ST. CHARLES
Schools to get revenue from bus radio network
St. Charles school buses will be equipped with a Wi-Fi radio network that brings in money for District 303.
Under an agreement approved this week by the school board, Bus Radio of Massachusetts will install receivers that include a global positioning satellite tracking device, public address system and panic button.
The radio systems will be placed in all 100 district buses free, officials said. The five-year agreement calls for BusRadio to pay District 303 advertising revenue of $1,500 to $5,000 annually, depending on ridership and other factors.
The program content consists of 15-minute segments that include about 10 minutes of age-appropriate music and one minute of commercials, according to a school district staff report.
Board members noted that bus drivers would have the ability to turn off BusRadio at any time.
“The reason I’m supporting this is because it should quiet the bus down,” said District 303 transportation director Blanca Souders.
Critics said the proposal would set a dangerous precedent in knowingly exposing children to certain advertising over which the district had no control.
— Gary Gibula
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St. Charles
$3 million approved for school upgrades
The District 303 school board this week authorized $3 million for security and other improvements such as recruiting and retaining quality teachers and upgrading buildings.
“This will be for items that would be directly agreed upon from the Summit 303 process,” Supt. Donald Schlomann told board members Monday. Officials are expecting the Summit 303 meetings to produce a list of priorities that may also include items such as installing air conditioning in some schools.
The district is already spending $380,000 to improve security at the front entrances of all 17 schools. Remote buzzers and cameras will be installed, and some areas will have to be redesigned.
“This is about setting aside some funds so that when they’re finished with the process, they can make their recommendations and the board can take action without a lot of discussion over whether we can afford it,” said Brad Cauffman, District 303 chief financial officer.
— Gary Gibula
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GENEVA
City saves $100,000 on new insurance plan
An insurance package with premiums about $100,000 lower than last year’s has been approved by Geneva aldermen.
Coverage is about the same and includes liability for property, auto and worker’s compensation excess coverage.
Mary McKittrick, assistant city administrator, said the lower premiums are the result of competitive bidding and a “soft” marketplace in which price competition is vigorous.
The city’s current commercial and worker’s compensation coverage, expiring April 30, had annual premiums of $476,631. The new annual premiums total $372,459.
In other business, aldermen approved restructuring more than $1.6 million in commuter parking revenue bonds to cover the purchase of property and construction of the city’s commuter parking deck.
Because the deck was built with two tiers instead of three, the city’s projected revenue from parking is $60,000 lower than expected.
The restructuring will allow the $1.50 daily parking fee to remain the same for the next couple of years, after which an increase will probably be required.
— Barbara Kois
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ELBURN
Village to install horns at train crossings
The village will install traffic warning horns at Elburn’s two railroad crossings instead of pursuing “quiet zone” status from the Federal Railroad Administration.
“This won’t be a total quiet zone, but it will silence the train whistles in town,” said Trustee Tom Burgholzer.
Trustees voted Monday to spend $10,000 on a design study for the project, which has an estimated price of $200,000.
Horns will be installed facing into oncoming traffic on both sides of the 1st Street and Illinois Highway 47 crossings.
They will sound automatically whenever a train approaches, eliminating the need for trains to sound their whistles one-quarter mile before each crossing.
The horns are designed to cast sound waves at the road, with little spillover into surrounding neighborhoods, Burgholzer said.
Officials will set a timetable to install the horns after the design studies are finished, Burgholzer said.
— Denise Linke
