Wanted: About $20 million

If seeing is believing, members of Carpentersville's audit and finance panel now believe two things: 1) the village must borrow millions of dollars to maintain its exhaustive street repair program and 2) the village's public works department needs a larger facility.

But the question is, how does the village pay for the two expensive projects?

The commission's six active members held a special meeting in the public works department's streets division building and took a field trip to a few of the village's most dire streets.

Despite weeks of discussion, the commission has not yet decided how to pay for a new public works facility that is expected to cost about $10 million.

While commission members agree a new facility is needed, not all members are on board with the large-scale project pending repayment arrangements.

The indecision frustrated Village Public Works Director Bob Cole.

"I have been very patient for the past eight years," Cole said. "I have seen departments take money from public works so they can do a remodel. I have seen another department receive $2.2 million so they can do a remodel. When is it my turn?"

The commission had not made a decision as of press time and is expected to reconvene next month.

As part of its capital improvement plan and in-house road repair schedule, the village plans to rebuild or repair about 10 lane-miles of roadway this summer.

But to accomplish the goal, the village must take out a $10 million bond, which the commission supported in a consensus vote.

"We cannot quit now," said commission member Ed Ritter. "We cannot repair three miles out of 100 miles of street in five years."

Though Alameda Drive on the village's east side is scheduled for reconstruction in 2010, village staff and commissioners agreed the street needs urgent repair to fill crater-like potholes.

"We need to correct a critical problem now," Cole said. "We can buy some time until we can afford to do a full reconstruction."

Alameda Drive was selected as an in-house project for this summer based on the traffic flow and condition of the road.

The estimated cost to temporarily grind down the roadway and pour an asphalt overlay is between $15,000 and $18,000, Cole said.

Much of the damage to the street is caused by garbage trucks, said Village Engineer Scott Marquard, who added the street had not undergone a full reconstruction in more than 50 years.