Batavia streetscape advisory committee begins task

The first meeting of Batavia’s downtown streetscape advisory committee is at 7 p.m. Monday at the government center, 100 Island Ave.The panel will help the city#146;s design consultants, Altamanu Inc. of Oak Park, and city workers to plan improvements to the streets, sidewalks, lighting, landscaping and other items in the downtown.The consultants will present observations about pedestrian traffic downtown and outline a schedule of neighborhood meetings to be held in the coming months.The committee#146;s work is to be done this spring. After the city council approves it, engineers will be hired to make construction drawings, then the project will be put out for bid. The city anticipates doing the work in 2012.The Illinois Department of Transportation is funneling a $1.5 million federal grant to Batavia for part of the work. The rest will be paid out of two tax-increment financing district funds, which set aside property taxes from downtown properties for projects related to the downtown.Information about the study will be available at cityofbatavia.net, under the #147;Projects#148; tab. Agendas, meeting summaries and design drawings will be posted, along with a link to contact city workers with questions and comments on the project.For more information, e-mail Community Development Director Jerry Swanson at jswanson@cityofbatavia.net.