The URL can be used to link to this page

Home My WebLink About93-40 Resolution No. 93-40 RESOLUTION AUTHORIZING EXECUTION OF A GRANT APPLICATION WITH THE ILLINOIS DEPARTMENT OF TRANSPORTATION FOR HISTORIC STREET LIGHTING BE IT RESOLVED BY THE CITY COUNCIL OF THE CITY OF ELGIN, ILLINOIS, that Larry L. Rice, City Manager, and Dolonna Mecum, City Clerk, be and are hereby authorized and directed to execute a grant application with the Illinois Department of Transportation for street lighting in the Elgin Historic District. The installation of historic lighting will both improve pedestrian and traffic safety and will improve the quality of life and sense of heritage in the Elgin Historic District. s/ George VanDeVoorde George VanDeVoorde, Mayor Presented: February 10, 1993 Adopted: February 10, 1993 Omnibus Vote: Yeas 7 Nays 0 Recorded: Attest: s/ Dolonna Mecum Dolonna Mecum, City Clerk • n C; ( II ) fik y OF Et c,s�= -.,/, /1? Agenda Item Nos ,/ :,_1A-, -...,,,L\..i., ,_ , ,„„„, February 5, 1993 MEMORANDUM TO: Mayor and Members of the City Council FROM: Larry L. Rice, City Manager SUBJECT: Traffic Signal Radio Interconnect System Grant Application to Illinois Department of Transportation PURPOSE: This memorandum will provide the Mayor and Council with information to consider authorizing the submission of the fik subject grant application. BACKGROUND: The staff was recently informed that there is a new grant available from the Illinois Department of Transportation known as the Illinois Transportation Enhancement Program of 1991 (ISTEA) . The new federal transportation funding bill, ISTEA, requires states to set aside ten percent of their share of Surface Transportation Program funds for projects that serve to enhance the transportation system. Each state has the flexibility to create a program to best suit its respective needs, within the limits of the law. The City has been implementing an interconnection of traffic signals since 1987 with the South McLean Boulevard Improvements . This project interconnected all of the signals south of Lillian Street up to and including Spartan Drive. Based on the success of that project the City and IDOT utilized the system in the downtown area and Summit Street as part of the jurisdictional transfer of state routes in the downtown area and the Big Timber widening project now underway. various improvements to be included in the subject project. This grant application is a step toward getting the funds e necessary to continue the improvements of certain intersections and the interconnection of 33 more intersections. The major thrust of this grant application is to get the funding necessary rto ease the flow of a majority of the traffic in Elgin. There are five streets which are included in the grant application, those streets are as follows: (i) Primed on recycled paper r Mayor and Members of the City Council February 5, 1993 Page 2 A. Chicago Street from Center Street to Willard Avenue B. McLean Boulevard from Spartan Drive to Forest Drive C. Villa Street from Liberty Street to Highland Avenue D. Summit Street from Dundee Avenue to Waverly Drive E. Dundee Avenue from Highland Avenue to Elma Street This application for the radio interconnect system falls under a different section of the IDOT/ISTEA grant program than the program dealing with Historic Districts (presented to the Council at its last Committee of the Whole) . As such it will not compete with the City other grant application (Historic Lighting) . Questions arose at the last Committee of the Whole with regards to the state's commitment to reimburse the City and the reimbursement schedule. Officials at the Chicago Transportation Study (CATS) which is also involved in the grant' management tell staff that the State grant is actually federal dollars which are committed and which are only administered by the State. The City will "up-front" progress payments to the contractor in the event of an award and then the City will bill the state for the federal share of the project. FINANCIAL IMPACT: The total estimated cost of these improvements is approximately $500,000 . This grant provides for a 80%/20% split between the State and City. Therefore the City's share in this program would be $100,000 with the State paying the remaining $400,000. It is proposed that the City's share would come from the Capital Improvement Project Fund if the State of Illinois approves our grant request. RECOMMENDATION: It is recommended that the City Council authorize the staff to submit the Grant Application to the Illinois Department of Transportation for a continuation of the Traffic Signal Radio Interconnect System. Approval of the actual grant agreement would be made following an award by the State (scheduled in May) . Lar ice, ity Manager • 0 14/ ACPCem60#1 Loo,� 111 r Agenda Item No. 4pa��7lD fC�M1 January 27, 1993 TO: Mayor and City Council FROM: Larry L. Rice, City Manager SUBJECT: Preparation of IDOT grant application for Lighting in Elgin Historic District The City, the Gifford Park Association, and representatives of the Heritage Commission have recently been informed of a grant program which could make available a significant number of dollars to complete the Elgin Historic District street light- ing project. The grant is an 80/20 program administered by the Illinois Department of Transportation ( IDOT) which makes money avail- able for a wide range of transportation enhancement projects. A specific category of the program is for projects in Historic Districts and $5 to $15 million is expected to be available each year for such efforts . Up to 80% of the project's costs could be paid for through the program but the City would be required to "up-front" the money for later reimbursement. Other federal funds cannot be used for the City's 20% match so that the long-budgeted CDBG monies ($135,000) would be traded with another project so that City funds could be used for the match. Initial contacts with IDOT and the State Historic Preservation Agency indicate that the Historic District Light- ing would be an eligible project. The preliminary cost estimates for engineering, installation, and hardware for the project are $1 million. This would provide wiring, lighting standards and fixtures for 300 his- toric street lights on approximately 40 city blocks in the Historic District. The project was proposed by the neighbor- hood some years ago and has since gone through a series of changes and proposals. The grant program is new this year and results from require- ments of the federal Intermodal Surface Transportation Effi- ciency Act of 1991 (ISTEA) . As such the program timelines put our project in a competitive position. The entire application must be filed with the Chicago Area Transportation Study efilk (CATS) by Friday, February 12 to be considered for the initial $19 million of available funding state-wide during the state's Fiscal Year 1993. The rapidly approaching deadline seems to improve the prospects for this proposal which has already undergone extensive research and discussion. There may not be a large number of projects in other Historic Districts which are "ready-to-go" as this one is. RECOMMENDATION: That the City Council authorize staff to work with representatives of GPA and the Historic District and prepare an application to the Illinois Transportation Enhance- ment Program for Historic District Lighting. Formal endorse- ment of the application would be sought from the City Council at its February 10 meeting. Larry . Rice, ity Manager r r ._....._..... . , z • f n M • • «•P : X! : \dt..:::.::.2:::::::::::::::::.:::::.:::........:::::::::::....:::::.,...,,......„..,„„i:l.:. 1.,.... • A R • ' C C rrN•sa.•cr. • A 2,• • 10 sT • • �. HAP L • A.II K • • • • • • X • • • •F x : li711I: HI ski' 1 :1 ii cILIi.1:7. • • • • •. • • • • i MOM p ':,;.' to - HIN PE r • • •• •• •• 0%.:.:: • • • • Rj • 'c' • • • • • • • • • a._ • . I.1 ir--1, •.::::::::.'::::::::::-.:::.:- :-..7•• SQUTH f H•NNING S T N RTH H••NNIN ..........;1."'•