The City Council has approved an agreement with a builder that requires the city to issue bonds under a special assessment for the Stuart’s Crossing development.
The council authorized Mayor Susan Klinkhamer to sign the agreement with the developer as the first step toward annexing the property at Illinois Highway 64 and Kirk Road.
Under the agreement, the bond issue, in an amount still to be determined, will be paid by the owners of the 152 town homes, 400 luxury rental apartments and two retail areas in the proposed annexation.
Should the bond issue prove to be infeasible, the city agreed to pay a portion of the costs of installation of an extension of Foxfield Road leading to the development. The city will also limit increases in water and sewer connection fees for three years in the project area.
The city’s portion of the public road in the alternate plan would cost approximately $100,000, according to city Planning Director Robert Hupp, but would benefit nearby subdivisions and aid traffic flow around Charlestowne Mall.
“This proposed expenditure is only a backup plan, remember, and I think it would be well worth it to alleviate the traffic problems for residents of the surrounding area,” said 1st-Ward Ald. Daniel Stellato.
City Administrator Larry Muholland told the council that, under the bond plan, he doesn’t see the city incurring any expense at all, and the agreement to help fund the road improvements would be implemented only if recent changes in the state statute governing special tax assessments makes the bond issue infeasible.
In other action, the council voted to increase to 10 from 8 the number of years it takes employees to reach the maximum salary levels in city jobs.
