Brookfield officials huddled last Thursday afternoon during a meeting of the village board’s Infrastructure Subcommittee to target street improvement possibilities for 2008. They also laid the groundwork for preparing a long-range capital improvements plan to address not only future road improvements but other capital projects, including vehicle purchases, park improvements and village-owned buildings.
In 2008, Brookfield will expend what’s remaining of a $4.48 million bond issue from 2006, which will be repaid over 20 years using money from a village sales tax approved by voters. Next year, the village will have roughly $1.2 to $1.3 million of that bond issue available for road improvements.
Village Engineer Derek Treichel recommended that Garfield Avenue between Maple and Prairie avenues definitely be included for next year’s program, stating that the street is in very poor condition. Garfield Avenue, he said, should be reconstructed completely, not just resurfaced.
The cost of that reconstruction, however, is pegged at $730,000. If the village would also like to widen the street to 25 feet (the street is currently 22 feet wide), the cost would rise to $780,000. In addition to a new road surface and road base, the work would include all new curbs, driveway aprons, alley returns, drainage structures and re-landscaped parkways.
Treichel said that widening the street would allow more room for emergency vehicles and snow plows, but said that the village might consider parking restrictions if it chose not to widen the street.
In addition to Garfield Avenue, officials appeared to be leaning toward including improvements to Oak Avenue between 31st Street and Monroe Avenue and possibly one to three blocks of Vernon Avenue between 31st Street and Monroe Avenue. Before deciding on whether those streets need to be completely reconstructed, the village will take samples to determine the condition of the road base.
Also slated for resurfacing in 2008 is the remainder of Washington Avenue, from Prairie Avenue to Golf Road. Washington Avenue from Kemman to Prairie was completed in 2003. The 2008 project will be funded primarily by a federal grant administered through the Illinois Department of Transportation.
Officials, however, skirted the issue of funding for road projects past 2008 during last Thursday’s meeting. It’s unlikely that the village would float another bond issue so soon.
The village does have at least one more major road project in the pipeline that will be funded mainly through a federal grant. Starting as early as 2009, the village is expected to resurface the entire length of Grand Boulevard, a project that will take at least two years.
If the village relies solely on motor fuel tax funds to road construction projects after 2008, the pace of the improvements will definitely be slower than that seen in recent years. However, said Village President Michael Garvey, the worst streets in the village have been addressed.
“We’ve gotten the worst of the worst done,” Garvey said, “and we’ve been aggressive with our feeder routes [like Maple, Prairie and Washington avenues]. But we still obviously have more street work to do.”
Village Manager Riccardo Ginex suggested that before funding options are determined, the village should get a clearer picture of the kinds of capital projects-above and beyond street improvements-Brookfield will face in the next five years.
“We need to take a comprehensive look at everything we have-streets, water, buildings, parks-and come up with a five-year plan that shows what we need to address and what funding mechanisms need to be put in place,” Ginex said.
That five-year plan would likely not be ready for the Infrastructure Subcommittee until November.
