Village to Host Public Hearings on Electric Aggregation

Now that the in Romeoville, the village is required to hold public hearings before taking action to solicit bids from power providers.

The village board will vote Wednesday on a tentative schedule to host two public hearings.

The first would be a joint hearing with the villages of Bolingbrook, Lemont, Woodridge and Downers Grove at 7 p.m. Monday, April 16, at Woodridge Village Hall.

The second hearing would take place at 6 p.m. at , 1050 W. Romeo Rd.

The hearings must be held before the Will County Governmental League can move forward with a plan to seek bids from ComEd competitors.

Village trustees will vote Wednesday on a proposal to once again set aside funding for a program to help assist first-time homebuyers.

A resolution would designate the village’s Industrial Revenue Bond authority of $95 per resident for the Assist First Time Home Buyers program. The funding could also be used to help businesses with capital projects.

Under the Assist First Time Home Buyers program, first-time homeowners receive a below-market fixed-rate mortgage and a cash gift in the amount of 4.25 percent of the loan amount.

In years past, the village has used its revenue bond authority funding for the Assist program when no other projects needed the funding. Romeoville is one of more than 75 municipalities that participate in the Assist program.

If the village uses the funding to help businesses fund capital improvements, the projects must be designated by Dec. 31.

Trustees will mull a proposal to change parking standards for churches and places of worship. Under the current ordinance, churches are required to have one parking space for each eight seats. The new rule would require one space for every four seats, or one space per 18 inches of bench length. According to village documents, the new requirement is more in line with American Planning Association standards and standards in nearby communities.

The Romeoville Police Department is requesting the purchase of six new police radios from Motorola, at a cost not to exceed $30,000, to be paid from surplus 2011-12 budget funds. The police are also requesting a new Kustom Camera Software Server to replace a 10-year-old server. The cost, also paid with surplus budget funds, would not exceed $28,500.

Trustees will take action on a request from the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers to make improvements on the electric fish barrier in the Chicago Sanitary and Ship Channel. Under the proposal, the village would authorize the Army Corps of Engineers to attach electrical conduits to the 135th Street Bridge to help supply power to security systems associated with the operation of the fish barrier. The proposal also requests permission to install a grounding system on bridge piers 1 to 6 to mitigate possible corrosion resulting from stray current.

Finally, the board is slated to vote on collective bargaining agreements with union public works and clerical unit workers in the village.