Cost concerns hold up Carpentersville public works facility

Since late 2006, Carpentersville officials have mulled building a multi-million-dollar public works facility on land the village bought for $2.4 million.

Those discussions carry on more than 18 months after a contentious 4-3 vote secured the 28.5-acre property known as Tamarac Crossing -- and village officials say many questions still linger.

Village trustees and audit and finance commissioners met Monday with an architect to discuss which construction method the village should employ.

No decision was reached and village officials said the meeting ended with a slew of unanswered questions.

Village President Bill Sarto said while the need for a new facility is apparent, the village must decide on the type of building it desires, how much it is willing to spend and how that cost will be met.

"It's not an option, we need a new facility," Sarto said. "It makes good financial sense to have a place to store all of the expensive equipment."

But before the village can determine its wants and needs, village trustees and staff members must first resolve to move forward with the multimillion dollar project, Village Manager Craig Anderson said.

"We could do a design and get a better idea of what the cost will be but then decide that the village can't afford it," Anderson said. "We know it is going to cost millions. The board has to be certain it wants to go ahead with the project before we spend thousands drawing up plans and designs."

Sarto said the village expects to break ground on the project this fall, though no concrete plans are in place.

"We still have a window of about a month to six weeks before the project is delayed to next year," Sarto said. "We stopped the project in terms of not getting a cost."

Previously, Trustee Paul Humpfer, who also chairs the village's finance panel, has said those matters should have been resolved before the village purchased the land.

Early estimates put the 100,000-square-foot project's price tag in excess of $10 million dollars.

Anderson said funding the project is an issue and said the village would likely take out a multimillion-dollar bond.

In December 2006, the village board voted 4-3 to buy the parcel at Wilmette and Cleveland avenues, near the water treatment plant.

The acquisition ended two years of litigation with Town and Country,

The developer sued the village when trustees rejected its proposal to build a 176-unit townhouse development, Tamarac Crossing, on the site.