With residents frustrated, Pingree Grove decides to pave Elgin road
After years of complaints from residents, the village of Pingree Grove decided to spend about $94,000 to pave a gravel, bumpy road that belongs to the city of Elgin.
The westernmost portion of Highland Avenue from Damisch to Reinking roads belongs to Elgin, but the people who complain about it are residents of Pingree Grove who live to the north. The land to the south is undeveloped and belongs to Elgin.
The matter became more urgent after homes were built last year along Anchorage Court, which can be accessed only from Highland Avenue, Village President Steve Wiedmeyer said.
The village board voted Monday to approve the $94,000 construction bid from Meyer Paving and spend no more than $100,000 to pave Highland Avenue from Catamaran Drive to Reinking Road, or about half the unpaved road.
Pingree Grove Public Works Director Pat Doherty said it should take a couple of days to pave the road and he hopes the work will be done before the village's Independence Day celebration July 6 and 7.
That was great news for resident Lynsey Lowden. She and her family were the first to move to Anchorage Court in February 2017, she said.
"That's exciting," she said. "There's not even a sidewalk on our side of the road. I have a 1-year-old and when he's on a wagon or a stroller, I'm not even able to take him on a walk out of the neighborhood."
The half-mile stretch is so bad that vehicles got damaged over the years, residents said. Conditions are especially bad after heavy rains and on dry, windy days when dust blows.
Elgin approved an intergovernmental agreement with Pingree Grove in 2013 agreeing to reopen that stretch of Highland Avenue, which previously was blocked off by barricades, and by regrading and regraveling the road as necessary, city spokeswoman Molly Center said.
"Staff anticipates Pingree Grove will soon be providing documentation relating to their costs (regarding paving) and the scope of work to determine the next steps," Center said.
Wiedmeyer said Elgin has been "very good" about grading it regularly. As for paving it, "their response was, 'You guys can improve it as you see fit,'" Wiedmeyer said.
Pingree Grove plans to use $60,000 obtained from Nicor last year for a gas pipeline construction, and proceeds from a $60,000 land sale to Cambridge Lakes Charter School, which plans to expand its parking lot, Village Clerk Dawn Grivetti said.
"We realize it's not our road, but we realize they are our taxpayers that utilize that road, so we wanted to improve it," she said.
Some residents advocated paving the entire stretch of Highland Avenue, but that would cost an estimated $200,000 that's not in the budget, Grivetti said. Paving the road is only "a temporary fix that won't last more than a couple of years," she added.
"We still anticipate Elgin will clear the road and maintain as best they can," Grivetti said.
That stretch of Highland Avenue is supposed to be built by Shodeen Homes of Geneva as part of its planned Pingree Creek development to the south in Elgin.
Elgin staff members are meeting with Shodeen this week to discuss the development's next steps, Center said.
Shodeen President David Patzelt wasn't immediately available for comment.