McHenry Times

City of Harvard Transportation Committee met March 6

Here are the minutes provided by the committee:

Chairman Gorman called the Transportation Committee Meeting to order at 6:30 pm. Committee members present: Chairman Charlie Gorman, Alderman Jay Schulz, Alderman John Lavallee and Alderman Matt Perkins. Also present were Mayor Kelly, City Administrator Lou Leone, Finance Director Deb Bejot, Public Works Supt. Rob Lamz and Gary Rozwadowski, Christopher Burke Engineering.

Public comments

None

Parking on Front St. in front of the Starline Building

The Committee revisited the parking situation in front of the Starline Building. Alderman Schulz expressed his opinion that in order to be effective, the “No Parking” sign needs to extend to the other side of Page St.; right now, it ends 30’- 40’ short of the entrance into Starline. People aren’t parked there, but cars are parking right in front of the door. After discussion, the consensus was to put a “No Parking” sign on the other side of Page St. as well. Public Works will also paint the curb when weather permits and the temperature is consistently above 40º. Chairman Gorman inquired as to the status of Starline putting in a crosswalk. Mayor Kelly and City Administrator Leone related that the crosswalk was pretty much dropped due to engineering requirements after which the discussion turned to the “No Parking” signs.

Staff Report on use of this year’s MFT Funds

The Committee reviewed the 24/25 MFT Road Program spreadsheet showing crack sealing/rejuvenation. Skip patching is the stopgap portion of the program and will be determined after the preventive maintenance. Supt. Lamz reported that according to Gary’s calculations, 2,400 sq. yds. are available if acceptance testing isn’t waived and 2,680 sq. yds. if the acceptance testing is waived. 

Chairman Gorman recommended putting together a report that can be shared with the public using social media as a reference point to guide residents to the City’s website which would outline the actual program.

A motion was made by Alderman Perkins, seconded by Alderman Schulz to accept the locations as presented for the 24/25 MFT Road Program as presented. All ayes. Motion carried.

Post Office stairs, ramp and angle parking (update and costs so far)

Gary Rozwadowski reviewed a power point presentation that outlined the history and current status of the post office project which commenced in 2021. Midland Standard recently took pavement cores which show that Eastman St. has very little existing bituminous with very poor or no aggregate base and cannot be milled and resurfaced. Because of the condition of the pavement, the City can’t do what was originally intended and reconstruction is required. This entire block of Eastman St. currently has no drainage structures. Finance Director Bejot indicated that nothing is budgeted towards this project in the FY24/25 Budget. Different options were discussed: reconstruct the entire street as part of the road program after the City starts collecting the municipal sales tax, set money aside as it becomes available, or look into expanding the potential TIF (old police dept.) to include all of Eastman St. Alderman Lavallee recommended core sampling going forward to make better decisions on how to proceed with roads. There was further discussion on how to proceed with the extra revenue from the sales tax which can be determined at a later date once we know how much revenue will be received and policy/strategy is set. Item tabled until data is available to make decisions.

Downtown parking in the 2-hour parking limit zones

Current ordinance provides for two-hour parking on Ayer St. City Administrator Leone and Mayor Kelly gave an overview of the enforcement effort to open up Ayer St. for customers. The City offers free parking permits available at the Police Dept. to park in City lots and certain streets off the downtown area. There should be sufficient spaces in those areas to accommodate business owners and their employees. The letter in the packet will be issued on Friday to notify businesses. The limit will be enforced on a regular basis; staff is working within the budget to figure out a “meter maid”, possibly the intern, that will check parking to ensure compliance. Other options could include parking fees for the downtown (parking meters or kiosks).

At Alderman Perkins’ inquiry, Supt. Lamz reported that due to budget constraints, the “no truck parking” signage was put in only on the northwest and southeast corners of Ayer St. Additional signage will be put in this upcoming budget year.

Items for Future Meetings

• Consider a uniform sidewalk policy/strategy; staff was directed to put together a presentation.

• Finance Director Bejot related that MFT funds haven’t been used since 2021 for the 50/50 sidewalk program. $95,000 has been allocated in the upcoming fiscal year for the sidewalk program from the general fund which is less restrictive. A decision on locations should be made soon so staff can start planning. Anne has an extensive evaluation on sidewalks and can shed some light on what she and Rob feel are the best locations to start with.

• At Alderman Gorman’s inquiry regarding the Diggins East Project, Rob related that the state will replace the crossings on either side and as much sidewalk as necessary to meet the grade at that crossing. Two crossed sidewalks are being put in at the City’s request. The project ends right in front of Trinity Lutheran Church where it transitions from asphalt to concrete, just before Grant St. The City has called out for possible pay items to rebuild the tops of the two structures in front of Trinity Lutheran Church and in front of Garfield.

• The engineering monthly summary will be included in future Committee agenda packets.

The next meeting was scheduled for April 3rd, 2024, at 6:30 pm, to be confirmed at the City Council Meeting.

A motion was made by Alderman Schulz, seconded by Alderman Perkins to adjourn the meeting. All ayes.

Motion carried.

Meeting adjourned 7:21 pm

https://www.cityofharvard.org/sites/default/files/fileattachments/transportation_committee/meeting/14921/minutestransportation2024-03-06.pdf