Updated: Aldermen Accept Kennedy Road Bike Trail Grant

The article about the Feb. 28 City Council meeting has been updated with comments from aldermen that night. Readers were pretty active in the Patch comments section, too.

Another Push for Push for the Path

Yorkville aldermen are expected to discuss the Kennedy Road trail grant and a private fundraising effort Tuesday.

A Kennedy Road bike trail supporter has taken her cause to YouTube, posting a video this week encouraging people to attend Tuesday’s City Council meeting. Rachel Engelhardt had followed the bike trail issue through the failed referendum and through public discussions of creating a non-profit called Push for the Path. She finally got involved when it appeared aldermen were going to reject a $1.4 million grant over concerns about funding the city’s 20 percent share of the project. “I’ve been sitting at home thinking I’ll make a contribution, all I need to know is where to write a check and where to send it to,” Engelhardt said. “(Then) I started having a panic moment: ‘Oh we’re going to let this go.’” So, she called Lynn Dubajic, executive …

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Poll: Donate Toward Kennedy Road Bike Path?

We ask the question as private fundraising efforts were discussed at Yorkville's Public Works Committee meeting Tuesday.

Aldermen might reject a $1.4 million grant for a bike trail along Kennedy Road over the city's 20 percent share of the overall project costs. A private group called Push for the Path has offered to raise the city's $357,320 share over several years, but some aldermen want to see the money upfront to avoid diverting city funds if fundraising efforts fall flat.

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Yorkville Poised to Reject Kennedy Trail Grant

Aldermen in the city's Public Works Committee voted 3-1 to reject a $1.38 million grant that required a $357,320 match from the city.

City leaders are moving forward with bike trails along route 47 and 71, but a committee voted to halt plans for a bike trail along Kennedy Road, where a woman was killed in 2009 biking with her daughter. The City Council’s Public Works Committee voted 3-1 Tuesday not to accept a $1.38 million state grant for a trail along Kennedy Road. The grant would have required the city to provide $357,320 for the project. City leaders were researching on Friday if a City Council vote was needed to reject the grant or if the committee vote accomplished it, according to The Beacon-News. Voting against accepting the grant were Public Works Committee Chairman George Gilson Jr., Committee Vice Chair Jackie Milschewski and Committee Member Larry Kot. …

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Colosimo: Bike Trail Question on Campaign Materials a Mistake

Ward 1 Alderman Candidate Carlo Colosimo said he accidentally implied that the bike trail referendum would cost $300 a year in property taxes.

Alderman candidate Carlo Colosimo acknowledged he accidentally sent a questionnaire with the wrong figure for the bike trails referendum to about 200 households in Ward 1. The questionnaire was included with campaign materials Colosimo had planned to send to about 800 households with residents who voted in recent municipal elections. Colosimo said he removed the questionnaires from the remaining packets after Corey Johnson, a proponent of the bike trails referendum, brought the error to his attention Tuesday evening. “I obviously screwed up,” Colosimo said Wednesday afternoon. “I just misprinted it.” The question asked: Are you willing to add $300 per year (x 20 years) to your property taxes to include bike trails during our road …

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Talk About Town

Do You Support the Proposed Bike Trail Referendum?

Yorkville Patch asked five people if they support the proposed bond referendum to fund part of several bike trail projects.

"No. Honestly, I think the Village should invest any money coming in on better more useful things needed around Yorkville." Breenen Platz, 32, Yorkville "Absolutely not. With the slump in this economy, city officials should be looking for ways to cut back on unnecessary expenses." Megan Esquivel, 37, Naperville "Yes. We should do what we can to preserve nature. I feel this bike trail is a step in the right direction." Alyssa Pemmens,  24, Yorkville "Yes. The jobs it could potentially bring is a positive. I'd like to sign the petition!" Jared Simmons, 30, Yorkville "No. This is not the right time to take on a project like this. I feel the people pushing for the bike trail are looking out for their own interest and not thinking about the …

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