Yorkville council approves IDOT agreement to widen Route 34

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Updated: February 27, 2012 9:51AM

YORKVILLE — One side called it taking part in a broken system. The other side called it a necessary part of doing business with the state.

In the end, the council voted 5-3 — including a vote from Mayor Gary Golinski — to approve a memo of understanding between the city and the Illinois Department of Transportation on the proposed widening of Route 34 through town.

“This is the way it is with IDOT, if you want to get anything done,” said Golinski, whose vote assured the five votes necessary to approve the agreement. “By voting no, it is not going to send a message to Springfield. It’s just going to assure that Route 34 will be four lanes through Oswego and four lanes through Plano, and two lanes through Yorkville. The only one you’re hurting is your residents.”

Indeed, IDOT officials are starting to develop special rules for Yorkville, because of the way the city has dealt with the state on road projects during the past several years. IDOT was asking Yorkville for a special level of commitment on the Letter of Understanding because of past changes the city sought in the last parts of engineering for the Route 47 widening, scheduled to start this summer. The city has also asked for several extensions on accepting a grant to build a bike trail, a grant IDOT already has approved for the city.

“They figured out we’re a bit of a flight risk,” said City Administrator Bart Olson. “They what to know about the future.”

Leading the opposition to signing the agreement was Alderman George Gilson, 1st Ward, the chairman of the Public Works Committee. Gilson called IDOT’s way of doing things “a broken system,” mainly because he says IDOT asks cities to commit to funds before IDOT commits to them.

He said the agreement estimates the city’s local match for the project will be about $230,000. But IDOT itself has not committed to funds for the widening.

The project is listed on IDOT’s five-year plan, but is in a future-year funding. In reality, the only projects that are considered funded on IDOT’s five-year plan are the ones in the most recent fiscal year. Other projects are put in future years to indicate they are on the radar screen, but there is no money yet.

Gilson said the city is in no position to commit to future funding because it is in a tenuous budgetary situation. The city, which is in the beginning stages of planning the fiscal year 2013 budget, is looking at deficit spending during the next few years.

Others on the council pointed out that the city is not committed to any costs until the entire project is funded. Ultimately, the state will pay 80 percent of the project.

Olson said that is likely to be some 10 years down the road. He said IDOT is looking only for some kind of direction from the City Council as to whether or not it wants the project. Olson said rejecting the Letter of Understanding would be an indication the city does not want Route 34 widened.

Alderman Carlo Colosimo, 1st Ward, and Alderman Rose Spears, 4th Ward, joined Gilson in voting against the agreement. Colosimo said the widening of Route 34 would be great”— if the city had the money.