St. Charles City Council moving ahead with completion of First Street Plaza expansion project

The First Street Plaza expansion project continues to move forward.

At the St. Charles City Council’s Planning and Development Committee meeting Monday, the majority of alderpersons voted to recommend awarding a $4.3 million bid for the second phase of the project to Martam Construction, which also did the project’s first phase. Voting no were 1st Ward Alderperson Ronald Silkaitis and 2nd Ward Alderperson Rita Payleitner. Second Ward Alderperson Ryan Bongard abstained.

The recommendation will go to the full City Council for approval. If awarded the bid, Martam Construction is set to begin construction in April.

The project will be substantially completed by November, Public Works Director Peter Suhr said.

The bid is about $1.2 million more than the city had estimated for the project’s second phase.

“We’re confident that it represents the current market cost for this type of construction,” Suhr said.

The St. Charles Initiative, an independent advisory committee under the umbrella of the Community Foundation of the Fox River Valley, is raising funds for the project. The St. Charles Initiative has raised about $671,621 in donations and pledges designated for phase two, Suhr said.

The remaining $3.6 million would be the net costs to the city, Suhr said.

Fifth Ward Alderperson Ed Bessner, who chairs the St. Charles Initiative, said the group will continue to raise funds for the project.

The first phase included building a retaining wall along the Fox River and filling in the hole where the Manor Restaurant had been located after its demolition. The second phase of the project includes constructing a plaza featuring a solar pergola trellis along with the installation of public art.

Plans also call for closing a section of First Street to vehicles to create a pedestrian walkway.

Site acquisition, design and construction costs for the first phase were about $2 million. With grants and donations totaling $794,171 – including a $600,000 grant from Exelon and a $56,153 Kane County Riverboat Grant – the city paid $1.2 million in net costs.

Payleitner said she thought the project shouldn’t be finished until the St. Charles Initiative raises the remaining funds.

“The egg gets finished when the remaining funds are raised,” she said.

The egg construction will cost $3 million, while the 1st Street construction work will cost about $1.3 million.

Silkaitis agreed.

“I just can’t see spending all this money that we never budgeted for on this plaza,” he said. “I just can’t see spending taxpayers’ money on this because we didn’t get the money from the [St. Charles] Initiative. I have a problem with that. In this form, I cannot support it.”

Third Ward Alderperson Todd Bancroft offered a different perspective.

“There is no we and they,” he said. “They is us. The money from the [St. Charles] Initiative is really a first step in a private-public partnership, in my view. The project needs to be completed. And I think that this has been, all things considered, a tremendous success. And I really believe that when we look at it as they didn’t do their part and we did our part, that’s just a false distinction, in my opinion. This is all for one and one for all. And I think it’s time to get the project done.”

Fourth Ward Alderperson Bryan Wirball thanked the volunteers with the St. Charles Initiative for their efforts in raising the funds for the project and the ongoing commitment to raise additional funds.

“I do support completing the project in a single phase for the reasons noted by staff,” he said. “I put a lot of thought into it. The longer we wait, the more it costs. I just think it’s time to move forward. I think it’s going to be a very nice public amenity for the residents and visitors to enjoy.”

In reacting to Bancroft’s comments, Payleitner said she doesn’t see it as “a we and they.” She favors just finishing the street work and holding off on the egg construction until more funds are raised.

“I think that we need to complete First Street for sure, that piece of it,” she said.