Naperville hopes state funds cover study cost

Naperville officials hope the state's transportation department will pay for most of an ill-fated redevelopment study that was quashed by the city council halfway through the process.

According to city documents, "IDOT has indicated that the project will be eligible for reimbursement even though the project was not completed."

The initial cost of the project was anticipated to be a little more than $100,000, but the final price tag came in at slightly less than $50,000.

The city had received a state grant that would have paid for 90 percent of the study and left the city on the hook for 10 percent of the cost. In this case, the city would only have to pay about $5,000 for the abbreviated study.

City officials said they anticipate the transportation department grant will go through, but they aren't sure.

"The reason the response from IDOT is couched is because the state has the final say so," city Finance Director Doug Krieger said. "With Springfield, it's hard to say anything with certainty."

The city had spent months working with Camiros Ltd. to draft a transit-oriented study that would have affected a half-mile radius of the downtown train station. It was commissioned due to the pending relocation of the city's sprawling public works facility from east of the depot to the city's west side.

But neighboring residents rallied against the study because they feared it would have a negative impact on the adjacent residential properties. Camiros officials did little to assuage the residents' fears. Despite being told to remove residential properties from the study criteria, some Camiros proposals included changes to residential land.

Another major gaffe occurred during a Camiros presentation to residents. A slideshow presentation featured homes in the area that Camiros representatives stated were ripe for teardown. One of the homeowners whose house was shown in the presentation was in the audience and later lambasted the representative.

City staffers said they are making another study pitch to the council Oct. 16 regarding redevelopment of the current public works site and the surrounding area.

Thom Higgins, one of the leaders of homeowners in the adjacent Park Addition neighborhood, said he expected residents to have a voice in this process as well.

"This study needs to have components about pedestrian safety and reducing traffic congestion besides the garage site," he said. "There was plenty of input in the previous study that should be considered."