Riverwalk commissioners being honored at tonight's council meeting

Three Riverwalk Commissioners will be honored at the Tuesday, Oct. 18, Naperville City Council meeting for their efforts regarding the Riverwalk Asset Management Plan, a document that will provide long-range planning for the Riverwalk.

Structural engineer Bill Epp, architect and Riverwalk Commission Chairman Jeff Havel and Naperville Park District North Parks Foreman Chuck Papanos have volunteered their time weekly since February 2010 to research, catalog, organize and compile information about every Riverwalk asset for the plan. The new Riverwalk Asset Management Plan, which has been presented to the City Council, identifies the condition of all Riverwalk assets. In addition, each amenity is cross referenced with current photographs.

Naperville Park District staff and the Riverwalk Commission will use the document to identify amenities that are beginning to fail and therefore provide the necessary rehabilitation to extend the life of those assets. The document will also give the Riverwalk Commission a clear vision of what projects need to be done in the near term as well as further into the future.

“Any asset that has been identified as fair or poor has a replacement cost associated with it,” Riverwalk Commissioner and past Chairman Rick Hitchcock said. “The Riverwalk Commission has already used this tool to determine what projects should be included in the upcoming Capital Improvement Program budget that focuses on the next five years. Thank you to these three individuals for giving of their time and talents to save the City and its taxpayer's money.”

The Naperville Riverwalk is a 1.75-mile linear park that runs alongside the shoreline of the west branch of the DuPage River from Jefferson Avenue on the west to Hillside Drive on the east. For more information, visit www.napervilleriverwalk.com.

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