St. Charles aldermen not buying into riverfront vision yet
The volunteer group that wants to make the Fox River the centerpiece of St. Charles' downtown asked aldermen for a full buy-in on the vision Monday night. Instead, aldermen asked for the bill.
The city's Active River Task Force has worked to build an idea for how to better use the river for more than two years. The idea they came up with is a half-mile, looping river walk extending from the Main Street Bridge to Prairie Street.
The walk would feature multiple gathering spaces, but the path itself would be a type of stage to the action envisioned for the portion of the Fox River it follows.
Kayaking, white water rafting and other aquatic activities would combine with an in-the-river children's splash pad to be the main attraction.
So far, the closest the group has come to putting a price tag on the project came Monday night. Task force member John Rabchuk said $15 million to $20 million is a “very rough, rough estimate.”
How much of that bill the city would pay is an unknown. Rabchuk and aldermen engaged in a chicken and egg debate about how to determine the city's commitment.
Rabchuk told aldermen that if, and only if, the city shows a firm commitment to the plan, private investors may be willing to fund some of the early stages of the project, such as engineering. But while some aldermen embraced the project fully, others said they aren't willing to commit the city to a plan with open-ended and unknown costs.
One of the unknowns is whether state officials will agree to remove the dam on the river outside city hall. Many of the activities proposed to occur on the river hinge on speeding up the flow of the water by removing the dam.
“Until you can tell me that the state is OK with us taking this dam down, I have a hard time spending any money,” said Alderman Ron Silkaitis. “My concern is spending $1 million and them saying, 'Sorry, you can't do it.'”
Rabchuk said the state isn't even going to consider removing the dam until engineering work shows how removing the dam will affect the river and its water quality.
“If we can raise $2 million privately, then there's no city money involved in this part,” Rabchuk said. “But you've got to have the engineering before you can talk to anybody about the dam.”
Aldermen also weren't sure the project fits into the city's budget right now. Addressing long-standing flood issues with the 7th Avenue Creek are also high on the to-do list for the city's capital project needs.
“The 7th Avenue Creek flooding has to be our water priority,” said Alderman Jo Krieger.
The city is budgeting for its next fiscal year, which begins at the close of April, right now. City Administrator Mark Koening suggested thinking of ways to push the active river project forward by factoring it into the city's strategic plan.
That plan includes long-term consideration of the future use or sale of the police station, which is right in the middle of the shoreline where the active river project is focused.
The active river project will clearly have allies on the city council for inclusion in both the 2016-17 budget and the strategic plan. Among those allies will be Alderman Rita Payleitner. She pledged her full support for the active river vision.
“This council has for a long time bemoaned how to get out of our reputation of being a bar town,” Payleitner said. “How do we make our town more family friendly? Here it is, folks. We have to pull the trigger on it.”