Hoffman Estates treading warily with planned street improvements

Hoffman Estates officials expect to play it by ear with their $7 million street revitalization program this year, despite the now dated commitment to move forward with it in April's village newsletter.

Finances and the availability of contractors in the wake of the coronavirus pandemic are the big variables regarding how many - if any - of the proposed projects in the program get done this year.

"We could scrap the whole program this year if we had to," Deputy Village Manager Dan O'Malley said.

But the village plans to keep its options open for the coming construction season by bidding all five reconstruction projects, all 34 resurfacing projects, and the improvement of a sewer along Illinois Boulevard between Evanston Street and Roselle Road.

"The best scenario is we get them all bid and they're good bids," O'Malley said.

Funding for the various street projects comes from a variety of sources. A significant portion of the village's revenues come from taxes on businesses that are currently shuttered or slowed by the pandemic. There are also questions about what the state will do with the Hoffman Estates' usual share of the motor fuel tax, O'Malley said.

He believes municipalities with fiscal years beginning on May 1, like neighboring Schaumburg, may have an easier time right now because they are formally budgeting for the year ahead based on new expectations.

Those like Hoffman Estates with Jan. 1 fiscal years are facing potentially major changes to budgets not even a third of the way through yet, O'Malley said.

Many questions, like whether Northwest Fourth Fest will go on this year, will require answers in the relatively near future, he added.

The village's five street reconstructions planned for 2020 are Burnham Drive from Amber Circle to Palatine Road; Carthage Lane from Cumberland Street to Arizona Boulevard; Flagstaff Lane from Washington Boulevard to Grand Canyon Street; Franklin Place from Georgetown Lane to Erie Lane; and Georgetown Lane from Hassell Road to Dunmore Place.

Residents can visit hoffmanestates.org/roadconstruction for weekly updates during the months ahead.