Carpentersville board makes case for new public works site

Carpentersville trustees want the village to move full steam ahead to build a new public works facility, a project that trustees acknowledge is almost 15 years overdue and could necessitate a property tax hike.

The village board on Tuesday approved several items to move the expected $12 million project along, including a budget amendment to use about $1.1 million in cash reserve funds for the design of the public works facility and construction management services.

"We have made substantial movement toward building a the public works building," Village President Ed Ritter said. "This is a funding vehicle to start the process."

The village purchased a proposed site at Wilmette and Tamarac avenues, which cost $2.4 million for the 28.5-acre property near the village's water treatment plant.

But trustees warned moving ahead with construction could force the village to increase property taxes to pay down the bond service the village will likely need to cover the costs of a new building.

"We have trimmed the fat from the budget and have not raised property taxes in four years," Trustee Paul Humpfer said. "We have absorbed the $20 million debt service (for road improvements). But we cannot do that anymore. We cannot take another bond out without another means of paying for it."

Humpfer said the levy or tax rate is not yet known.

Village board members also pressed the case for the multimillion dollar building to replace the inadequate installation of buildings located at 220 Lake Marian Road in a recent letter to all village residents.

"Since at least 1995, the village has known that its current public works facility is terribly undersized and poorly equipped to meet the needs of our village," read the letter, which all seven board members signed. "Expensive equipment with computerized functions sits out in the cold, rain and snow, inviting expensive repairs and premature rusting. Our $105,000 snow plows sit outside in the winter risking the possibility that they will not start in severe cold."

Humpfer said Tuesday though some board members initially opposed the project, it is time for the village to take advantage of the current bond market and decreasing construction costs.

But not all residents are in favor of plowing ahead with construction.

Former village board candidate, Frank Stoneham, said the village had not adequately vetted the proposal to the public.

"I feel like this is getting ramrodded through," Stoneham told trustees during the public comments portion of the meeting. "There has not been enough public discussion."