City Council Minutes 2004 03-15-04 (special cc) MINUTES OF THE SPECIAL MEETING OF THE
BOARD OF EDUCATION
YORKVILLE COMMUNITY UNIT SCHOOL DISTRICT NO. 115
AND THE UNITED CITY OF YORKVILLE CITY COUNCIL
HELD AT THE SCHOOL DISTRICT' S ADMINISTRATIVE OFFICE
ON THE 15TH OF MARCH, 2004 AT 7 : 00 P.M.
Dr. Brenart, Yorkville CUSD #115 Board President called the
meeting to order and had everyone introduce themselves .
Those present from Yorkville School Board were :
Dr. Brenart, Mrs . Burks, Mr. Crouch, Mr. Dockstader,
Mr. Fahey, Mr . Fisher, and Mr. Gengler (7 : 40 p.m. ) . Those
present from the Yorkville City Council were :
Mayor Prochaska, Alderman Sticka, Alderman Larry Kot, and
Alderwoman Wanda Ohare . Also present, Dr. Thomas D.
Engler, Superintendent; members of the Yorkville School
District staff; Mr. Tony Graff, Yorkville City Engineer;
Mrs . Lynn Dubijic, Yorkville Economic Development
Corporation; Mr. Dan Waitt, reporter for the Beacon News;
Kathy Farren, reporter for The Kendall County Record; and
other interested community members .
Mr. Crouch, School Board Member, said a problem with the
water pressure at the new intermediate school had just come
to the Board' s attention. He felt that the District, as a
City customer, was entitled to good water pressure .
Mayor Prochaska said the building is in an old part of town
and some of the mains weren' t big enough. He said it
wasn' t unusual to have to require an additional pump in
two- and three-story buildings .
Mr. DeBolt said he spoke with Joe Wyrot of the City,
regarding this problem. They estimated the cost of
installing an additional pump would be between $35-40, 000 .
The District wondered if another line could be brought in
from the Bristol-Kendall Fire District station, but city
staff members said it could be cost prohibitive .
Mayor Prochaska said he has asked Engineering Enterprises
Inc. , the City' s water engineers, to look at some options
and expects to have some answers in a few days .
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Mr. DeBolt thought the problem would not have been an issue
if the District had been aware of this before the bids were
let for the school . Mayor Prochaska said that city
employees did do the flow testing and thought the
information had been shared with the school district' s
architect . Mr . Graff said this type of problem could be
avoided if the City reviewed school architectural plans .
Right now the Regional Superintendent reviews school plans
rather than the City.
Mr. Graff said that in the future, if the City could have
copies of all plans, they would get full engineering plans
in the concept plans .
Dr. Engler said that was why it was important that there be
good communication between the District and the City. He
was hopeful that something could be worked out .
A discussion on growth ensued next. The Board of Education
is very concerned about the rate of growth. The City
expects to issue building permits for an additional 600
homes this year, another 1, 000 the next year. Dr. Engler
added that students will also attend Yorkville from Plano
and subdivisions in Montgomery; and said there is likely to
be a school site over that way. Mr. Crouch stated the
District is not concerned with 20 years from now, but just
two to five years . Since it takes 18 to 24 months to build
a school, another referendum is needed but the state set
debt service doesn' t allow right now without legislative
intervention.
Dr. Brenart wondered if there was any way to slow the
growth, perhaps a limited number of permits issued. Mayor
Prochaska said there might be some legal issues with that.
He thought it was driven by the economy. He said they are
trying to to work with the developers and require more land
for schools, water towers, mains, sewers, and roads .
Alderman Stickaadded the city was trying to attract
developments that don' t put children in school .
Mr. Dockstader thought this year looked pretty good as far
as space, with the new intermediate school opening, but
beyond that, times could be tough.
There were also transportation concerns . Mayor Prochaska
said they appreciated the District' s letter to IDOT to
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encourage the Route 47 road project . Mr. Gengler had
spoken with someone that afternoon who had the letter on
their desk. Quite a bit of discussion centered around
improvements on Game Farm Road, the effect the widening
project would have on the bus traffic, and the traffic
around the schools, and installation of two future bridges .
Mayor Prochaska, on behalf of the City, said they were
happy to be getting a facility plan as it' s difficult to
deal with developers as to where school sites are going to
be located. They are much more receptive to donating land
if they know there is a need. Dr. Engler said it should be
available within the next month.
Mr. Graff said developers are concerned about promotion of
cultural advantages of the city. They would also like to
explore recreational activities/environmental issues . He
felt it was good for the school and city to work together
on these issues .
Mr. Kbt said they were looking at there comprehensive plan
on the south end of town and would welcome some assistance
from the Board of Education on that.
Dr. Engler commented the district gets a lot of information
from Mr. Crouch, the Board representative on the Planning
Commission. Mayor Prochaska said they would welcome a
district representative to the regular Planning Council
meetings . Dr. Brenart suggested more joint meetings; he
thought they needed to meet at least once a year. He also
said that everyone needs to encourage the legislators to
change the funding of education.
Dr. Brenart adjourned the joint meeting at 8 : 25 p.m.
Respectfully Submitted,
Mary Lou McKenzie
Recording Board Secretary
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