March 31, 2025
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Tariffs may add $750K to Yorkville’s new $30 million public works and parks facility

Construction scheduled to begin later this year

By Joey Weslo
A Yorkville municipal plow pushes snow and applies salt on Game Farm Road during a major snowstorm in Yorkville on Tuesday, Jan. 9, 2023.

(File photo) Yorkville is building a $30 million public works and parks facility in the Yorkville Business Center. The new building will increase the lifespan of the city's equipment and vehicles by storing everything under roof to protect the equipment from the elements. Pictured, a Yorkville municipal plow pushes snow and applies salt on Game Farm Road during a major snowstorm in Yorkville. (Steven Buyansky for Shaw Local/Steven Buyansky for Shaw Media)

Yorkville’s new $30 million public works and park maintenance facility may become more expensive thanks to federal tariffs.

The city hired RC Wegman for the construction project slated to begin later this year. The complex will be built on a 12-acre vacant lot within the Yorkville Business Center that the city purchased in 2022 for $1.355 million.

“We think that our materials exposure to federal tariffs that have been announced but not yet implemented is about $3 million worth of our total supplies for an upper-end impact of $750,000,” City Administrator Bart Olson said during the March 25 city council meeting. “That’s coming from RC Wegman and their industry trade groups. If there are tariffs that apply, we will be able to authorize those at a staff level before they are ordered.”

The city council approved adding $750,000 for the potential tariff impact on the project. Any of the budgeted money not spent on tariffs will return back to the city’s coffers.

The Trump Administration is expected to place tariffs on construction materials coming from Mexico and Canada, like steel and lumber, on April 2.

Following the meeting, Olson said the city is excited for the new facility because it will help modernize their public works and parks fleets.

“Our new facility will house all of our vehicles and equipment under roof which will prolong their lifespan by protecting them from the sun and rain, saving residents money in the long run,” Olson said. “Also, we should see some operational improvements from our new building, like salt storage, salt/brine creation and logistics, and equipment organizations that should have a positive impact on service delivery start time.”

The city’s current public works and park maintenance facility was built in the 1970s and does not contain enough roofing space to house all of the city’s equipment and vehicles.