JOLIET – A brew pub could open in Union Station later this year, the city’s economic development director said Tuesday.

A lease agreement with the prospective brew pub business should go to the City Council in the next 30 days, said Steve Jones, deputy city manager/economic development director for Joliet.

“I think their goal is to be in business during the warm weather months of 2016,” Jones said.

Jones provided an update on the brew pub project after a meeting in which the City Council approved changes in the liquor code and zoning ordinance to accommodate a microbrewery in the downtown business district.

The city has not released the name of the investor in the project while it continues to negotiate the lease agreement on Union Station. Jones said the name will be released when the lease agreement goes to the council for approval.

“We’ve got tweaks to make in the [lease] language,” he said. “We’ll be bringing something to the council very soon. ... I can guarantee we’ll bring it to the council in 30 days.”

Contractors and architects for the brew pub have been in Union Station at least four times and were there again Tuesday to work on plans for the project, Jones said.

Union Station was the city’s hub for train traffic from 1912 until 2014, when the city moved commuter boarding platforms to the other side of the tracks as it prepares to build a new station.

The brew pub would occupy a former restaurant area on the north end of the building, as well as the former Amtrak office and other space on the first floor. There is a banquet hall on the second floor.

The city is the primary owner of Union Station and controls its use.

Efficiency study

The council on Tuesday also approved a consultant to do an efficiency study of the Utilities Department.

Matrix Consulting Group was awarded a contract not to exceed $54,700 to examine department operations.

The study was suggested in September when Utilities Director James Eggen sought increases in water and sewer rates to fund annual operations as well as the costs of replacing aging water and sewer lines. Council members said they wanted an efficiency study before approving rate increases.

Councilman James McFarland, chairman of the Public Services Committee, told fellow council members that they can expect to be interviewed by the Matrix group as part of the study.

Matrix also will tour facilities, review organizational structure and evaluate staffing, work practices and service, according to the council memo describing the contract.