Politics & Government
Updated: Aldermen Accept Kennedy Road Bike Trail Grant
The City Council meeting was moved to the library due to the number of residents who commented, many in support of a private fundraising effort.
After more than an hour of public comment on the Kennedy Road bike trail grant, Ward 2 Alderman Jackie Milschewski issued a challenge to supporters who promised to raise the city's portion of the project cost.
“I’m going to take a leap of faith,” Milschewski said. “I’m going to vote for this. I’m going to ask all of you: ‘Don’t let me down.’”
She was among the five aldermen that voted Tuesday to accept a $1.4 million state grant to build a multi-use path along Kennedy Road from Route 47 to Mill Road, which is just south of Galena Road. Voting against it were Ward 4 alderman Rose Spears and Ward 1 aldermen Carlo Colosimo and George Gilson Jr.
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Several residents spoke in support Push for the Path, the private organization that has vowed to raise $357,320 (or more) over six years. Those speaking against accepting the grant questioned what would happen if fundraising fell short, emphasized the two failed referendums seeking funding for a larger bike trail network, and mentioned potential safety issues.
Push for the Path leaders because they believed they could not legally form a non-profit organization and begin collecting donations without the city committing to the project.
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, who also is the executive director of the Yorkville Economic Development Corporation, to provide some sort of written guarantee that the organization would provide the money. Spears did not provide specifics on what that guarantee would entail, but if private fundraising efforts fall short, city funds will have to make up the difference.
“You’re asking this council to use our taxpayers as collateral,” Spears said. “It may come back to us, and they may have to pay for this.”
Spears also asked if the Yorkville Economic Development Corporation could collect donations for the pathway, which would have saved city leaders from making an immediate decision on the grant. Dubajic said the YEDC did not have non-profit status.
Ward 2 Alderman Larry Kot took the crowd – which was so large the meeting was moved from City Hall to the Yorkville Public Library – into account.
“Based on the people we have here tonight, I’m going to put faith in this organization,” Kot said.
Meanwhile, Gilson stood on his promise to constituents to be ultra-conservative with taxpayer dollars.
“Our track record as a city has been atrocious for doing that,” Gilson said. “We’ve been stung over and over again by takings risks.”
But Ward 3 Alderman Marty Munns said the pathway, which will connect the city’s trail system to several others, was good for Yorkville as a whole.
“I encourage everyone to think about the big picture and long-range vision of the city, not just the next couple months,” Munns said.
