St. Charles Ward 5 candidates talk utilities, downtown, dam removal
St. Charles Ward 5 Alderman Steve Weber cites his experience as a reason he deserves another term on the city council.
His opponent, Lauren Duddles, believes her career in teaching and working for a nonprofit organization would benefit the city council.
The two discussed city issues in an interview and questionnaires with the Daily Herald.
When asked what is the most important issue facing St. Charles as a whole, Weber says it is the city’s infrastructure, including water and sewer service. “Every single resident and business owner is impacted by this. We as a community must support and invest in our infrastructure,” he wrote in the questionnaire.
Duddles cited the city’s purchase contract with the Illinois Municipal Electric Agency. The existing contract expires in 2035, and the IMEA has asked St. Charles to vote this spring to extend it to 2055. The IMEA gets its electricity mostly from coal-generating plants.
“The city council needs to get bids from other energy providers and gather information on highest amount of renewable energy sources, cost, and reliability, and present the information to the public. Public engagement is crucial,” Duddles wrote in her questionnaire.
Weber is leery of signing an early extension. “They (the IMEA) wanted us to vote six months ago. There is zero incentive to sign up early,” he said in the interview.
Both agree on whether the dam on the Fox River should be removed: Not now.
Weber said the council does not yet have enough information about the effects of dam removal. “It should not go anywhere right now,” he said. He suggested the city conduct a referendum on the matter.
“I feel the same,” Duddles said, including the need for more studies. “It will probably take years to make the decision.”
Duddles said she believes the ward’s two aldermen could do a better job communicating with the ward’s residents.
Weber cited his experience as a reason to keep him on: “There are so many things going on right now in St. Charles that I don’t think it would be wise to hand it off to someone new,” he said.
For the ward, Duddles said the city should be doing more to improve walkability by adding sidewalks. She said she often sees people pushing strollers on busy Route 64 and Campton Hills Road to walk to the Aldi grocery store, a public pool and a post office.
Weber noted the council recently approved a bicycle and pedestrian improvement plan.
Both spoke about the health of the downtown.
“The downtown area is how I first fell in love with St. Charles,” Duddles said. She would like to see pop-up shops at the site of the old police station, similar to Batavia’s Boardwalk Shops. “It would be something new and fun for the city.”
Weber acknowledged that sometimes people have difficulty finding a parking place. A study showed there is adequate parking, but not necessarily at all times. The east side of the downtown, in particular, has an issue, he said.
He said the city has a contract with the St. Charles Public Library to use its lot for public parking when the library is closed. “That (providing more east-side parking) is something that is going to come up in the next four years,” he said.