City does care about traffic issues
I am writing to express my concern regarding information in the article about transportation improvements that was published in the Oct. 22 edition of the Daily Herald, particularly the portion that references the work being completed by the City of St. Charles and the characterization that the city is not empathetic to motorist delays.
I can assure you that nothing is further from the truth and I believe it was irresponsible to state otherwise.
While I know that there are some reporters that don't let the facts stand in the way of a good story, I have always respected and admired reporters at the Daily Herald. In my experience, they are fair, dedicated, and hard-working, so I hope the Oct. 22 article was simply an isolated lapse in judgment.
With regards to Randall Road, allow me to share some facts:
1. The Randall Road/Route 64 reconstruction project is being managed and administered by Kane County, as Randall Road is a county highway. St. Charles has no responsibility for repairing or maintaining the road -- none.
2. No non-county organization has pushed harder than the City of St. Charles to expedite the completion of the road construction at Randall Road and Route 64. In fact, I am confident that representatives at the Kane County Division of Transportation would confirm this statement. We have heard many concerns regarding the duration of the project and the significant disturbance that it caused to normal traffic flow. The project was also a major disruption to business activity and our economic development efforts.
3. Kane County's plan was to finish the Randall/64 project this fall and then return to resurface the section of Randall Road (again, a county highway) from Oak to Prairie in spring 2008. The City of St. Charles did not believe this was the right approach and initiated a discussion with Kane County about performing the work this fall, in conjunction with the Randall/64 project. Initially, the city was rebuffed because the county did not have sufficient funds in its budget this year to perform the work, but the city persisted.
4. St. Charles staff attended the Kane County Transportation Committee meeting on Sept. 24 and proposed a plan to do the resurfacing this fall to avoid another construction-related disruption on Randall Road in spring 2008. The city went so far as to offer to pay for the work to be completed now, if the county would reimburse, when its 2008 budget was approved. The city received support from commissioners Jan Carlson and John Hoscheit, and was encouraged to continue discussions with KDOT staff.
5. St. Charles and Kane County staff negotiated the terms of an agreement that would allow the work to be completed now, rather than in 2008. St. Charles fronted the funds required to perform the work (almost $170,000), and the county agreed to reimburse the city.
6. St. Charles contracted with Geneva Construction to perform the resurfacing. The work will proceed and should be wrapped up in the next 2-3 weeks.
I believe these facts clearly demonstrate that the characterization of the City of St. Charles in the Oct. 22 article is wholly inaccurate. In fact, the Daily Herald published an article on Oct. 2 that accurately reported the city's viewpoint.
Brian Townsend City Administrator
St. Charles