Aldermen Balk at Bike Path Upkeep

A majority of Yorkville aldermen don’t want to use city funds to maintain bike trails – even if citizens raise private funds for the city’s 20 percent portion of the construction costs.

Seven of the city’s eight aldermen outlined that position after City Administrator Bart Olson said maintenance costs for the 2.44 miles of pathway along Route 47 could cost as much as $5,300 a year. That’s higher than the $10,000 estimate city staff had offered for the six sections of bike paths involved in the t

Ward 1 Alderman George Gilson Jr. asked to discuss the maintenance costs at Tuesday's City Council meeting. He said he knew how much work was involved with grassroots fundraising, so he didn't want to see city leaders reject the grassroots organization's donation later because of the city's maintenance costs.

Ward 4 Alderman Rose Spears said private donors should cover those maintenance costs if they intend to raise $116,000, which would be the city’s portion of the cost for the first section of bike path along Route 47.

“If we are going to have people who donate – God bless them – but let them cover the maintenance as well,” Spears said. “Because we don’t want the burden to go on the taxpayers who said no.”

Spears and other aldermen referred to referendums in the November and April elections. Those failed ballot questions asked for permission to sell up to $1 million in bonds to cover the city’s portion of the cost to build 13.25 miles of bike trails, plus the interest for the bonds itself.

The state would cover 80 percent of the trails’ costs and install the pathways during road projects.

Olson’s higher maintenance projections were based on seal coating the pathway every three years. They also assumed that 10 percent of the pathway would be replaced through pothole repair.

In addition, Olson suggested setting aside $6,871 annually to provide funds to replace the trail in 25 years. That would mean the city should budget $12,293 annually for trail maintenance and replacement.

The $10,000 figure (which covered 13.25 miles of trail) was based on the city’s practice of “under-maintaining” its current bike trails, Olson wrote in memo to Yorkville City Council members. Some bike paths are more than 10 years old but city workers seal-coated them for the first time last year, Olson said.

Ward 4 Alderman Diane Teeling, who was among a handful of people leading the private fund-raising effort, argued against relying heavily on the higher maintenance projections.

“You’re using numbers that you have not used on the bike trails we have,” Teeling said.

But Ward 3 Alderman Chris Funkhouser and Gilson, among others, said some of the city’s sidewalks and roads were deteriorating because past leaders had not been proactive in budgeting for maintenance.

“We need to start budgeting for streets; we need to start budgeting for sidewalks,” Gilson said. “That’s the essence of government.”

Ward 1 Alderman Carlo Colosimo, who didn't support city funding for path maintenance, encouraged residents to share their thoughts with their aldermen.

“Right now the only guidance I have is the two referendums,” Colosimo said.

After Tuesday’s city council meeting, Teeling said she would encourage bike path supporters to contact other aldermen. But she was not hopeful the fledgling fund-raising effort would survive.

Supporters were forming a non-profit organization called the Yorkville United Foundation to collect the donations, which leaders would pass onto the city. They also were planning a “Push for the Patch Kickoff Rally” for June 11.