Carpentersville gains bulk of Kane Co.'s block grant funds

Carpentersville is one of the big winners in this year's round of federal Community Development Block Grant funding.

The Kane County Community Development Commission recommended Thursday the village receive about 25 percent of the $1.6 million the commission had to award.

So Carpentersville would get $263,478 to reconstruct sanitary sewers, water mains and water services, and sidewalks and roadways, and create storm sewers, widen turn lanes and install new streetlights and traffic signals on Hazard Road, Monroe Avenue and Golfview Lane.

The federal money funds projects that benefit low- and moderate-income residents, eliminate slum conditions or address an urgent need that has no other funding. Organizations that serve the homeless are also well-represented in the list of projects that will receive grant funding. Funding will be targeted for shelter operations.

Those not receiving funding are mainly projects designed to build public facilities. The Kane County Community Athletic Council asked for $3.5 million toward an $11 million plan to build an athletic and exposition center at Deerpath and Indian Trail roads in Aurora. The facility would be used to host area nonprofit youth teams for sporting events as well as earn a profit.

The $3.5 million request is more than twice the amount of block grant funds the county had available.

Also turned down was the village of Gilberts, which had requested $100,000 to help fund a new park.

The list of projects now goes to the full county board for approval. The commission will pick projects for additional funding made available through the federal bailout later this year.