DeKALB – Seventh ward Alderman Anthony Faivre parted with outgoing messages from council members as he relinquished his seat after seven-and-a-half years service.

Council and board members shared memories of Faivre’s time as an alderman and presented him with a plaque and a custom road sign at the beginning of the meeting.

John Walker will be taking over as seventh ward alderman in May following the recent election.

ANNUAL STREET MAINTENANCE

Zac Gill, DeKalb city engineer, presented the 2024-2028 draft for DeKalb’s five-year plan for annual street maintenance.

Coordinating with City Manager Bill Nicklas, Gill emphasized that the plan would be focusing on the dilapidated roads throughout the city to combat the urgent road improvements necessary for some streets compared to major ones.

The city’s well-known battle with its road infrastructure was proven officially with a median street rating of “poor,” for the city according to the index.

“We are not gaining ground, we are not even holding our own,” Nicklas said in response to the current state of improving DeKalb roads.

The city’s current average annual capacity for street maintenance is expected to be about $2.5 million after the completion of the bridge repair at the Kishwaukee River at North First Street and Lucinda Avenue that are slated to be completed by mid August.

The current five-year plan targets roads in “failing” or “poor” criteria based on the 2022 Pavement Condition Index, which measures the severity and extent of distresses of pavement.

The index was conducted by Gill through a partnership with DeKalb County’s metropolitan planning organization and the DeKalb-Sycamore Area Transportation Study.

The drafted plan would account for $12,054,316 to service over 26 miles of roads throughout DeKalb, targeting streets and zones that indicate severe weathering and cracking.

The plan targets a section of streets each year throughout the five-year plan, starting with Fairview Dr. and the “South Loops” off West Hillcrest Dr. and areas throughout the NIU campus.

The council considered how this project would be accounted for financially, as the $12 million would triple the current budget for street maintenance.

Gill suggested incentivized ways to produce this amount while advising against increasing local taxes. One included a program similar to property tax abatements, where the city would waive sales taxes or liquor licenses on new entrepreneurs for a period to increase business in DeKalb.

“The thought of raising taxes, like I said, I’m gonna fight that pretty hard, but I think we can get really creative on additional revenue strengths,” Gill said.