ROCHELLE — At its monthly meeting Monday, the Rochelle City Council heard a presentation from Illinois Department of Transportation Studies & Plans Engineer Mike Kuehn regarding one or two detention areas that could be placed at the rear of the former site of Hickory Grove to assist with drainage as the state prepares to widen and reconstruct Illinois Route 251 on the north side of Rochelle. 

The former site of Hickory Grove at 1127 N. 7th St. is owned by the city after it purchased it and demolished the building on the site in recent years with plans for future development by a buyer that has not yet been seen. 

The state is currently slated to do the Illinois Route 251 work from south of Flagg Road to just south of Illinois Route 38. The deteriorating portion of the state-owned Illinois Route 251 will see a widening to five lanes with bidirectional turn lanes and new signaling, lighting and pedestrian improvements. The city hopes to see construction start by 2027. 

Kuehn said Monday there is a need for additional drainage in the area for rainfall events. He presented multiple options to the council for detention at 1127 N. 7th St. including one large detention jointly owned and used by IDOT and the city and a potential future developer, and two separate detention areas owned separately by IDOT and the city/potential future developer. 

Options also included the detention areas to have a dry bottom or constant water with a potential water feature. The hypothetical plans also included the placement of trees and a possible walking path. 

The plans would still allow for future development of the front of the currently-vacant Hickory Grove site off Illinois Route 251, with a hypothetical 7,742 square foot building shown Monday along with parking. City officials provided feedback on the project and more detailed plans will be brought back by IDOT in the future.

"We're trying to put something here that would work aesthetically well for the neighborhood and the condos and hotel," Mayor John Bearrows said. 

City Engineer Sam Tesreau said an eventual developer of the Hickory Grove site would require detention, and the IDOT detention area could accommodate its needs along with a future developer's. 

"That always looks enticing to a development coming in," Tesreau said. "They wouldn't have to make that expenditure on a pond. If we combine two detention areas together, that gives us more green space to maybe expand a development facility by 30 or 40 feet and still provide detention needs. It's all conceptual. We can make this facility look nice for the area. It's a blank slate."

Interchange

Kuehn also made a presentation Monday on an upcoming IDOT project that will see a diverging diamond interchange installed in the area of Illinois Route 38 and Interstate 39. The project is planned to go out for bids in April and start later this year. 

The $20.5+ million project will change the flow of traffic to improve safety and capacity. It will also include improvements at the Dement Road and Illinois Route 38 intersection, new islands and signals, and a multi-use path from Dement Road to the Pilot station. 

Kuehn said the project will be completed by June 2027. 

Farm

The council unanimously approved a farm management agreement with Martin, Goodrich & Waddell, Inc. to farm city land for 2025. The city owns 47.38 acres of farmland designated for future railroad expansion near Interstate 39. Martin, Goodrich & Waddell, Inc. will be compensated six percent of gross revenues with a minimum fee of $1,500 per year.

RMU

The council unanimously approved a proposal from Anixter International Inc. for $90,425 to provide high resolution and thermal imagery of all poles on the Rochelle Municipal Utilities electric system.

The information will then be fed through a program to look for deficiencies as well as looked over by trained linemen to find loose, warm or broken connections on RMU's system. The imagery can also see pole condition as well. The work will help prevent future outages by determining what issues can be addressed before failures occur. 

The council also unanimously approved an ordinance accepting a proposal from Utility

Dynamics Corporation for $60,200 to expand its fiber optic network east of Interstate 39. The expansion will allow RMU to expand its fiber services to the Rochelle Landfill as well as the Village of Creston.