2026-10-20 - City Council

17:23Good evening. Welcome to the October

17:2420th Neighborville City Council meeting.

17:26Roll call.

17:27>> Worley

17:28>> here.

17:28>> Gibson

17:29>> here.

17:30>> PSower

17:30>> here.

17:31>> Jane

17:32>> here.

17:32>> Kelly

17:33>> here.

17:33>> Mc Broom

17:34>> here.

17:34>> Say

17:35>> here.

17:35>> White

17:36>> here.

17:36>> Wilson

17:37>> here. Please rise and join me in the

17:39pledge of

17:40>> allegiance

17:44to the flag of the United States of

17:47America and to the stands nation.

18:01>> Our first item on the agenda is awards

18:03and recognitions. Councilman Sed is the

18:05mayor prom and will present tonight's

18:06proclamation.

18:17Good evening. Can I have the group,

18:19please?

18:35Office of the Mayor, City of Neapville,

18:37Illinois. Proclamation.

18:40The American Association of University.

18:43>> Okay. Thank you.

18:46The American Association of University

18:48Women was formed nearly 150 years ago to

18:53advance equity for women and girls

18:56through research and educational

18:58advocacy. and a a UW neighborville area

19:02branch has served the local community

19:05for 70 years and includes 119 local

19:09members with nearly 1,500 statewide and

19:14a UW Neperville has awarded more than

19:18175,000

19:20dollars in scholarships since

19:22establishing the Angelina Gal

19:25scholarship in 1971

19:28with funding provided

19:29primary through its signature used book

19:32sale. And since 1993,

19:36a AUW Neapville encourages girls to

19:40pursue steam careers, including through

19:43its vision 1948 initiatives to advance

19:47gender priority in technology and aa

19:51neighborville provides educational

19:54programming, honors and annual women of

19:57the year, and continuously advocates for

20:00policies that ensure equal rights. and

20:04opportunities for all. I, Scott A.

20:07Worley, mayor of city of Neapville,

20:09Illinois, do hereby recognize and

20:12commend the American Association of

20:14University Women, Neapville area branch

20:17on its 70th anniversary and celebrate

20:21its longstanding commitment to

20:24education, equity, and community

20:26service. I here and do set my hand and

20:31affects the seal of the city of

20:32Neapville this 28th day of October 2026.

20:36Congratulations Peggy. Thank you.

20:39[applause]

20:43[applause]

20:50Take a picture first.

20:51>> Okay.

21:20Thank you, Mayor Worley, Mayor Prom Sah,

21:23and city council members. My name is

21:26Peggy Frank and I am honored to be here

21:29tonight as president of the AAW

21:32Neighborville area branch representing

21:34over 120 members of which a few could

21:38join us here tonight.

21:40We are thrilled to be celebrating our

21:4370th anniversary this year. Achieving

21:46this milestone has only been possible

21:49thanks to the amazing volunteerism of

21:52our members and friends.

21:55Many people associate AaW with our used

21:58book sale, but we are much more than

22:01that.

22:03As the oldest women's organization in

22:05the country, founded in 1881,

22:09in concert with over 170,000 people

22:12nationwide, we advocate for equity for

22:16girls and women in the workplace,

22:19education,

22:20recreation,

22:22science, technology, health, and in all

22:26facets of life. Equity for women creates

22:31a stronger world and a better life for

22:34everyone.

22:36As our proclamation mentioned,

22:38supporting women pursuing higher

22:40education degrees in particular for

22:44women who have had their educational

22:46path interrupted for some reason is a

22:49major commitment of our branch. This has

22:52been possible due to the widespread

22:55support of our signature used book sale.

22:59So, if you're looking to declutter this

23:01spring, save your books till our spring

23:04book drive and then come to our sale,

23:07find your next great read or your

23:09beloved favorite book.

23:12Anyone wanting to learn more about the

23:15diverse activities of our organization

23:18is welcome to join us this Thursday at

23:20meet and greets at Sweetwaters in

23:23downtown Neighborville at either 10:00

23:25a.m. or 6:00 p. p.m.

23:28Again, a sincere thank you for this

23:31mayoral proclamation and recognition.

23:34Our collective accomplishments have been

23:36possible thanks to widespread community

23:39support. We are grateful for that

23:42support and look forward to continuing

23:45advancing our mission in the years

23:47ahead. Thank you.

23:50[applause]

23:57Next is public forum. I'd like to remind

23:59everyone of the citizen participation

24:01rules in the city's municipal code for

24:03speaking at city council meetings.

24:05Speakers are asked to present their

24:06comments in a respectful and courteous

24:08manner. Speaker should stay on topic and

24:10be cognizant of their words. Personal

24:13attacks on council members, staff, other

24:14speakers or members of the audience are

24:16not allowed. If inappropriate language

24:18or comments are expressed during this

24:19meeting, you will be asked immediately

24:21to stop commenting. Also, for a dance

24:23members, there is no cheering and no

24:24jeering. Actions such as applauding,

24:26cheering, or any other noises during or

24:28at the conclusion of any remarks made by

24:30any speaker or not allowed. If this

24:32occurs, you'll be asked to stop

24:33immediately. If and it continues to

24:35persist, I will recess the meeting until

24:37the audience abides by the rules in city

24:38code. No speaker should ever feel

24:40intimidated by the crowd. Audience

24:42disruption is meant to intimidate those

24:44speaking and I will not allow it in the

24:46chambers. Speakers are given three

24:47minutes to address the city council to

24:49help speakers stay within the threeminut

24:51time frame. We have a timer located over

24:53on the side disring.

24:58This helps speakers conclude their

25:00comments in a timely manner without

25:01being cut off. The timer will buzz when

25:03it hits zero and we will alert the

25:04speaker that their time is up. If a

25:06speaker's name is called and they are

25:08not in the room, we will move on to the

25:10next speaker and will not go back.

25:12Speakers are encouraged to remain in

25:14council chambers until the conclusion of

25:16public forum in the event council

25:18members want to ask follow-up questions.

25:20Also, when your name is called, please

25:21come and have a seat in the first row.

25:24Mrs. Shots, please call the first

25:25speakers. The first four speakers are

25:28Ted Bullard, Terresa Hus, Barbara

25:31Benson, and Brad Evans.

25:47Good evening, Mr. Mayor, council

25:48members, and fellow Neapville residents.

25:51I'm Ted Bolard, a volunteer for for

25:53Nest, and I'm here to speak to some

25:56information passed from the Affordable

25:59Neighborville second town hall. Renowned

26:02climate science denier, Steven Goran,

26:04uh, spoke at the town hall. Mr. Gorum

26:07and I actually have something in common.

26:10We both have degrees in electrical

26:11engineering. We both have an MBA, and

26:14neither of us have formally studied

26:16climate science. But according to Mr.

26:19Gorum, there's no empirical evidence

26:22that increasing levels of greenhouse

26:24gases are causing global warming.

26:27Rather, in his view, the warming we are

26:30experiencing is due to natural cycles

26:33and randomness in the climate system,

26:36citing the medieval warm period and the

26:39little ice age that followed as an

26:40example. But he neglected to mention

26:43that the North America uh North Atlantic

26:45was warmer there uh warmer than it is

26:49today and other regions and the entire

26:52planet were much cooler than today. This

26:56phenomenon was a regional not a global

26:58phenomenon and that the causes of this

27:02regional cooling are known but are not

27:05operating today. More than 99.5% of

27:08peer-reviewed scientific papers that

27:10explicitly take a position on

27:13humancaused warming agree that climate

27:15change is mainly caused by humans.

27:18According to a 2021 survey of 88,000

27:22climate related studies, Mark Lionus, a

27:26visiting fellow for the allian at the

27:29Alliance for Science and the paper's

27:30first author said, "We are virtually

27:32certain that it's pretty much case

27:35closed for any meaningful public

27:37conversation about the reality of

27:40humancaused

27:42climate change." One of Mr. Gorm slides

27:46discussed the historic blackout in Spain

27:49and Portugal. It occurred uh over a year

27:53ago, April 28th, 2025. About 60 million

27:58people in the on the Iberian Peninsula

28:00lost power within 90 seconds.

28:04More than 75% of Spain's electricity

28:07came from solar. Like many early reports

28:10blaming solar, blaming the outage on

28:12solar, Mr. Gorum specifically blamed it

28:15on the asynchronous asynchronous nature

28:18of solar and wind asserting they don't

28:21have the natural stability of our

28:22traditional systems.

28:25But after studying the problem, the NO-E

28:30the panel of European grid operators

28:32issued a report 11 months later that

28:36contradicted that assumption

28:38saying they found no single cause. There

28:41were 22 separate elements that were

28:44taken, recommendations were made and

28:46elements taken. None of them had to do

28:49with reducing solar. Thank you.

28:51>> Thank you. Next speaker.

28:52>> The next speaker is Terresa Hus.

28:56>> Hi, Teresa Hus, longtime resident and

28:59part of Nest's leadership team. I want

29:01to thank the council for approving the

29:03new energy vision statement and we

29:06appreciate the council's recognition

29:08that Neapville's energy future must

29:10include five important priorities:

29:12reliability, sustainability,

29:15affordability, flexibility, and local

29:17control.

29:19As the council said, these five pillars

29:21will work together to give the city a

29:25framework for evaluating energy

29:27decisions.

29:28And I also wanted to clarify the meaning

29:30of sustainability since there seems to

29:32continue to be questions.

29:34Nearly 40 years ago, the United Nations

29:37Bruntland Commission defined

29:39sustainability as meeting the needs of

29:41the present without compromising the

29:43ability of future generations to meet

29:45their own needs. That definition has

29:48been widely accepted ever since for

29:50almost 40 years. It is the definition

29:52that we use and also the definition that

29:54the city's sustainability manager uses.

29:57In Neapville, a community known for its

29:59outstanding schools and for the

30:01family-friendly environment, the

30:02principle that we should consider the

30:05next generation in our decisions

30:07shouldn't be controversial.

30:09Nest also strongly supports

30:11affordability as a key selection

30:14criterion.

30:15In fact, affordability is one reason we

30:18have opposed considering only one

30:20vendor. The city's consultant along with

30:23our own analyses showed IMEA to be more

30:26expensive than available alternatives.

30:28And the fundamental question is simple.

30:30Why would we sign a long-term agreement

30:32before receiving competitive pricing

30:34from other providers? We do sometimes

30:37hear the comparison that IMBA's power

30:40plants are like a mortgage that will

30:41soon be paid off. But extending that

30:44analogy, the state law will require

30:46Neighborville to soon move out of our

30:48paidoff coal home only a few years after

30:51after paying off that mortgage. IMEA

30:53would then need to develop replacements

30:55and they have a history of overseeing

30:57billion dollar cost overruns that

31:00Neighborville residents have paid for.

31:02The best way to determine whether we're

31:05receiving a competitive deal is to seek

31:07multiple bids and compare them. The new

31:10vision statement is an encouraging step.

31:12It reflects the multiple priorities that

31:15residents have expressed through city

31:17surveys and other means, and it provides

31:19a strong foundation for responsible

31:22forward-looking energy planning.

31:25Nest will continue to offer

31:26research-based practical recommendations

31:29that support this vision, including

31:32affordability. We appreciate the

31:34council's thoughtful engagement. Thank

31:36you.

31:37>> Thank you. Next speaker. The next

31:39speaker is Barbara Benson.

31:44>> Good evening. My name is Barbara Benson,

31:46a longtime Neighborville resident and a

31:48leadership team volunteer with Nest.

31:51October is energy efficiency month. As

31:54the city plans our future energy supply

31:57and evaluates the 2027 budget, it's

32:00vital to remember that energy supply and

32:03energy usage are deeply connected. While

32:06our supply choices are set for now, our

32:09usage is within our control. By actively

32:12promoting energy efficiency, the city

32:15can help local households and businesses

32:18lower their utility bills while reducing

32:20overall carbon emissions. The Citizens

32:23Utility Board offers several practical

32:26winterization steps to help residents

32:29save money and stay warm. I'll just go

32:32through a few of them. Everyone should

32:34clear vents of furniture and carpet.

32:37Seal leaks around doors and windows with

32:39weather stripping. Leverage natural heat

32:42by opening blinds during sunny daylight

32:45hours and closing them at night. Lower

32:48your thermostat by 7 to 10° when

32:51sleeping or away. The Department of

32:53Energy recommends setting the thermostat

32:56to 68 degrees when at home.

33:00Check your attic installation and top it

33:03off if it falls below the floor joists.

33:06Run ceiling fans clockwise on low to

33:09push trap warm air downward. Replace

33:12your furnace filters regularly to

33:15maintain system efficiency.

33:20Close fireplace dampers when not in use

33:22to keep warm air inside. Cap water

33:25heater settings at 120 degrees

33:28Fahrenheit and add an insulating blanket

33:31on the water heater. Prioritize heating

33:34safety. Avoid using ovens for heat. Keep

33:37space heaters away from flammables and

33:40ensure they have auto shut off features.

33:43Test smoke and CO detectors and replace

33:46batteries. Blasting the furnace or using

33:49fireplaces during the winter months

33:52makes us more susceptible to accidental

33:55house fires and carbon monoxide

33:57exposure.

33:59These are just some winterization steps

34:01that can help save money and keep

34:03residents comfortable in the winter. If

34:06you have questions or would like

34:08information on making improvements such

34:11as installing rooftop solar, switching

34:14to electric heat pumps, purchasing an EV

34:18or a home charger or native gardening,

34:21contact Nest's climate coaches on the

34:24sustainable neighborville.org website

34:27and we'd love to help you out. Thank you

34:30for your time.

34:31>> Thank you. Next speaker. The next

34:33speakers are Brad Evans, followed by Tim

34:35Fero, James Far, and Bob.

34:38>> And if you've heard your name called,

34:39please move to the front row.

34:49>> Brad Evans,

34:52Jim Fredo,

35:07>> [clears throat]

35:09>> Good evening. My name is Tim Ferto. I am

35:11a Neapville resident and a dire and the

35:13director of Affordable Neighborville.

35:16I'm here to express my opposition to the

35:19electric vision statement adopted by six

35:21city council members last month. While

35:25reliability and affordability are goals

35:26that I strongly support, I am concerned

35:29that the inclusion of sustainability

35:32elevates carbon reduction to a core

35:34objective of our electric utility.

35:37Neighborville's electric's primary

35:39mission should be simple. Provide

35:42residents and businesses with reliable,

35:44affordable electricity. Climate and

35:47energy policy are largely driven by the

35:50state and national governments and are

35:52often influenced by politics. Those

35:55political priorities should not be

35:57should not dictate the mission of our

36:00local utility. I am also concerned that

36:03flexibility and local control not are

36:07not truly depend not truly independent

36:09priorities

36:11or meaningful trade-offs alongside

36:12affordability. Rather, they appear to be

36:14instruments for advancing sustainability

36:17objectives. In practice, sustainability

36:20is a centerpiece of this vision with the

36:23other elements serving to support it.

36:26Similar policies elsewhere have resulted

36:28in higher electricity costs for

36:30consumers, quite a bit higher.

36:33Neighborville residents could face the

36:34same consequences while seeing no

36:37improvement of local emissions, climate,

36:40or weather. In closing, a vision

36:42statement should keep reliability and

36:45affordability at the forefront, not

36:47commit future councils to a costly

36:49carbon centric agenda. Thank you.

36:53>> Thank you. Next speaker.

36:54>> The next speaker is James Flower.

37:08Good evening.

37:11At the power supply workshop, you voted

37:14to place the term sustainability in the

37:16city's vision statement. When the topic

37:18of energy, the term sustainability

37:20invariably means carbon-f free. You've

37:23seen a map like this before. The green

37:25circles represent nuclear power plants

37:27that literally surround Neapville. Those

37:29six nuclear plants supply more than 50%

37:32of the state's entire electricity

37:34demand. They produce so much power that

37:36the PJM KMED zone is an exporter of

37:39electricity to other states and grids.

37:42As you know, nuclear power emits zero

37:45carbon. The blue circles are natural gas

37:48generating plants. Most of these are

37:50peaker plants that run only a couple

37:52hundred hours per year during high

37:54demand periods like a hot summer

37:55afternoon or a bitter cold January

37:58night. Natural gas is a very clean

38:01burning fuel with low emissions. Here is

38:04a map of the major high voltage

38:06transmission lines in the Kameed zone.

38:09You can see the lines coming from the

38:10west and southwest are like spokes on a

38:12bicycle wheel heading to the hub

38:15Chicago, our area's major load center.

38:19Electricity generally flows from west to

38:21east on this map. Here are the power

38:24plant locations overlaid on the

38:26transmission grid. You don't have to be

38:29an electrical engineer to understand

38:31that based on geography,

38:33electricity that Neapville physically

38:35uses is virtually carbon-f free.

38:39The greenhouse gas protocol, the global

38:41standard for measuring and reporting

38:43greenhouse gas emissions, calls for

38:46scope 2 emissions to be calculated using

38:48the locationbased methodology I just

38:52described. Not surprisingly, however,

38:55when a consultant informed by activists

38:58produced a greenhouse gas inventory for

39:00the city last year, it wasn't done that

39:03way.

39:04So whether the term sustainable is

39:06placed first, second, or third on a list

39:09of desirable attributes for the city's

39:12power supply, the good news is we're

39:14already there. We're a carbon-f free,

39:17sustainable enterprise, and no decision

39:19you make from this point forward will

39:21change that. Neapville's power supply

39:24decision will have zero impact on carbon

39:27emissions, the environment or climate

39:29change as we have been told ad nauseium

39:32in for the last 5 years. However,

39:35Neapville's supply decision will have a

39:37substantial impact on rateayers

39:39pocketbooks.

39:40This includes most of the 63,000

39:42rateayers in our community who do not

39:45want to pay higher utility bills for

39:47zero benefit. Thank you.

39:51>> Thank you. The next speaker,

39:52>> the next speaker is Bob, followed by

39:54Richard Stark, Lewis Leakius, and Paul

39:57Lundy.

39:59>> Is there a last name for Bob?

40:02>> There's not.

40:04>> I guess that's me.

40:06>> I don't know how you lost my name, but

40:08I'm Bob. I'm going to take the the

40:10podium.

40:12Good evening.

40:1412 years ago, Kate Steinley was shot

40:16dead by Joseé Inz Garcia Zetta. Here

40:20illegally, lengthy criminal record,

40:23deported six times. Remember Kate? Four

40:27months before killing Kate, Garcia Zetta

40:29was arrested by San Francisco police for

40:31an outstanding drug charge. Immigration

40:34requested a 48 hour detention. Instead,

40:37San Francisco's progressive prosecutor,

40:39George Gassone, dropped a drug charge.

40:42policy required the police to let him

40:45go. Less than three months later after

40:47his release, Kate Steinley is dead.

40:50Adding insult to injury for the Steinley

40:52family, this individual was never

40:54charged with murder. The lesser gun

40:57charge was soon tossed on appeal and

40:59Garcia Zetta was simply deported again

41:02for the seventh time. Ask Kate

41:05Steinley's parents, extended family

41:07members, and friends if they believe

41:10justice was served. Also ask yourself,

41:13how can a foreign national repeatedly

41:15enter our country, violate our laws,

41:18cause mayhem over a 20year period, kill

41:22one of our citizens, and never be held

41:25accountable. The insanity has been going

41:28on for far too long. George Gasone has

41:30plenty of fellow Kool-Aid drinkers. New

41:33York Governor Kathy Hogal has denied

41:3515,000 immigration detainee requests.

41:39Larry Kraner in Philadelphia. Our own

41:42George, our own Governor Pritsker. Whose

41:45side are these people on? Closer to

41:47home, we have Sheridan Gordon, a

41:49freshman at Depal at the lake looking at

41:51stars one moment shot dead by an illegal

41:54immigrant the next. Has anyone seen

41:57Jessica Gorman's Sheridan's mother's

41:59gut-wrenching testimony on Capitol Hill

42:02regarding the insanity of Illinois's

42:05Safety Act or these reckless and deadly

42:08sanctuary policies? It's heartbreaking.

42:12Sheridan's death was preventable. The

42:14Safety Act. 102 counties in Illinois,

42:18100 of the 102 county DAS said, "Do not

42:23pass this legislation." Did our

42:25Springfield Democrat socialist heed the

42:28advice of 98% of Illinois County DAs? Of

42:32course not. Our cerebral politicians

42:35know far better. Disney World reinstated

42:38welcomed ladies and gentlemen, boys and

42:40girls. Coke realized its massive 1985

42:44new Coke blender. Budlight quickly

42:46adjusted after infuriating the majority

42:49of its customers. You too, city council

42:52members, should take a more active role

42:54in corraling and correcting the

42:57insanity. My dream headline, Neapville

43:00City Council votes unanimously to

43:03support growing outrage over Illinois's

43:06sanctuary and safety act legislation.

43:09What are you waiting for? Dead Americans

43:11are piling up. Thank you for the

43:14opportunity to speak.

43:16>> Thank you. Next speaker. The next

43:18speaker is Richard Stark.

43:30Hi, Richard Stark, 8-year resident of

43:33Neapville, and tonight I'm going to

43:35provide an overview of the next steps in

43:37electricity strategy development process

43:40up through June of next year.

43:43The project plan

43:45that I'm referring to was originally

43:47developed last March and reviewed with

43:49Brian Growth at that time. It was

43:52subsequently adjusted to align with the

43:54key milestone dates provided to the city

43:56council and has been updated

43:58periodically as the project has evolved.

44:04Um rather than cover all the details of

44:07the project plan, which would take a lot

44:08more than three minutes, I've identified

44:11nine major deliverables that are due by

44:14June.

44:15Um I do not want to discuss each one at

44:18this time in detail because I don't have

44:20the time. But I want to emphasize that

44:22the most challenging aspect coming up of

44:25the strategy development process is the

44:28modeling required to identify the

44:30optimal mix of sourcing, storage and

44:33demand management options over time.

44:36This work will be developed through

44:37multiple scenario based optimization

44:40modeling. The next slide

44:44covers a critical path for this uh

44:46eight-month period. Uh the yellow will

44:49indicate uh topics that are behind

44:52schedule and have a high risk of medium

44:55to high risk of not producing results.

45:00And you'll see the first five items on

45:02the list are all behind schedule and

45:05high risk.

45:10So um what I'm going to show next is a

45:12summary of the major things that can be

45:15done to help address this in the short

45:16term.

45:20The first thing is that uh the project

45:23is underst staffed. Additional

45:25leadership and project execution support

45:28are needed including an interim strategy

45:30leader, program manager and modeling

45:34resource whether internal or external.

45:39And the second category is the decision

45:42framework needs to be completed by

45:44establishing the categories, targets,

45:46and benchmarks that will guide future

45:48evaluation and decisions.

45:51We no longer have the luxury of making

45:54slow incremental progress. To meet the

45:57the required timeline, city council and

46:00staff must work together to quickly

46:02address these gaps and advance the

46:04strategy process. Thank you in advance

46:07for your leadership and commitment to

46:09this important effort. Thank you.

46:12>> Thank you. Next speaker. The next fe

46:15speaker is Lewis Leakius followed by

46:17Paul Lundy.

46:28>> My name is Lewis Hulkus. I've been a

46:31resident of Neapville for 43 years. I am

46:33a retired federal law enforcement

46:35officer with 32 years of service,

46:37including 22 years enforcing

46:39environmental criminal law with the US

46:42EPA. During my career, I served as

46:44acting director with responsibility for

46:47procedures governing the review of

46:49criminal investigations involving

46:51utilities throughout the United States.

46:54I currently serve as chair of the public

46:56utility advisory board. I want to

46:58clarify an important point raised during

47:02the September 1st city council meeting

47:05concerning Neapville's electricity rates

47:07and the suggestion that the city is

47:09subsidizing residents electric bill. At

47:12a recent public utility advisory board

47:15meeting, I asked Mayor DB, customer

47:17solutions manager for the Neighborville

47:19electric utility to explain how NEU was

47:22subsidizing residents cost of service

47:25electric bills.

47:27He stated, "No utility charges 100% cost

47:31of service-based rates because retail

47:34rates are based on customer usage

47:37patterns that are largely driven by

47:39variations in weather. Due to these

47:41variations, it was recommended by UFS

47:44Utility Financial Solutions that rates

47:47move toward cost of service slowly with

47:50a general tolerance of a 10% variation

47:53between projected revenue and cost of

47:56service. This is significant because the

47:59process itself should not be interpreted

48:01as meaning Neighborville is uniquely

48:04subsidizing the customer's electric

48:06bills. More importantly, when the city

48:09reported the comparison of electric

48:11costs to the PUAB,

48:13uh that process was already accounted

48:15for. Even after accounting for it,

48:18Neapville's electric rates were reported

48:20to be approximately 20 to 30% lower than

48:24those of surrounding communities that do

48:26not obtain their electricity through

48:28IMEA. My concern is therefore not simply

48:31about the electric rate comparison. It

48:34is about the process we use to

48:35understand these complicated issues

48:38before significant financial decisions

48:40are made. City council members cannot be

48:43expected to be experts in every

48:45technical area. That is precisely why

48:48Neville has boards and commissions such

48:50as the PUAB which includes individuals

48:54with relevant knowledge and experience.

48:56The PUAB exists to provide the council

48:59with informed independent advice on

49:02utility matters. I believe that resource

49:05of PUAB should be fully utilized when

49:08the council is considering decisions

49:10that have significant and long-term

49:13financial consequences for Napville

49:15residents and businesses.

49:18This misunderstanding

49:20discussed tonight

49:22illustrates why obtaining and carefully

49:24considering subject matter expertise is

49:27so important. Thank you.

49:31>> Thank you. Thanks, speaker. The final

49:33speaker in public forum is Paul Lundy.

49:41>> Okay. Thank you for having me. I have a

49:43speech disability. Hope you can hear me.

49:46Um, we moved here, my family and I from

49:50Chicago four years ago. And I have a

49:52situation that is uh applies to my

49:55house, but I'm sure it probably applies

49:57to a lot of the houses here in this room

50:00and certainly in Neighborville. Um, I

50:03always wondered why my backyard was

50:04flooding. Uh, we all know it's been

50:07raining a lot and uh, it's not getting

50:10any better. So, I'd like to play a small

50:12video and then explain.

50:18So, what we see here is a drain from one

50:20of my neighbors yards. Um, it is a 4-in

50:24pipe which basically gathers rain water

50:27from their roof, from their French

50:29drain, from their stump pump, and

50:32disperses this water ultimately into my

50:35yard.

50:37And uh, I was shocked to see this. I'm

50:40sure hopefully some of you can relate to

50:43this. Um, so one of the first things I

50:47did was uh contact the city of

50:50Neighborville's TED department and I had

50:53a lot of meetings with the TED

50:55department, the engineers.

50:59Councilwoman Mary Gibson was also kind

51:01enough to come and visit my property.

51:04What I was told was that this type of

51:07drain, which by the way I'm going to

51:09call a concentrated water flow drain as

51:13opposed to the normal sheeting of water

51:16when one property is higher than

51:18another. That's that's normal drainage

51:22from higher elevation to lower. That's

51:26what occurs when the grading plan is

51:28approved for your house when it's built.

51:30This is concentrated water. This is

51:33water from a drain that is purposely

51:36dumped into somebody else's property. I

51:39explained that at nauseium. I said this

51:42can't happen. Um the response from the

51:45TED group is

51:48it's within code. Okay. So it's okay to

51:53do this to your neighbor. And as an

51:55example, I said if I took my rainwater

51:58from my roof, I have a very large house.

52:01I took my sump pump up water and I took

52:03my French drain water and I put my

52:05drain, my concentrated water flow drain

52:09one foot from my neighbor's yard and I

52:11dumped all the water into their house

52:13into their yard. Is that okay? Guess

52:16what? According to the Neighborville

52:18code, that's okay. So, what's my point

52:21here? My point here is two things. And

52:25I've done some research, not not

52:27comprehensive, that other mun

52:29municipalities within DuPage County have

52:32very strict requirements for how these

52:35drains are installed, where they can be.

52:38They're prohibited from causing damage,

52:41number one, but they're also minimum

52:43distances that these drains must be away

52:46from all adjacent property lines. We

52:50need to change the Neighborville

52:51drainage code. Thank you.

52:54Thank you.

52:58At this time, are there any city council

53:00members who wish to speak during public

53:03forum? As a reminder, council members

53:04have three minutes to speak. You can

53:06speak up to two times. Councilman Alzar.

53:08>> Thank you, Mayor. Um, actually, with

53:10regard to Mr. Lundy's comments. I was

53:12wondering if uh city manager Kger could

53:15speak a little bit or perhaps let us

53:17know which department director could um

53:20could let us know about this issue which

53:22I think actually impacts a lot of us

53:24because you know it's the Midwest and we

53:26have some pumps.

53:27>> Sure.

53:27>> Uh thank you uh thank you mayor. Um

53:30certainly um uh the storm water

53:33requirements are actually kind of split

53:34a little bit. Um the original design and

53:37storm water conveyance falls under TED

53:40um for um individual um uh storm water

53:45fixes and the system is operated by

53:47public works.

53:50>> Okay. Then as a maybe as a followup to

53:53Mr. Kger, which director would you

53:55recommend that I call ask to address

53:57this?

53:58>> You know, I I I think with this one um

54:01uh it's more of a design issue. Uh, and

54:03that would be for Ted.

54:05>> Okay. Mayor, is it all right if I follow

54:07up with

54:07>> Yeah, Miss Louden.

54:09>> Director Louden.

54:10>> Uh, we're actually gonna have uh city

54:12engineer Andy Hinesfield this one. Thank

54:13you,

54:14>> Mr. Hines.

54:19>> Uh, so is is your question just in

54:21general, do we have such a code?

54:24>> Uh, could you maybe just enlighten us a

54:26little bit more about how these issues

54:29are looked at and handled? I mean, I I

54:31don't think that Mr. Lundy's the only

54:33resident that has concerns like this.

54:35So, so could you provide some broader

54:37context?

54:37>> Sure. So, so when a property develops,

54:39there is a drainage plan that's designed

54:41uh you know by the uh property owner's

54:45engineer. Uh in this case, there is a

54:47drainage pattern that uh you know that

54:49is you know currently in place where his

54:52neighbors uh property does drain through

54:57through his backyard and his neighbors

54:59backyards. uh that continues to the west

55:01and that's you know along the rear

55:03property line through a swale and you

55:05know and that's the the the existing

55:07drainage pattern that's being

55:09maintained. Um you know properties do

55:11have uh downspouts some pumps uh yard

55:16drains that do uh you know often go

55:20through um you know underground drainage

55:23tiles to get to uh you know to the

55:25property line and allow them to drain

55:27off onto the adjacent property. So, you

55:30know, we don't have a specific minimum

55:32distance that we uh require for those

55:35type of discharges onto an adjacent

55:37property. Um, we always recommend that

55:39people pull those back as far as

55:41possible to allow that water to to

55:43disperse and to uh infiltrate and on

55:46their property before it travels onto

55:48their neighbor's property. Uh but due to

55:51the variety of properties and

55:53situations, especially in older older

55:55areas, um you know, there's not always

55:58the ability to maintain, you know, a

56:00minimum distance away from the property

56:02line.

56:03>> And just one more followup, I I was

56:06wondering if it' be possible, Mr. Hines,

56:07that you could uh speak with a resident

56:09um in a break and just maybe get some

56:12more details about his situation, see if

56:13just just learn a little more about it.

56:16So, uh, just to follow up and so, uh,

56:18both our our code official and, uh, our

56:20deputy city and jer have already met Mr.

56:22Lundy on his property. Apologize

56:23reviewed it with

56:24>> Okay. Thank you,

56:28>> Councilman Wilson.

56:30>> Thank you, Mayor. Uh, just to follow up

56:32a bit more on the sustainability

56:35talk, I suppose. Um, and and I guess

56:39with regard to like that Bruntland

56:41definition,

56:43um, as far as meeting the needs of the

56:45president present without hurting future

56:47generations, just to grab a snippet of

56:50it. Um, I I guess my part of my issue

56:53with that is, you know, needs may be

56:54subjective and arbitrary. Um, like

56:58somebody may be defining a need as basic

57:01survival, whereas others may define it

57:04as, uh, you know, living in Neapville.

57:08Um,

57:10and then, you know, with with regard to

57:12future generations, I haven't seen any

57:14timeline to this. Is it, you know, 5

57:16years, 10 years, 200, 10,000 years? Um,

57:21and and meeting whatever the

57:22sustainability meets means within within

57:25that time frame. So, again, it's just,

57:27you know, my issues with it being

57:30arbitrary and subjective. Okay. Um,

57:35and you know, on on top of that, it's

57:36just it it seems

57:39somewhat interesting to me where we're

57:41we're referring to the UN as uh some

57:43sort of authority here, uh, considering

57:46the amount of scandals that they've had

57:47in the past, I don't know, 20 years. So,

57:51uh, just a couple my thoughts on that.

57:53Thank you, mayor.

57:55>> Thank you, Councilman. Say,

57:57>> thank you, mayor.

57:59Thank you all. Thank you to all the

58:01speakers who spoke today and thank you

58:04to Miss Barbara Benson for

58:08reminding us, educating us and uh best

58:12practices. We all as a community has to

58:14be doing it how to save energy. We all

58:17know about those things but still

58:19sometimes we miss you know. So, so this

58:22is a good uh reminder for everybody who

58:25wanted to really save money, save energy

58:29and definitely we need to save this

58:30energy and money for the next

58:32generation. So, just wanted to thanks

58:34her for for this uh educational speech

58:38which will definitely be a reminder as

58:40well as help all of us. Thank you,

58:44>> Councilman White.

58:48Thank you. Um, mayor, the uh, yeah, I'm

58:51not sure what the it's like this fear of

58:54sustainability is we've been uh, told by

58:57our state where we need to be from a

58:59sustainability perspective and we and we

59:02have to wean ourselves off of coal.

59:04We've been told that.

59:06So, it should be part of what we're

59:08talking about. So, I'm not sure what

59:10we're scared of uh, when it comes to

59:12that. So I think we should continue on

59:15um as most of the council has uh stated

59:18here in when we talked about the vision

59:20statement. Couple of other things I just

59:22wanted to address. Um

59:29PACE bus stops. I know we have we have a

59:32few of the uh pace buses that come

59:34through and so on. And uh I often notice

59:38that we have residents who are waiting

59:41to get on the bus and there's no cover

59:43or anything. Many of these residents uh

59:46have special needs or have disabilities

59:50uh or special needs that uh it seems

59:52that we I'm I'm not sure if we're really

59:54may be addressing this particular uh

59:57issue. Now, if it's somewhere maybe on

1:00:00Route 59, it's a state road. I get maybe

1:00:03maybe the state should be responsible

1:00:06for it, but um I think Neapville, these

1:00:10are Neighborville residents that are

1:00:11using the using these resources. So, I

1:00:13think we should have a a definite

1:00:15interest in that. I don't know if Miss L

1:00:17if you can speak to that.

1:00:21>> Sure. Um yeah, typically um PACE would

1:00:24look to the municipality to participate

1:00:26and um you know uh in providing uh

1:00:30covered bus stops if that if we wanted

1:00:32to pursue those. So if that is um a

1:00:35direction that we wanted to take, we

1:00:36could work with PACE to to look at

1:00:39implementing those. Um good point that

1:00:42route 59 is a state route. So if we were

1:00:44to do that, um we would likely need to

1:00:46do that under permit that the city would

1:00:48apply for um through the state.

1:00:50>> Okay. Um, and I say that when winter

1:00:52winter's coming, so um I think it's

1:00:55something we need to address. I'm not

1:00:57sure if it's something we can get staff

1:00:58to explore maybe in new business. Um, a

1:01:01couple of other things as well. Um, I

1:01:04discussed this with uh with with Ted as

1:01:07uh with all the construction. I know we

1:01:10was brought up last uh council meeting,

1:01:12but all the construction a lot of our

1:01:13residents are concerned with what's

1:01:15going on Book Road, all these different

1:01:17things.

1:01:18um was wondering after having a

1:01:21discussion with one of our residents, is

1:01:22there a centralized spot maybe where we

1:01:25can go to maybe on the a city website

1:01:28that would discuss the the projects that

1:01:32are going on across the city if it's

1:01:3495th and Book Road where we have the

1:01:36sink holes and so on that whoever's the

1:01:40contracted person the v well I shouldn't

1:01:42say the vendor but whoever has that

1:01:43contract to fix that can update the go

1:01:47the site update what's going on um what

1:01:50progress they've made where what's going

1:01:53on next and when they expect to be done.

1:01:55Um I think that would be really great

1:01:57for residents as we sit here and we're

1:02:00just scratching our head as far as all

1:02:01the different things that are happening

1:02:02in the community from a construction

1:02:04standpoint. Um I I'll allow you to

1:02:07address that one as well because I know

1:02:08you and I had a short discussion about

1:02:10it.

1:02:11>> Director Len.

1:02:13>> Yes. And actually, interestingly, we had

1:02:14a a staff level uh internal conversation

1:02:17just last week um regarding that. Um Dan

1:02:21Randolph actually said like, "Hey,

1:02:22wouldn't a map be great that shows all

1:02:24the construction?" So, we said, "Yeah,

1:02:26that would be great." We did previously

1:02:28have a consolidated map um that would

1:02:30show what specific projects were and

1:02:32then we have a consolidated projects in

1:02:35Neapville page on the current website.

1:02:37Um, but you do need to know kind of what

1:02:40project you're looking for in order to

1:02:41find the right um, page to get those

1:02:44updates. But I do think that's something

1:02:45that we can work together on in the

1:02:47future to have a map that could provide

1:02:49that basic level of information as to

1:02:51like what the project is. Um, it would

1:02:53have been great this year to, you know,

1:02:56show, hey, this one's water link. Um,

1:02:59you know, here's the contact for water

1:03:00commission. This is Route 59. Here's the

1:03:02contact for ID do things like that. So,

1:03:04that's definitely something we can look

1:03:05to improve on.

1:03:06>> Okay. That may I bring up in new

1:03:08business if if you guys can come back

1:03:09and give us some options there.

1:03:11>> Um and then finally, any update on

1:03:13Jefferson? I'm still getting uh uh

1:03:15emails from residents along Jefferson

1:03:18down close to downtown just west of the

1:03:20downtown. Um with the speeding on that

1:03:22road, we know we put some measures in

1:03:24place. Uh I'm not sure if you can if you

1:03:27can address that and maybe uh if uh

1:03:30police if you can maybe discuss maybe

1:03:33what we're doing maybe to monitor that

1:03:35and maybe

1:03:36maybe even step up police presence or

1:03:39issue more tickets or something along

1:03:41those lines.

1:03:42>> Sure. So, um towards uh the end of

1:03:45summer, early fall last year, we did

1:03:46implement a number of uh trafficcom

1:03:48homing measures um along Jefferson from

1:03:51Mil Street uh to West Street. Um that

1:03:54included the 25 mile per hour pavement

1:03:56markings. We did some buffering on the

1:03:58existing bike lanes. Um added uh

1:04:04travel lanes as well as enhanced a lot

1:04:06of the um crossing signage at the

1:04:08existing uh pedestrian crossings along

1:04:11uh Jefferson Avenue in that area. Um the

1:04:16the team did do some follow-up data

1:04:18collection this year. Um it did show

1:04:20that um we are the the measures have

1:04:24been effective at uh keeping the speeds

1:04:27within the ranges that we would expect

1:04:29um for a collector roadway. Um so we do

1:04:32view them as successful in that sense.

1:04:34Um we do still plan to um install um an

1:04:39even more enhanced crossing signage uh

1:04:41for the trail crossing near the memorial

1:04:44and where the the trail comes through um

1:04:46the park due to the you know volume of

1:04:49uh bicycle and pedestrian traffic that

1:04:52we see in that location. So um I mean

1:04:54all in all I do think that um the

1:04:56measures are helping. We could go back

1:04:58and look at our data and see if there's

1:04:59any particular times where we might

1:05:02speeds that are in excess of, you know,

1:05:04specifically. So, but across the board,

1:05:06we are seeing like the the 85th

1:05:08percentile speeds are in the range that

1:05:10we would want to see them in. So, but we

1:05:11could look and see if there's any

1:05:13particular times of day where we're

1:05:14seeing higher speeds. Um, usually that's

1:05:17pretty helpful for PD if they're going

1:05:18to do some enforcement.

1:05:19>> Let me follow up. Mayor, go ahead. Uh,

1:05:21what what range would we be talking

1:05:23about? An acceptable range?

1:05:26>> Um, we are usually seeing

1:05:35Yeah, usually we're seeing it about 20

1:05:37to 34. So I mean it is uh miles per

1:05:40hour. So we are seeing it most of the

1:05:42the speeds that we have seen I think are

1:05:44typically around 31 miles per hour. Um

1:05:48so we have seen that those measures have

1:05:49been successful but we again we can look

1:05:52and see if there's spikes in that that

1:05:54might help um PD focus some efforts on

1:05:57some enforcement.

1:05:57>> Okay. And that and what was it before it

1:06:00went it says roughly around 31. It's

1:06:02gone from that

1:06:03>> we only saw about I mean it was in that

1:06:05range previously even before we did the

1:06:08measures. Um I think we saw about a one

1:06:10mile per hour reduction with the

1:06:11measures that we implemented.

1:06:13>> Okay cool and uh MPD if you want to.

1:06:19>> Sure. Good evening. Uh, Deputy Chief

1:06:21Chad Bissiger on behalf of Chief Aries

1:06:23tonight. Uh, that uh, area roadway still

1:06:26continues to be a focus of ours and uh,

1:06:29we apply extra patrols and continue to

1:06:32monitor, work in collaboration with TED

1:06:34based off of the data.

1:06:38>> All right. Thank you, Mayor.

1:06:42>> Um, Mr. Mr. Lundy's video I I think was

1:06:46very interesting. We are getting a lot

1:06:48of complaints um especially this year

1:06:50with some of the the large rainfalls we

1:06:52had and the concentrated rainfalls about

1:06:54the drainage issue. He brings up some um

1:06:58ordinances that apparently exist in

1:07:00other communities. I was wondering if

1:07:03are we familiar with what those look

1:07:04like or have we tried to investigate any

1:07:06of those? I I perfect example. I know

1:07:09the park district here in Neighborville

1:07:12has an ordinance that says you cannot

1:07:14discharge your sump pump onto their

1:07:17property and they will go out and site

1:07:19people for those types of violations.

1:07:22So, um, Director Louden or or Mr. Hines,

1:07:25I are you familiar with any of that or

1:07:26is that something we could investigate

1:07:28for for further consideration down the

1:07:30road?

1:07:32>> Uh, yeah, Director Hines. Uh I just uh

1:07:35we we do know that Dwage County and

1:07:37their building code has a 10-ft minimum

1:07:39setback for for discharges. Um I think

1:07:42that works a little bit easier on a

1:07:44county uh type property where usually

1:07:47they're a little bit bigger lots. Um

1:07:49like I said in our case, we run into all

1:07:52kinds of different situations with

1:07:54especially with some pump discharges. Um

1:07:56you know, it's a for some people it's a

1:07:58real challenge. They have some pumps

1:08:00that run all the time. Sometimes they

1:08:02can discharge to their rear yard.

1:08:04Sometimes they discharge to the the

1:08:06front yard. Uh you know, it's part of

1:08:08the year and in the backyard it, you

1:08:09know, in during the winter so that the

1:08:11the sidewalk doesn't ice up. So, you

1:08:14know, managing water is is it can be

1:08:16difficult on certain properties.

1:08:20Okay. Well, I think we could look around

1:08:22and see if there's any other communities

1:08:24have more creative ideas. Perhaps M Mr.

1:08:26Lundy, if you've done some of this

1:08:28research, you could provide some of

1:08:29those cities that you might have uh

1:08:32ideas for us to look at. I I think it's

1:08:34an issue that's not just affecting you.

1:08:36I mean, like I said, we've gotten a lot

1:08:38of inquiries over this last summer. Um,

1:08:42also with regard to the the

1:08:44conversations about renewable energy,

1:08:45renewable energy options,

1:08:48we did implement a program about a year

1:08:50and a half ago. The electric department

1:08:52has a feature um that is a what I would

1:08:55refer to as a check off item where you

1:08:58basically let the electric department

1:09:00know you want to buy renewable energy

1:09:02whether you're an individual resident or

1:09:05customer or a business and they will

1:09:09make sure all the power that you pay for

1:09:11is renewable. That's been available for

1:09:13about a year and a half. My

1:09:15understanding,

1:09:16Mr. Kger, I think we're still at one

1:09:18customer who who has opted in over the

1:09:20last year and a half on that program,

1:09:22but it's been available for a year and a

1:09:23half and you can certainly do that and

1:09:27know that all your power will be

1:09:28renewable that that you pay for on your

1:09:31bill. The uh last thing I want to ask is

1:09:35Director LLO, you you put some stuff out

1:09:37in the October 8th city manager

1:09:41memorandum and I'd like you to kind of

1:09:43review that with us here tonight.

1:09:44>> Thank you, Mr. Mayor. Uh, Linda LLoch,

1:09:47director of communications. Um, I'm

1:09:49excited to share that the city's

1:09:51redesign website will launch tomorrow,

1:09:54tomorrow morning. Uh, the communications

1:09:57team, um, we've been working diligently,

1:09:59uh, to build the site since April. Uh,

1:10:02we have designed the new website to

1:10:03better serve our community through

1:10:05improved accessibility, usability, and

1:10:09performance. We looked at what pages

1:10:11were highly visited on our current

1:10:13website, the items people search when

1:10:16visiting our website.

1:10:19In 2023, we conducted an open visitor

1:10:22survey, and in 2024, we uh did a

1:10:24targeted usability study. We also

1:10:28surveyed our city call center team to

1:10:31learn about what drives call volume and

1:10:33how we could improve the new site based

1:10:35on the calls received. I want to point

1:10:38out that our new site features a

1:10:40built-in accessibility tool to detect

1:10:43and help remediate accessibility issues.

1:10:46The tool will also monitor the site for

1:10:49compliance with the web content

1:10:51accessibility guidelines, also known as

1:10:54WC A2.1

1:10:56level doubleA standards required by the

1:10:59federal government. at our launch

1:11:01tomorrow. After our launch tomorrow, the

1:11:04communications team will comm community

1:11:06uh will continue to actively maintain

1:11:07the new site so it can grow and continue

1:11:10to evolve to meet the community's needs.

1:11:13Thank you.

1:11:16>> Thank you. Our next item is the consent

1:11:19agenda. May I have a motion to use the

1:11:20omnibus method to approve the consent

1:11:22agenda? Mr. Councilman White.

1:11:25>> May I move to use the omnibous method to

1:11:27approve the consent agenda?

1:11:28>> Councilman Kelly. Second, Kelly. All

1:11:30those in favor say I.

1:11:31>> I.

1:11:32>> Motion passes. 90. May I have a motion

1:11:35to approve the consent agenda?

1:11:37>> I move to I move to approve the consent

1:11:40agenda.

1:11:41>> Second, Kelly.

1:11:43Motion and the second to approve the

1:11:44consent agenda. Mr. Shots, please read

1:11:46the consent agenda.

1:11:47>> Approval of the September cash

1:11:49dispersements for a total of

1:11:5049,298,656.70.

1:11:55Approval of the regular city council

1:11:56meeting minutes of October 6, 2026.

1:11:59Approval of city council meeting

1:12:00schedule for October, November, and

1:12:02December 2026. Receiving the year-to-

1:12:05date budget report through September

1:12:0630th, 2026. Waving the applicable

1:12:09provisions of the Neighborville

1:12:11procurement code and awarding the

1:12:12procurement for director of electric

1:12:14utility executive search services to

1:12:17Blue Signal for an amount not to exceed

1:12:18$65,000.

1:12:20Approval of the award of the award of

1:12:22the cooperative procurement for cellular

1:12:24phone services to Verizon Wireless for

1:12:26an amount not to exceed $338,000

1:12:28for a one-year term. Approval of the

1:12:31award of the cooperative procurement for

1:12:32mobile broadband data services to

1:12:34Verizon Wireless for an amount not to

1:12:36exceed $28,000 for one-year term.

1:12:39Approval of the award of option year

1:12:40number one to the contract for external

1:12:42auditing services to Sikitch LLP for an

1:12:45amount not to exceed $222,800.

1:12:49Approval of the award of option year

1:12:50number three to the contract for civil

1:12:52and duct work to meet electric company

1:12:54for an amount not to exceed $400,000.

1:12:57Approval of the award of the bid for EU

1:12:59electric equipment painting to BP&T

1:13:02construction for an amount not to exceed

1:13:03$168,290

1:13:06for a 14-month term. Approval of the

1:13:08award of change order number one to the

1:13:10contract for Navastar OEM parts to Rush

1:13:12Truck Centers of Illinois for an amount

1:13:14not to exceed $80,000. and approval of

1:13:17the award of change order number one to

1:13:18the contract for flow meter maintenance

1:13:20flow data analysis and SSO alarming

1:13:22services to ADS environmental services

1:13:25for an amount not to exceed $81,000.

1:13:27>> We have a motion and a second to approve

1:13:29the consent agenda as read. Roll call.

1:13:31>> Worley.

1:13:32>> Yes.

1:13:32>> Gibson

1:13:33>> I. Holer.

1:13:34>> I.

1:13:35>> Jane

1:13:35>> I.

1:13:36>> Kelly I.

1:13:37>> Mc Broom. I

1:13:38>> say I.

1:13:39>> White. I.

1:13:40>> Wilson. I.

1:13:42>> Motion passes 90. Item M1. Councilman

1:13:45White.

1:14:03I move to approve the award of option

1:14:05year three to contract 23-152

1:14:08underground distribution directional

1:14:10boring and services to meet electric

1:14:12company incorporated and electric

1:14:14conduit construction for an amount not

1:14:16to exceed 19 million867,14569.

1:14:22>> Councilman Kelly

1:14:23>> second Kelly we have a motion and a

1:14:25second on M1 discussion roll call.

1:14:29>> Gibson

1:14:30>> Iower

1:14:31>> I. Jane

1:14:33>> I

1:14:33>> Kelly

1:14:34>> I

1:14:34>> Mc Broom

1:14:35>> I

1:14:35>> say

1:14:36>> I

1:14:36>> White

1:14:37>> I

1:14:37>> Wilson

1:14:38>> I

1:14:38>> Worley

1:14:39>> yes motion passes 90 item 01

1:14:43>> item 01 is a recommendation to adopt the

1:14:45update to the city's bicycle and

1:14:47pedestrian plan three written comments

1:14:48were posted to the website and we have

1:14:50two speakers the first speaker is Brian

1:14:52Boore followed by Katherine darken.

1:15:05Good evening. My name is Brian Boore and

1:15:08I am a homeowner on West Jefferson

1:15:10Avenue. I'm here tonight to urge the

1:15:12council to reject the proposed bike

1:15:14lanes along our street. I'll start with

1:15:17this. I'm an iron man triathlete. I

1:15:19cycle hundreds of miles throughout

1:15:21Neighborville every summer and I fully

1:15:24understand bike safety and the

1:15:26importance of connectivity, but a

1:15:28worthwhile objective does not

1:15:30automatically justify every policy

1:15:33proposed in its name. The city's own

1:15:36bicycle and pedestrian plan acknowledges

1:15:38that Jefferson Avenue is too narrow to

1:15:40accommodate these lanes without

1:15:42eliminating residential parking.

1:15:45This isn't a minor adjustment.

1:15:48It's a consequential change to an

1:15:50established neighborhood.

1:15:52Look, our homes are really close

1:15:54together. Driveway space is already

1:15:56pretty limited. Street parking

1:15:58accommodates our families, guests,

1:16:00contractors, and service professionals.

1:16:04Removing it could lead to obstructed

1:16:06sidewalks, real accessibility concerns,

1:16:10and legitimate questions about property

1:16:12values. This September, we hosted 24

1:16:15people to celebrate my son's third

1:16:17birthday. Um, and before you ask, there

1:16:19was a bounce house. Um, and uh, if this

1:16:24gets adopted, where could these folks

1:16:27have parked um, safely?

1:16:31Where the people who will live with the

1:16:33consequences of your decision tonight?

1:16:36But look, my greatest concern here is

1:16:38the evidence being used to justify the

1:16:40proposal. The city's own appendix cites

1:16:43a major reason for these bike lanes is

1:16:45that residents feel unsafe. And I

1:16:48respect those concerns, but the

1:16:50perception of danger is not objective

1:16:52evidence of danger. And a 2021 Federal

1:16:55Highway Administration study found that

1:16:57while bicycle lanes can provide safety

1:16:59benefits, it didn't establish a

1:17:01statistically significant reduction in

1:17:03crashes that involved injuries or

1:17:05fatalities. So before eliminating

1:17:07residential parking, we need evidence

1:17:10that this particular design will

1:17:11actually improve safety on our street.

1:17:15The city's published appendix does not

1:17:17provide three pieces of information

1:17:19fundamental to this decision. First,

1:17:22actual bicycle and motor vehicle traffic

1:17:24counts for this stretch of our street.

1:17:26Second, a documented crash history

1:17:29establishing the specific safety

1:17:31problem. and three, a detailed estimate

1:17:34of precisely how much residential

1:17:35parking would be eliminated. So my

1:17:37question is on what evidentiary basis

1:17:41can this council responsibil responsibly

1:17:45advance the proposal? I ask you to

1:17:48reject the proposal or at a minimum

1:17:50table its advancement until the

1:17:52evidence, parking impacts and reasonable

1:17:54alternatives have been made public. The

1:17:57responsibility to make the decision is

1:17:59yours, but it's also your responsibility

1:18:01to justify it. Thank you, and I yield my

1:18:04time.

1:18:06>> Thank you. Next speaker.

1:18:09>> The next speaker is Katherine Clark.

1:18:13>> Good evening. I'm Katherine Clark, a

1:18:15Neapville resident and founder of

1:18:18Accelerate Climate Solutions, a local

1:18:20nonprofit. and I also happen to walk and

1:18:23bike to work almost every day. During

1:18:26the summer of 2024, a bunch of young

1:18:29residents of Neapville got together as

1:18:33interns in our organization to do a deep

1:18:36dive on how to make Neapville more

1:18:38bikable and that culminated in their

1:18:40Neapville bikability report. So, these

1:18:43are students who wanted to see a

1:18:46community that is more bikable, more

1:18:48walkable,

1:18:50and I think that we should listen to

1:18:52them. Um, regarding the bike and

1:18:55pedestrian plan that's being discussed

1:18:57tonight, I'd first like to comment on

1:18:59the costs. Average out over the period

1:19:02from 2027 through 2050, this plan costs

1:19:05about $1.9 million per year for projects

1:19:08within Neapville's jurisdiction.

1:19:11Compare this to $12 million the

1:19:14Neighborville spends to maintain roads

1:19:17for motor vehicles. Um, and that doesn't

1:19:20even account for extra special projects

1:19:22um on our local roads. Compare it also

1:19:26to the Riverwalk 2031 master plan, which

1:19:31costs $16 million in capital expenses.

1:19:36Spending on safe and connected bike

1:19:38infrastructure has many obvious

1:19:40benefits. Imagine taking all of those

1:19:43things that we love so much about the

1:19:46Riverwalk and extending that citywide

1:19:49but including access for bicycles.

1:19:52Wouldn't that make our city more

1:19:54livable?

1:19:55Spending on infrastructure for motor

1:19:57vehicles is a default to such an extent

1:20:01that we hardly even think about it. But

1:20:04cities across the country and across the

1:20:06globe have decided to rethink that norm

1:20:10and build more people centered

1:20:12infrastructure that encourages healthier

1:20:14lifestyles, connection, and stronger

1:20:17communities.

1:20:19If they can do it, we can do it too. As

1:20:22long as city council commits not just to

1:20:25the plan that's considered tonight, but

1:20:28implementation of the plan, that means

1:20:30funding it. Um such an investment in our

1:20:33community has broad support as was shown

1:20:37through the many workshops and um

1:20:40community engagement that was done

1:20:42during the development of the plan. We

1:20:45can reduce traffic deaths and injury

1:20:49uh improve public health and allow youth

1:20:51a sense of autonomy when we when we

1:20:54prior prioritize people over vehicles. I

1:20:59encourage you to approve the plan

1:21:01tonight and to fund its

1:21:02implementmentation

1:21:04to ensure safe and connected routes for

1:21:06everyone to get around our community.

1:21:09Thank you.

1:21:12>> Any other speakers?

1:21:14>> There are no more speakers.

1:21:17>> Okay. Council discussion.

1:21:21>> Councilman Hzar.

1:21:22>> Thank you, Mayor. Um I'm not sure if my

1:21:25colleague might have had something

1:21:26substantive he wanted to bring up.

1:21:30Councilman Kelly.

1:21:32>> Sure. Few few thoughts, few questions.

1:21:35Um, one question for staff. If you can

1:21:38just tell us at a high level um how this

1:21:42will work, how it will be implemented,

1:21:44if there will be future votes from

1:21:46council as part of the budget process

1:21:48each year,

1:21:50how staff will decide which particular

1:21:53infrastructure projects to recommend in

1:21:54any given budget year. And maybe if you

1:21:57could tie that in a little bit also with

1:21:59the speaker's questions about Jefferson

1:22:00in particular, if you know what year

1:22:03that might be proposed and or if that

1:22:05would be a future decision point for

1:22:06council to consider. Oh, that's a lot.

1:22:09Sorry.

1:22:14>> Sydney Smith, project manager. Um so for

1:22:18uh kind of the next steps what we are

1:22:22looking at with these uh projects um you

1:22:25know they kind of are a uh blueprint for

1:22:28the next steps that the city can take

1:22:30for um investing in bike and pedestrian

1:22:33infrastructure. And so some of these are

1:22:36going to be um enhancements to our

1:22:40existing routes where we already have um

1:22:43bike lanes and can be kind of uh quick

1:22:45build things that can be implemented

1:22:47alongside our um regular routine

1:22:51maintenance plans like resurfacing

1:22:53things like that. Um others are going to

1:22:55be um much more uh engineering intense

1:23:01and also um needing more public input

1:23:05and those projects are going to be uh

1:23:07basically rolled into the capital

1:23:09improvement plan for uh the next uh 20

1:23:12years to be implemented. So the uh

1:23:16prioritization in um included in the

1:23:19plan kind of provides us with a starting

1:23:21point. Um locations that are higher

1:23:24priority are locations that will be

1:23:27easier to implement and have kind of a

1:23:30uh higher impact whereas um our kind of

1:23:34mediumterm things are things that are

1:23:36going to be more challenging to imp

1:23:37implement um and maybe uh you know

1:23:41serving some of those important gaps. Um

1:23:44so as far as you know the question about

1:23:48Jefferson goes this plan is a very high

1:23:51level document. Each of these projects

1:23:54to implement them is going to require um

1:23:58you know phase multiple phases of

1:24:00engineering. Um and in the case like

1:24:03Jefferson, um the conversation about

1:24:06what the parking consolidation would

1:24:08look like and possible design

1:24:10alternatives for that and as well as the

1:24:14um specific data for uh traffic studies

1:24:17to verify um you know what uh facilities

1:24:21and certain enhancements are going to be

1:24:22the most appropriate. Those are all

1:24:24things that are going to be coming in

1:24:25the next step um for any project to be

1:24:28implemented. Um so you know this plan

1:24:32basically provides us with a road mapap

1:24:34not a these are the uh exact projects

1:24:38how they will look in their final form.

1:24:42>> A follow up on that last thing you

1:24:44mentioned and and whether for Smith or

1:24:46maybe city manager

1:24:48take for example the Jefferson project.

1:24:51Is it fair to say that before that would

1:24:54actually be implemented and constructed

1:24:56that will come back to council for input

1:24:58and potentially even a vote on whether

1:25:00or not to move forward with that

1:25:01specific project?

1:25:03>> Uh yeah, so anything uh like the uh

1:25:08Jefferson that would require parking

1:25:10removal. Um those would all require

1:25:12ordinance changes that would go through

1:25:14our typical uh process for restricting

1:25:18restricting parking. And that process is

1:25:21um reaching out to residents, bringing

1:25:23it to TAB and uh then bringing it to

1:25:25council for approval.

1:25:26>> Right. Thank you. So with that

1:25:29explanation on how the process is going

1:25:30to work, I I'm I'm comfortable. I think

1:25:33that specific project on Jefferson, I

1:25:35can understand the concern. I don't

1:25:37think I know enough tonight to say

1:25:39whether I think it's a good idea or not,

1:25:41but it sounds like future council will

1:25:43get a lot of information so they can

1:25:44make the decision. So, I I personally

1:25:46don't know if it's necessary to rip it

1:25:48out of this plan tonight knowing that

1:25:50that'll come back in the future. Um,

1:25:52I'll say at a high level, I'm very

1:25:54excited about the plan. I mean, this is

1:25:55something that's been in the works for a

1:25:57long time, many years, and I've been

1:25:59asking for probably every six or nine

1:26:02months for the last few years, when is

1:26:04it going to get here? So, it's exciting

1:26:05that it's here tonight. Uh, I was happy

1:26:08to see how comprehensive it is. there's

1:26:10a lot of projects, a lot of high level

1:26:13um thought that went into it and and I

1:26:16think it will be excellent to see it um

1:26:18you know implemented over the next many

1:26:20years. So, thank you for your work on

1:26:21it. Uh the one specific change that that

1:26:24I'm interested in is uh there were a

1:26:28number of

1:26:29um recommendations including feasibility

1:26:32studies including 87th Street Bridge,

1:26:34sidewalk infill on Nap Boulevard and

1:26:36DuPage River Trail extension which all

1:26:39looked excellent to me. Um, the one that

1:26:41I'm hoping we can add to that list for

1:26:44feasibility studies is something I've

1:26:46talked about for a long time, which is a

1:26:48potential new um, underpass under the

1:26:52train tracks uh, between Washington and

1:26:54Mil Street. Um, when I looked at the

1:26:57diagrams,

1:26:59it looks like the recommendation

1:27:03did not include any underpass um,

1:27:06between Lumis and Mill.

1:27:10and and even really quite a bit further

1:27:12west of Mill if you don't consider Mill.

1:27:14And for what it's worth, I don't really

1:27:16consider that plan on Mill to be

1:27:18sufficient. I think what it has on the

1:27:20recommendation is that it would be

1:27:22called I've got to find it. Um the

1:27:25shared use path and I I get the concept,

1:27:29but if you actually go walk or drive on

1:27:31Mill, the way shared use path, shared

1:27:34use path is defined in the plan, there's

1:27:38really just no that unless you're

1:27:40talking about widening mill and or

1:27:42redoing that bridge, there's just no

1:27:45physical way you've got space there to

1:27:46have a shared use path. So, if you

1:27:49eliminate that, there's no crossing

1:27:52really between Lumis and and I think

1:27:54River all the way to the west. Um, so

1:27:57it's something people have been looking

1:27:58at for a long time, trying to find a way

1:28:00to connect north of downtown to

1:28:02downtown. Um there's, you know, way back

1:28:05in the day we had the cow tunnel that's

1:28:07in alignment with Webster. That's still

1:28:09there. If you go out and look, you'll

1:28:10find the remnants of that tunnel. Um

1:28:13that's a potential site in my opinion,

1:28:15but it does come with certain questions

1:28:17and easements and legal issues. Uh

1:28:19there's also been discussion during

1:28:21Fifth Avenue concept plans about an

1:28:24underpass uh that would be in alignment

1:28:26with Main Street um connecting north uh

1:28:29of Kendall Park through the train tracks

1:28:33into to basically where Washington

1:28:34Junior High and the Children's Museum is

1:28:36on the south side. So, I'm hoping uh

1:28:38what I would ask for is some council

1:28:40support just to add that as a

1:28:42feasibility study that council and staff

1:28:44would in the future consider as part of

1:28:46this plan.

1:28:49>> Thank you, Mayor.

1:28:50>> Councilman McBrroom.

1:28:52>> Thank you, Mayor. Um

1:28:56you know, I'm I'm be honest, a little

1:28:59bit torn on this. Um, you know, all I've

1:29:01heard is um uh desire and and positivity

1:29:05about bike plan. Um, I'm on the tab

1:29:08board. It was unanimous support for it.

1:29:11Um, until recently, I' I've heard

1:29:13concerns. Um, uh, Mr. Bower compelling

1:29:16uh, comment tonight. Um, I think we all

1:29:19got an email. I probably went to staff.

1:29:21Um, Willowway HOA had some concerns. And

1:29:24about that specifically

1:29:27in this plan, is there a significant can

1:29:29you put a number on uh the amount of

1:29:32street parking that that's planned to be

1:29:33removed um under this plan? Apparently

1:29:36in their neighborhood, a River Road and

1:29:38and maybe some others. Is that accurate?

1:29:45>> We don't have a full number of uh spaces

1:29:49that would end up being removed. um

1:29:52locations where uh bike lanes are

1:29:55proposed are locations that something

1:29:58like on street parking would need to be

1:30:00looked at. Um but that's kind of part of

1:30:04the uh conversation with the residents

1:30:07um in each of those locations um that

1:30:10will come with the implementation phase

1:30:13of each of these projects. So with these

1:30:15pro with these proposals, um there can

1:30:18be some design flexibility, some that

1:30:21maybe conserve parking, some that might

1:30:23eliminate parking entirely, but those

1:30:25are all things that are going to be um

1:30:28depending on like the road width and

1:30:30different very specific constraints of

1:30:33each location. So at this level of the

1:30:36um you know, planning phase, um that's

1:30:39not a specific number I can give you on

1:30:41the number of spaces that would be

1:30:43removed.

1:30:43>> Okay. Thank you. I It does seem very

1:30:46fluid. It seems very aspirational. And

1:30:48maybe even to clarify Councilman Kelly's

1:30:51question even more, it sounds to me that

1:30:54on any given year, we can just say no.

1:30:56And I don't know if it equals 1.9 each

1:30:59year, but um it it's a it's a plan. Um

1:31:03there's competing interests. Um the city

1:31:06has major infrastructure uh priorities

1:31:10that need to be taken care of. So, I'm

1:31:13just a little nervous on on on some of

1:31:15the it just seems very fluid and I just

1:31:17don't know how it's going to work out

1:31:18and what kind of problems we're going to

1:31:20run into and I don't want some future

1:31:21cont council to kind of forget that it

1:31:24is a flexible plan and that could happen

1:31:26every year. There's $2 million in the

1:31:28capital budget for this is just

1:31:30something that we do. So, I hate to vote

1:31:32on something with that in mind of hey,

1:31:34let's just do it because we don't have

1:31:36to do it in the future if we don't want

1:31:38to. Um, but uh I'm also not going to be

1:31:40the lone dissenting vote up here. I know

1:31:42a lot of people um have been looking

1:31:45forward to this and uh but I I welcome

1:31:48any other comments uh that are out

1:31:49there. But um you know that's just some

1:31:52of my thoughts on it right now.

1:31:53>> Councilman Wilson.

1:31:55>> Thank you, Mayor. Um

1:31:58yeah, I guess you know uh now that the

1:32:01Mr. Bored and uh from neighbors from

1:32:04Willowway had talked about this. Uh you

1:32:08know Mary and I live on the south side

1:32:09where streets are very wide and you know

1:32:14driving down probably drive down River

1:32:16Road every day and I I really do

1:32:18appreciate all the work that staff has

1:32:20put into this project. I truly do. Um

1:32:23it's just it you know rivers for example

1:32:28I'm thinking about in my head you know

1:32:30parking on both sides. Uh other than

1:32:34that, there's not a ton of ton of room.

1:32:36Um and and I mean that being said, you

1:32:39know, I it's ridiculous as it sounds, I

1:32:42ride my bike through our neighborhood

1:32:44and the south side of the city or

1:32:47whatever. Um, and uh, I typically don't

1:32:51have a problem given how big the streets

1:32:54are. And and then even if we were

1:32:56advocating for bike lanes

1:33:00for how big the streets are, I still

1:33:02wouldn't support it because people tend

1:33:04to not have an issue. Um and and I you

1:33:09know and you know various topics have

1:33:12come up on council with regard to you

1:33:15know previous talking about whatever

1:33:17project and saying

1:33:20council committed to whatever at some

1:33:23point in time maybe 10 years ago and

1:33:25here we are you know

1:33:28dealing with x number of millions of

1:33:31dollars or looking for funding from

1:33:33whatever uh today. So, um I I guess I

1:33:39similarly don't want to be in a position

1:33:42or put a future council in position to

1:33:45just sort of assume that that you know

1:33:47we can say oh we'll look at it or oh

1:33:49it'll get looked at in five years or

1:33:51whatever but in in reality I I I tend to

1:33:56feel like most of the time we go oh okay

1:33:59we said we're doing this five years ago

1:34:01so we should probably do it. So, uh,

1:34:05that being said, I I at this point I'

1:34:07again, I really do appreciate the amount

1:34:09of time staff has put into this, but I'd

1:34:11prefer to get more of a, you know,

1:34:14concrete

1:34:16uh,

1:34:18like itemization of parking spaces or

1:34:22uh, whatnot, things that Mr. Board

1:34:24brought up um, before voting on this.

1:34:28So, at minimum, I' I'd like to table it.

1:34:31Thank you,

1:34:32>> Councilwoman Gibson.

1:34:34>> Uh, thank you, Mayor. I'd like to echo

1:34:36my colleagues comments. Thank you to

1:34:38staff for all your work on this and, um,

1:34:40thank you to all the residents. Sounds

1:34:42like we had incredible engagement

1:34:43throughout the community over a

1:34:45prolonged period of time. Um, I'm really

1:34:48excited about this plan because, um,

1:34:50it's an update to something we've

1:34:52already done. It looks like a 1997 plan,

1:34:54a 2006 plan about every 20 years. um

1:34:59look at it and refresh it. Uh we often

1:35:01talk up here about how a city like

1:35:03Neighborville doesn't just happen on its

1:35:05own. It takes planning and a vision and

1:35:09I think this is the first step. Um I

1:35:11hear Mr. Boore's concerns and the Willow

1:35:14neighborhood concerns. I'm very

1:35:16comforted by the fact that this 131page

1:35:20document is not something we are

1:35:22including in the budget next month. Um

1:35:25these projects will be discussed

1:35:28individually and um there will be plenty

1:35:31of opportunity for public engagement on

1:35:33individual decisions about neighborhoods

1:35:35and parking spaces. Um I said I think a

1:35:39plan like this follows how we approach a

1:35:41lot of the big visionary things in the

1:35:42city.

1:35:44The 2031 master plan for the Riverwalk

1:35:46comes to mind. Um so I think this is a

1:35:49great uh guidepost for us as we're

1:35:52making decisions about bike plans. So, I

1:35:54will enthusiastically be supporting

1:35:56this. Thank you,

1:35:58>> Councilman Ozar.

1:35:59>> Thank you, Mayor. Um, to just as a

1:36:02reminder to at the end, I think

1:36:03Councilman Kelly was probably looking

1:36:04for hands in the air for his proposal.

1:36:06He's nodding yes, so just just throwing

1:36:07that out there. Um, I agree with all of

1:36:10the comments that were pretty much made

1:36:12um with regard to, let's say, um,

1:36:14Councilman Wilson's comments. I

1:36:16certainly think on any individual

1:36:18project that's going to impact

1:36:20neighborhoods in any way like parking

1:36:22space counts, those types of things,

1:36:25those need individual review um later

1:36:27on. Also, I would say um that's very

1:36:30nuance like I hope that the message to

1:36:32staff isn't, you know, elimination of

1:36:35parking in any area is is never okay. Um

1:36:38just specifically looking at um

1:36:41Jefferson, I actually live by one of the

1:36:42areas that's got a bike trail on

1:36:44Jefferson. So the creation of that bike

1:36:46trail, you know, if you use a football

1:36:48field test, the people who used to be

1:36:51able to park in front of one of the

1:36:52houses there, you know, the the

1:36:54equivalent walk now is maybe from the 20

1:36:56yard line to the goal line to to get to

1:36:59a side street to park. Um, looking

1:37:01further down Jefferson, there's, you

1:37:03know, I see areas where it could be up

1:37:05to like a 60 yard walk. Um, you know, so

1:37:08going from the opposing 40-yard line to

1:37:09the goal line to to get to a side street

1:37:11and and of course that analysis is like

1:37:13right, you could get studies on how deep

1:37:16that parking would go and all that. But

1:37:17all that to throw out, I think each

1:37:19individual project needs individual

1:37:21consideration. Um, Miss Lush, I was

1:37:24hoping that you could throw up um a few

1:37:26pictures. So,

1:37:29um, living in actually very close to

1:37:31Willowway. Uh, one thing that I just was

1:37:35amazed to learn is that we are really,

1:37:38really connected in Neighborville to

1:37:40regional bike trails. Okay, so the

1:37:44Illinois Prairie Path, which is up on

1:37:46the the north end of this photo, you can

1:37:50ride bike trails like all the way to

1:37:52Wisconsin on the per prairie path. You

1:37:55can go to the Tri Cities area, St.

1:37:57Charles, you can go to um Chicago, you

1:38:00can go all kinds of places almost

1:38:02completely off roads just using bike

1:38:05trails. And that trail connects down

1:38:08into almost the downtown Neighborville

1:38:10area, right? So it it actually connects

1:38:12right at Jefferson right right about the

1:38:13area we're talking. And then if you go

1:38:16south um we have trails that go all the

1:38:19way to Bowling Brook, Planefield, Whan

1:38:22Lake, uh you can get to Springbrook, you

1:38:24can go on a trail by Hobson Lake. We

1:38:26have really really connected area. Um

1:38:30but what I really want to focus our

1:38:31attention on tonight is that that what I

1:38:34marked as a red area in this um diagram,

1:38:36which I would refer to as the missing

1:38:39mile. um because we're connected to

1:38:41hundreds of miles of regional bike

1:38:43trails, but if you were to try to go

1:38:44from the north end of town to the south

1:38:46end of town, there's about one mile of

1:38:48break there. and my you know this won't

1:38:51be solved by this council or probably

1:38:54even on my time on council but I just

1:38:56hope for anyone in staff who's listening

1:38:58to this that this be a priority in the

1:39:02you know next decade or two that we work

1:39:04on closing this gap a little bit because

1:39:07I think it will make our city much more

1:39:10of a destination bring in business all

1:39:12kinds of other things if we're we're

1:39:13able to close that. Could you go to the

1:39:14next slide?

1:39:18um in feedback on this proposal, the

1:39:22like number one I would say um danger

1:39:24point that was identified by a number of

1:39:26residents is to get from our south

1:39:29trails to our north trails, this um path

1:39:32is actually on the city's official

1:39:34route. So, if you follow the city's

1:39:36official guidance, you are to ride your

1:39:38bike on the side of Eagle right by city

1:39:41hall, cross a lane of traffic. So that

1:39:43that gray car you see there, you're

1:39:45going to dodge around that car and then

1:39:47go in between the green car and the

1:39:50black car and cross um Aurora, which

1:39:53I've heard a number of people, people

1:39:54with families who just say, "I'm

1:39:56unwilling to do that. Therefore, my bike

1:39:58ride stops, you know, there." Um could

1:40:01you go to the next slide? We did a walk

1:40:04and I thank the mayor for joining me and

1:40:06a number of other community leaders. Um

1:40:08Brad Wilson from Park District, uh a

1:40:11whole other bunch of leaders. Um but one

1:40:13suggestion this was initially the

1:40:14mayor's idea I think it was an excellent

1:40:16idea um was even as kind of a lowcost

1:40:20probably no cost change would be

1:40:22considering changing the cities um bike

1:40:25routing so people cross on Webster as

1:40:27opposed to crossing Eagle I think it's

1:40:29much safer um there's a wide sidewalk on

1:40:32the um north end of city hall where um

1:40:36you know bikes could potentially share a

1:40:38space and I I just think that's that's

1:40:40avoiding the potential for fatality or

1:40:42something later on. Um if we could go to

1:40:44the next slide.

1:40:49Um during this walk, it was about a

1:40:50two-hour walk that we took with the

1:40:52mayor and others. Um we also just took a

1:40:55look at the available government land in

1:40:58the area. And there's actually quite a

1:41:00bit of land in this missing mile space.

1:41:03Um which could at relatively low cost

1:41:07accommodate um bikes if we just kind of

1:41:09had the creativity to think about it.

1:41:11Um, I think the I brought this up to the

1:41:13transportation advisory board. That's

1:41:15the only time I've actually spoken at a

1:41:16border commission as a council member.

1:41:18Um, but I cared about it enough to go

1:41:20there. They were very receptive to it.

1:41:22And thank you to the consultants. They

1:41:24actually incorporated sort of a

1:41:25paragraph that said that the city staff

1:41:27should look at options for making this

1:41:29connection in the missing mile. Um,

1:41:31these are just some of the areas that

1:41:32were identified on the walk. Um, one of

1:41:34them that I want to highlight in

1:41:36particular is the very long narrow

1:41:39parking lot that uh is the overflow

1:41:42parking lot at Centennial Beach. Um, and

1:41:46I'm going to explain why in just a

1:41:48minute. Um, but long story short, you

1:41:50could avoid a whole lot of street um

1:41:53connection with bikes if if bikes were

1:41:55routed around that way. Linda, would you

1:41:57mind going to the next slide?

1:42:01The width of the I called it narrow.

1:42:03It's really not that narrow. This is a

1:42:06picture of um that lot that I'm talking

1:42:09about in Centennial Beach, which is

1:42:10actually quite wide. So, just something

1:42:14to kind of conceptualize, dream about,

1:42:16you know, how could this space be used a

1:42:18little bit better? Admittedly, it's park

1:42:19district to strict land, but in thinking

1:42:21more broadly about what's better for the

1:42:23whole community, um I'm going to point

1:42:25to one of our peer communities, Carmel,

1:42:28Indiana, frequently right at nipping at

1:42:30our heels for best community in America.

1:42:32Um, and here's what they've done with a

1:42:33space similar to this. Um, and

1:42:35admittedly, it's a little wider. You

1:42:37know, our space would be a little

1:42:38different, but Linda, if you could bring

1:42:39up picture number six.

1:42:41So, what they did is they turned parking

1:42:44into parallel parking um, and put, you

1:42:47know, grassland um, plantings and bike

1:42:50trail in the middle. Yes, our space is

1:42:51narrower. It wouldn't be as wide as this

1:42:54um, and this is more of a downtown

1:42:55setting, but certainly something like

1:42:57this is is possible. I've talked to

1:42:59architects and civil engineers about,

1:43:00you know, the idea. Um, final

1:43:04slide would be number seven. Um, and

1:43:07what I just wanted to highlight here is

1:43:09economic impact. You know, there's a

1:43:11frequent refrain that you hear is like,

1:43:13well, who really cares about biking to

1:43:15downtown? You can't bike to downtown.

1:43:18It's, you know, it's not there. No one

1:43:19rides their right bike to downtown. But

1:43:21I mentioned that the um Tri Cities, St.

1:43:25Charles Geneva Betavia, they are linked

1:43:27to um the Prairie Path and they actually

1:43:31have quite well attended downtown events

1:43:34um where bikers from throughout the

1:43:36region come to attend concerts,

1:43:38festivals, and spend their money um in

1:43:40downtown. So, I I view this as sort of a

1:43:43if you build it, they will come thing.

1:43:45Um and uh yeah, so I I just hope that

1:43:49whatever city staff members are out

1:43:51there can be thinking about this over

1:43:52the next couple of decades. and I'm

1:43:53excited to see what comes. Thank you so

1:43:55much for your hard work on this. Thank

1:43:56you, mayor.

1:43:59>> Thank you. I know a lot of work's been

1:44:01put in this plan and I I support u much

1:44:04of what is proposed here. The challenges

1:44:07I do have with it are some of the things

1:44:09that we heard throughout this this past

1:44:10year with testimony that's happened

1:44:13right here in these chambers from

1:44:15residents who have concerns about

1:44:17overnight parking and the fact that they

1:44:18have more cars for their their kids who

1:44:21are living at home than they ever

1:44:24anticipated. They can't fit in their

1:44:25driveway. They they they can't even find

1:44:27the space for them to to park overnight.

1:44:30So, when you look at some of the

1:44:32affected areas, uh, as mentioned,

1:44:34Jefferson River Road, we heard from the

1:44:37Whispering Hills Homeowners Association,

1:44:39um, there's Brookdale Road, Columbia

1:44:41Street, Gartner Road, Eric Way Avenue.

1:44:44All of these areas are specifically

1:44:45identified where there would be parking

1:44:47eliminations. So, whatever we do

1:44:49tonight, um I want to have some

1:44:52confidence before I vote that

1:44:55what we're committing to in this vote is

1:44:58not going to authorize specific

1:45:00engineering on these things and

1:45:02basically get it all paid for and teed

1:45:04up and then go to the residents and say,

1:45:07"Oh, we're going to do this in your

1:45:08neighborhood. How do you feel about it?"

1:45:10Because there might be a point where we

1:45:13have to stop and say, "Well, the

1:45:15neighborhood's got too many challenges

1:45:16there. we're hearing too much from the

1:45:18neighborhood. Maybe members of this

1:45:20council won't even be here when those

1:45:21discussions happen sometime. And I would

1:45:24hate for us to just waste money on soft

1:45:26costs and engineering only to have it

1:45:29rejected by a council many years down

1:45:31the road. So, do we have some assurance

1:45:34and and I don't know if we need to

1:45:36modify anything in any sort of approval

1:45:39here, but is there some assurance or

1:45:40commitment that that latitude is there?

1:45:47Yes. So, just to be clear, so um

1:45:51adopting this plan tonight does by no

1:45:52means authorize

1:45:54proceeding forward with any of these

1:45:56projects. So, um you know, as we've kind

1:45:58of already touched on, this is a very

1:46:00large plan. There are some elements to

1:46:01it that are very aspirational. Um it

1:46:04sets a framework and a road map. It also

1:46:06gives us a lot of options. Um we

1:46:09definitely discussed internally that we

1:46:11understood that the removal of parking

1:46:12to provide bike lanes could potentially

1:46:14cause some concerns. We absolutely

1:46:16discussed that but we um incorporated it

1:46:19as a potential option um because um in

1:46:23some ways it was very responsive to the

1:46:24feedback that we got. Um, I think we saw

1:46:27in the plan we had a year-long robust

1:46:29public engagement and there was a lot of

1:46:32interest in improving a lot of things

1:46:34about uh biking within within the the

1:46:36entire city and this was very responsive

1:46:38to that. That is just one one

1:46:41recommendation of a way that we could

1:46:42approach that and we do agree that um

1:46:45each of those locations and I and I see

1:46:47you know I to be clear Jefferson's

1:46:49getting a lot of attention because that

1:46:51was used as a concept example in our

1:46:53public meeting as a way to help people

1:46:55visualize a location where this could

1:46:57potentially be a recommendation. So, um

1:47:00it does seem a little bit like we're

1:47:01picking on Jefferson and I know we did

1:47:03call out Brookdale and a couple of other

1:47:04streets, but that was to try to help

1:47:06people who were attending that meeting

1:47:08visualize it. Um because those were

1:47:10locations that we could potentially see

1:47:12implementing something like that should

1:47:14that be the decision that moves forward.

1:47:16So, these are things that will need

1:47:18further vetting um as we go forward.

1:47:21Again, because it's a very large plan,

1:47:24um adopting this plan does not, you

1:47:26know, specifically authorize us to go

1:47:28forward. We're not coming after parking

1:47:30on Jefferson Avenue tomorrow if you

1:47:32adopt this plan tonight. Um, similar to

1:47:34the road improvement plan um that was

1:47:37approved. That was the other piece of

1:47:39our large mobility priority plan. It was

1:47:41this bike and ped plan as well as the

1:47:42road improvement plan. Um, you know,

1:47:45there were a lot of big projects

1:47:46incorporated in that road improvement

1:47:47plan. These are collectively going to be

1:47:49looked at together um along with all of

1:47:52our street maintenance and other

1:47:53projects incorporated into the capital

1:47:55improvement program as well as our

1:47:57operational plans um and you know

1:48:00intended to be implemented over a couple

1:48:02of decades. So I I assure you that this

1:48:05this will take a harder look. Um really

1:48:07if you adopt the plan as is potentially

1:48:10adding in another feasibility study um

1:48:13really all you're saying is um we don't

1:48:16necessarily approve you taking parking,

1:48:17but if you want to look at it

1:48:18contextually in the future, if it's an

1:48:20appropriate spot and you want to get

1:48:22more public input on it, like you're not

1:48:24you're telling us not to do that at this

1:48:26point.

1:48:29>> Councilman Kelly,

1:48:31>> ready to make a motion if uh

1:48:33appropriate?

1:48:34>> Go ahead.

1:48:35>> All right. I move to adopt to update the

1:48:37city's bicycle and pedestrian plan with

1:48:39the condition that a feasibility study

1:48:41for pedestrian and bicycle tunnel under

1:48:42the railroad tracks between Washington

1:48:44Street and Mil Street be added to the

1:48:46plan.

1:48:47Second, white.

1:48:50>> Okay, we have a motion and a second. Any

1:48:52discussion?

1:48:53Roll call.

1:48:56>> Holshau.

1:48:57>> I.

1:48:57>> Jane,

1:48:58>> I.

1:48:59>> Kelly,

1:48:59>> I.

1:49:00>> Mc Broom.

1:49:00>> Hi.

1:49:01>> Sed.

1:49:01>> I.

1:49:02>> White.

1:49:02>> I.

1:49:03>> Wilson.

1:49:04>> I.

1:49:04>> Worley.

1:49:05>> Yes.

1:49:05>> Gibson. [snorts]

1:49:06>> I.

1:49:07>> Motion passes. 90.

1:49:11Our final item is new business. Just as

1:49:12a reminder, new business is for items

1:49:14this council is asking staff to bring

1:49:16back on a future agenda or for motions

1:49:18to reconsider past city council Moes. Is

1:49:20there any new business? Councilman

1:49:21White.

1:49:22>> Um, thank you. I um I mentioned about

1:49:25the the website. I don't know if that's

1:49:26something Do you have enough direction

1:49:28there or do we need to have hands in the

1:49:30air for the construction

1:49:33projects?

1:49:34>> Mr. Kger. Uh, we're good and uh we'll

1:49:36proceed on that.

1:49:38>> I'm good. Thank you.

1:49:40>> I have a motion to adjourn.

1:49:42Motion to adjurnn.

1:49:43>> Second. Second, Kelly. All those in

1:49:45favor say I. We're journ

```*