Geneva panel recommends $68M referendum for April 1 ballot

Geneva alderpersons Monday recommended approval of a $68 million public safety referendum on the April 1 consolidated election ballot.

Acting as the Committee of the Whole, the vote was 9-0 with 3rd Ward Alderperson Dean Kilburg absent. The city council will take final action at its Jan. 13 meeting.

The ballot question will ask permission to sell bonds to build a new police station, new fire station No. 2, improve to existing public safety facilities and public safety related improvements to the City’s public works facility.

The amount represents a pared-down proposal from nearly $100 million, which now leaves out any improvements at City Hall.

“They all have to relate to public safety,” City Administrator Stephanie Dawkins said of the bond issue. “When we mentioned improvements to public works, it would only be improvements to the public works facility that support our public safety agencies, which is either your police, your fire or Geneva Emergency Management.”

Officials had considered renovation for City Hall and the former library building next door that would have involved partial demolition and building a 15,000-square-foot addition to connect the buildings.

The intent was to create a civic center with larger, accessible spaces for residents and employees to conduct city services.

But Dawkins said bond counsel advised that the one question could only address public safety.

“We can’t commingle the public safety with City Hall improvements. They have to be separate,” Dawkins said. “In lieu of going against legal counsel’s advice and in lieu of submitting two questions, that’s why we are leaning towards the public safety question.”

The anticipated tax increase if the measure passes would be $200 on the average Geneva house, which is valued at $392,800, Dawkins said.

“That is the first year,” Dawkins said. “and then EAV (equalized assessed valuation) goes up, it drops.”

Second Ward Alderperson Richard Marks said the City Council has been working on this for about three years, hiring a company to evaluate its facilities and figuring out what could be fixed with the cash at hand – and what couldn’t.

Marks said the request is for basic items the city needs for public safety and for the safety of its employees.

“The police station was just one we could not fix,” Marks said. “The building is extremely old, it goes back into the early 1900s, where part of that building still is. It was updated once before and those updates have now seen their days and the roof is a constant leak. There’s a waterfall, there’s outlets and file rooms that can’t be used any more.”

Having toured the police station and seeing its conditions first-hand, Marks said, is just one one that can be saved.

“If you’ve ever had to go down there to have your fingerprints taken and you see that deep, dark dungeon that you go into – I understand that may be fine for criminals, but for regular residents ... or staff, yes, it’s very scary.”

As for Fire Station No. 2, Marks said it was built without separate sleeping quarters for men and women because it was not required.

Several alderpersons said they were disappointed at having to cut back on what they consider the city’s aging facilities really need.

“I was actually a little saddened that we came down this far,” 1st Ward Alderperson Michael Bruno said. “This is the best long-term investment as opposed to cobbling together moneys for repairs – good money after bad.”

Fourth Ward Alderperson Amy Mayer said when she walked through the police station, she “was just blown away by the ragtag situation in some of the rooms.”

Resident Debbie Kanarowski spoke at the City Council meeting, held before the Committee of the Whole.

“My question is, why wasn’t this decided a long time ago,” Karnarowski said.

She described getting one of the citizen surveys to measure public support and being angry and frustrated.

“I need to know more details,” Karnarowski said. “What’s the Plan B if we vote no?”

Collin Corbett, who works for EOSullivan Consulting, which conducted the citizen surveys, said they ask without giving too much information.

“We purposely don’t put our thumb on the scale and tell people how amazing it would be if we had a new police station, a new fire station, the improved City Hall,” Corbett said. “Because then we don’t know what people respond (to). Are they saying yes, because we just convinced them to say yes, or are they saying yes because they truly actually want to see that work done.”

Educating the voters will be the next step, he said.

“It’s important to note, that’s what the next few months are going to be,” Corbett said. “It’s all going to be done over the next three months.”