The Rochelle City Council voted 4-3 on Monday, Sept. 22, to accept a $3,127,095 bid from DPI Construction, Inc. for phase two of its Rebuild Downtown & Main Street Grant Project.

That phase will see the construction of a stage and restrooms downtown, the reconstruction of three parking lots, a new parking lot on the corner of Washington Street and Second Avenue, the reconstruction of the alley between Fourth and Fifth avenues, and a new storm sewer on Fourth Avenue. The first phase saw other parking lots in the downtown area reconstructed.

The project stems from the city’s receipt of a grant for $1,151,794 for the downtown work in 2022. DPI Construction was the low bid of three, but was 11.4% over the engineer’s estimate. The city council considered removing the new parking lot from the project, which would have saved $321,545. City Councilmen Dan McDermott, Tom McDermott and Bil Hayes voted against the bid approval Monday.

“I just wonder about the need for the new parking lot,” Dan McDermott said. “It’s nice to have a parking lot, but I don’t see a lot of commercial business down there that’s in need of parking.”

Mayor John Bearrows said the cost of the new parking lot would only go up in the future due to rising construction costs.

“If you don’t do it now and you wait a year, the cost is going to be higher next year,” Bearrows said. “If we have the money to do it, we owe it to the businesses there. We’ve told everyone we’re going to put a parking lot in there.”

The project will be paid for through the grant funds, downtown tax increment financing (TIF) bonds, and landfill, hotel/motel tax and railroad funds.

“We have the money to pay for the entire project,” City Manager Jeff Fiegenschuh said. “If we’re ever going to pave that parking lot, we should do it now while the contractor is here and mobilized. If we wait, it will cost significantly more to do it.”

Spring Lake

The council unanimously approved a $73,937 expenditure relating to an incident where a utility pole fell at Spring Lake on June 5.

On July 29, Clean Harbors (Hepaco) took soil samples of the area next to and at the base of the waterfall area where mineral oil had leaked from the severed utility pole’s transformers. Soil samples taken confirmed the continued presence of mineral oil, and excavation of the oil-impacted soil is now needed.

Clean Harbors will do the excavation and removal of the special waste. The project will move forward soon due to concerns about weather and impacts on the Flagg-Rochelle Community Park District’s spring operations.

The Rochelle Municipal Utilities electric department is working with a utility technology solutions company to provide visual inspection and documentation of utility poles and lines to proactively identify similar potential issues before they occur.

Bobcat

The council unanimously approved a resolution for the purchase of a new Bobcat T86 compact track loader with an 84-inch sweeper bucket and an 84-inch angle broom from Bobcat of Dixon for $115,554 for its public works department.

The new loader will replace a current 2016 Bobcat T770 and broom attachments, which will go to the RMU Water Department for use in its operations.

City Public Works Director Tim Isley said Monday that Bobcat track loaders are used for about 75% of what his department does.

IDOT

The council unanimously approved a 10-year intergovernmental agreement with the Illinois Department of Transportation for the maintenance of various state routes within the city.

City Engineer Sam Tesreau said the agreement does not include major reconstruction or resurfacing projects but instead provides for normal routine maintenance responsibilities.

Tesreau and Isley have concerns about the condition and maintenance needs of state routes in Rochelle and hope to see them maintained better in the future through the agreement.

“We are compensated for work we do, like pothole patching,” Tesreau said. “But needs are starting to be beyond just pothole patching. Those are some of the issues that we’re concerned about. There are a few areas we want resurfaced and more substantial improvements.”

The city will reevaluate the agreement no later than 2028 to determine if IDOT has taken a more proactive approach to addressing upgrades along its state routes in the city. The city can opt out of the agreement with notice.

Rate

The council unanimously approved a resolution establishing an M1 electric rate for RMU electric department customers. The market-based rate is designed to serve large industrial users and will permit qualifying customers to secure power directly through wholesale markets while continuing to utilize RMU as their local provider.

Fiegenschuh said the city does not currently have a power customer large enough to utilize the new rate, but may in the future, such as a large data center.

As an additional safeguard, Rate M1 requires participating customers to post a bond, thereby ensuring that the city is not financially liable for any consumption shortfalls or nonperformance by the customer.

Banners

Banners were recently installed in the downtown area reflecting the city’s recent branding change to the color purple. The change came as part of a communication plan put together by City Community Engagement Director Jenny Thompson, following the community’s positive response to the water tower in the center of town being painted purple. The banners were put up just ahead of Rochelle Township High School’s Homecoming Week.

“I was joyfully amazed on my way here tonight when I saw the new banners,” Tom McDermott said. “I’m glad they’ll be up for the parade. Thank you very much to everyone who was involved. It makes me very proud to see the Hub City signs.”

Proclamations

Bearrows read four proclamations at the meeting that were accepted by members of the community and city employees, including VFW Day (Sept. 29, 2025), Public Power Week (Oct. 5-11, 2025), Fire Prevention Week (Oct. 5-11, 2025) and Domestic Violence Awareness Month (October).