximately $630,000.

The funds collected for mental health services are segregated and kept in a separate account. Each year, the Mental Health Board meets to review funding requests and to allocate funding among the many different applicants. The Mental Health Board has a specific process that they go through each year. All agencies are required to complete a detailed application form. Agencies are asked to describe how funds will be expended and quantify services provided to the community. Organizations must also explain how funds allocated from the previous year were expended and the purpose(s) of those expenditures.

Organizations are also asked to execute an affidavit that requires 2 things:

1. that the funds be spent in service to St. Charles residents, and
2. that no St. Charles resident be denied services, based on inability to pay.

The Mental Health Board meets for many hours to hear presentations from the applicants, consider which organizations will result in the best services and outcomes for the community, and recommend how to allocate the limited amount of funds available.

It is worth mentioning that the fiscal woes of the State of Illinois have resulted in drastic reductions in funding to mental health agencies. This makes the locally collected and administered funding even more important for the agencies to carry out their missions.

This year, the Mental Health Board has recommended that agencies receive $634,000 in funding. Any agency that is slated to receive more than $25,000 in funding must make a presentation to the City Council. This year, eight (8) agencies are receiving more than $25,000 and presentations were made on June 20th and July 19th. Final approval of the funding requests is slated for the August 1st City Council meeting. For a full list of the agencies to receive funding in 2011, please click here.

One of the criteria that Family Circle magazine considered in naming St. Charles the #1 town in the USA for families is its “giving spirit.” The community’s generosity in providing funds to agencies that serve the less fortunate of St. Charles clearly demonstrates this.

This week, Family Circle magazine announced the results of its exclusive survey which named St. Charles #1 in its Annual Survey of Best Towns and Cities for families. The comprehensive survey included communities from across the country and is featured in the magazine’s August 2011 issue, which hit newsstands Wednesday. You can read the full article here. For a press release regarding the recognition that includes comments from local leaders, please click here.

The City of St. Charles was contacted several months ago by a representative of Family Circle. Financial information regarding the community was requested. The representative also requested information regarding a local family that could be contacted about the “St. Charles experience.” Mike and Monica Corbett graciously agreed to assist the city and talk about what attracted them to St. Charles, their experience living here, and why they love St. Charles. The Corbetts are a wonderful family and their contributions clearly helped St. Charles secure the top ranking.

It is so great to hear the community’s response to this recognition. It seems that it has given people a reason to express pride in their community. That is a good thing, becuase we have much to be proud of.

At the City’s appreciation dinner in 2007, I made some remarks about the things that I believe make St. Charles a great city. The same remarks hold true today, so I’m going to share them with you. I hope that you enjoy!

————-

“As I work and live in St. Charles, I hear a lot of comments about our community. Too much traffic. Too many vacant stores. Too many banks. Too many bars. Too many taxes. I think I even heard one person tell me that the river was too wet.

Some people try to be more positive. They ask why St. Charles can’t be more like some other community. That sounds like envy and Harold Coffin said, “envy is the art of counting the other fellow’s blessings instead of your own.”

So let me tell you what I see in St. Charles. We have:

• Great neighborhoods where people can raise their children
• More hotels than most communities in the western suburbs, including Pheasant Run
• More car dealers than any other community in the mid-valley area
• An award winning downtown ranked in the top 10
• Great schools and parks
• And let’s not forget the Q Center – there are only a few communities who can lay claim to a facility of this caliber

We have a great community. A community that I just don’t work in or work for, but have chosen to live in and where I raise my family.

And a huge part of what makes our community so great is the services that we all provide. We have great employees who work hard….day and night.

We have volunteers who take time away from their families on evenings and weekends to help out.

And while we all appreciate recognition from our customers, whether it be residents or businesses, we don’t crave it. In our line of work, great service is more often recognized with silence than with fanfare.

Our employees and volunteers are satisfied with going about their work in a dedicated, yet matter-of-fact kind of way. In some ways, we’re like parents on Christmas morning. Kids think that the gifts arrived in some magical way, but the parents know that there’s so much more that happens behind the scenes to create those special moments.

This year, there have been challenges. We’ve had to cope with a declining economy and a downturn in housing. We’ve lived with skyrocketing fuel and insurance costs. We survived a significant power outage in May and record thunderstorms and flooding in August. And we’ve handled the departure of fellow employees – whether it is to pursue other opportunities or to retire to warmer climates. We’ve also coped with the untimely and tragic passing of 3 of our colleagues.

And, we have continued to provide services to the community….keeping the water flowing and toilets flushing, maintaining a safe and secure environment, making the community more attractive, and making sure the needs of our residents are met.

These are all services that are appreciated by many, even though we may not hear it often.

So for those that choose to dwell on what we are not, I say “thanks for caring.” And to those of you who are in this room tonight, I say “Thank you for sharing”…..your time, your hard work, your commitment, and most importantly your love for St. Charles.”

CONGRATULATIONS ST. CHARLES! WE ARE #1!!

On Tuesday, June 28th, the City held the bid opening for Phase 1 construction of the Red Gate Bridge. Phase 1 construction includes earthwork, tree removal, construction of stormwater detention facilities, and the erection of a pedestrian bridge over the Fox River bike trail. There were 7 bidders for the project and the engineer’s estimate for this scope of work was $2.7 million.

I am pleased to report that the low bid is $1.65 million and it was submitted by Herlihy Mid-Continent. After staff and consultant review, the low bid is in order and City staff will be recommending that the City Council award the bid at the July 5th meeting.

Other vendors that submitted bids, with their associated bid amount, are as follows:

• McHugh $1,996,690.09
• Lake County Grading $2,000,750.00
• IHC $2,024,011.84
• Illinois Constructors $2,265,127.64
• Sjostrom $2,288,882.04
• EarthWerks $2,944,854.24

It is my understanding that Herlihy is a reputable, qualified firm that worked on the Stearns Road bridge and performed admirably.

It is clear from the bid results that most vendors were very aggressive in their pricing and that the City is going to be able to perform this work at an extremely attractive price. On this phase alone, we will save $1 million (based on what was anticipated). The “Great Recession” and the current economic conditions have presented challenges for the City of St. Charles. In this case, it appears that the economy had a favorable impact on the construction industry, the bid environment, and the bid results.

The City anticipates that opponents of the Red Gate Bridge project will be in attendance at the July 5th City Council meeting. That is their right and they will be given a fair opportunity to speak. I encourage any and all parties that SUPPORT the bridge project to attend the meeting as well. From my discussions in the community, and from prior surveys, I know you are out there!

For additional information regarding the Red Gate Bridge, please go here or here.

For 10 years, a need has been identified to reconstruct and widen East Main Street/IL Route 64 on the east side of St. Charles. The area has experienced a high number of accidents due to a variety of factors including traffic volume, roadway design, the number of driveway access points, and driver error.

I am very pleased that the Illinois Department of Transportation (IDOT) has announced plans to complete the reconstruction of East Main Street by January, 2013. The first phase of construction will take place in 2011 and will consist of tree removal and utility relocation. Those who drive the area may have noticed the utility work near Charlestowne Mall and the tree removal in front of Pheasant Run Resort.

The second phase of construction will take place in 2012 and consist of the actual reconstruction and widening of the roadway. That work will include the construction of a dedicated left-turning lane from 7th Avenue near the St. Charles library to Dunham Road. This improvement will make the road safer for motorists.

During the construction, motorists and area businesses will be impacted. Normal traffic patterns will be disrupted, lane closures will be required, travel times will be extended, and patience will be needed. The City and IDOT will be strongly encouraging motorists to use alternative routes, including the Stearns Road and IL Route 38 corridors.

To provide information regarding the project, the City of St. Charles is hosting an Open House on Monday, June 27th from 5:30-7pm at St. Charles City Hall. City staff will be on hand to discuss the project and talk with persons interested in learning more about the project. All available reconstruction and traffic management plans will be available for public viewing during the Open House. We encourage everyone to come and view these documents. 

For more information on the Open House and the planned roadway and utility reconstruction work, contact Jim Bernahl at the St. Charles Public Works Department. He can be reached at 630-377-4405 or jbernahl@stcharlesil.gov

In addition, the City will provide weekly project updates at this website.

Finally, I want to communicate that the City has received word that the State of Illinois budget impasse that has threatened to shut-down transportation projects will NOT impact the East Main Street work. IDOT has informed the City that the project will proceed as planned.

On Thurday afternoon, Mayor DeWitte and I attended an event at DuPage Airport that featured the United States Secretary of Transportation Ray LaHood. Secretary LaHood was in the area to meet with DuPage Airport officials and to tout the benefits of general aviation airports and the economic impacts that the facilities provide to the adjacent communities and the region as a whole. 

The event was attended by several prominent leaders including State Senator John Millner, State Representative Randy Ramey, DuPage County Board Chairman Dan Cronin, and Geneva Mayor Kevin Burns.