Coming soon: A more welcoming Geneva City Hall

The crumbling, cracked stairs that lead to the city council chamber at Geneva's City Hall will soon be replaced.

The city council committee of the whole this week preliminarily approved hiring Driessen Construction of St. Charles for $49,116 to do the job.

"The lack of maintenance on them over the years has just allowed them to deteriorate," Building Commissioner Charles Lencioni said.

Alderman Charles Brown asked if any thought was given to building a wheelchair ramp at the entrance, but Lencioni said that the length of ramp needed made that idea impractical, estimating the ramp would have to be 100 feet long.

The city sought quotes from three companies, rather than going through a formal bidding process, because Lencioni believes the stairs are in such bad condition they qualify as an emergency repair.

Part of the stairway is now blocked off with three orange road cones.

"This would be a code enforcement action at any other location in the city of Geneva," he wrote in a cover memo to the request.

Besides replacing the steps, the contractor will repair the east and west brick walls of the stairs, replace broken stone sills on the porch and install railings down the sides and center of the stairway. The stairs originally had a center railing, but that was removed at some point.

The council will formally vote on the contract Tuesday.