$45 million bond issue in Western Springs would fund infrastructure projects
Voters in Western Springs will be asked to approve a $45 million bond issue in the April 1 Consolidated General Election, funding village officials hope to have available to complete projects addressing aging infrastructure such as sanitary and storm sewers, water mains, roadways, sidewalks and street lighting.
Village officials are hopeful the referendum will be successful.
'We're already doing engineering for some projects, projects that we've jumped ahead because we know that we need to do them,' said Casey Biernacki, deputy village manager. 'One project in particular is Woodland Avenue.'
That project addresses roadway, drainage, sewer and service line work planned along the Woodland from Burlington Avenue to 47th Street.
Biernacki indicated that if the bonds are approved, the village would start engineering on some projects fairly soon, but 'actually using bond funds, I would probably say 2026 would be when we'd first start spending … potentially late 2025.'
The debt repayment time frame for the bonds, including interest, would be between 17 and 20 years; the total amount of the bonds issued would have to be used in 7 to 10 years. The language of the referendum question stipulates that the interest shall be no higher than 7%.
One factor in the village's favor, officials said, is the recent upgrade of its credit rating by Standard and Poor's to AA+, an action 'supported by the village's operating results, which has historically been very consistent, reflecting management's budgetary practices and robust monitoring,' according to the agency's ratings report.
The plans for the funds, which can be found under the Village web site wsprings.com under the referendum tab, show the various projects being prioritized in the first 1 to 3 years, including rehabilitation of the Spring Rock Park combined sewer line that drains Old Town North, water main improvements near Lyons Township High School, reestablishing an emergency interconnection to Hinsdale's water system, and various road resurfacing and sidewalk improvements.
New sidewalks also are planned, coordinated with the Illinois Department of Transportation's Safe Routes To Schools program.
'We're working with all the school districts in the area,' Biernacki said. 'We hope to have that project completed by November of this year and we expect to outline some additional sidewalk routes through parts of the village that don't have them.'
New sidewalks would also be included when roads, water, and sewers would be reconstructed on streets that don't yet have them. Officials said about 30% of the village's streets are not lined by sidewalks.
Beyond the first 3 years, road improvements and some stormwater and water main improvements are scheduled for Central Avenue, Commonwealth Drive, Woodland Avenue and Lawn Drive.
The $45 million price tag is considerably larger than the two most recent bond issues approved by Western Springs voters, $6 million in 2008, and $12 million in 2016. Those bond issues were for road work only.
Officials said the annual cost of the proposed bonds to homeowners would be $345 for the owner of a $750,000 home and $465 for owners of a $1 million property.
The village's website's referendum page has a tool detailing costs based on individual property values.
Officials also are looking at critical infrastructure needs over a longer time frame, with its Capital Infrastructure Plan having $200 million in recommended projects needed in the next 30-40 years.
'If approved, over the next 7 to 10 years, we would continue looking for alternative revenue sources to find ways to fund capital infrastructure projects,' Biernacki said, 'but it's very likely that in 7 to 10 years we'll be looking at another referendum, if our finance sources stay the same.'
Passage of the bond issue is crucial, Biernacki said, because with 95% residential zoning, Western Springs is essentially a 'bedroom community' without the sales tax base of some nearby towns.
'It's challenging,' Biernacki said. 'We don't have a big box store, we don't have a Costco or a Home Depot or car dealerships. We've got a great growing downtown with wonderful businesses but we just don't have the sales tax revenue that some of our neighbors have. So if you looked at all of our existing funding sources and we tried to fund these critical infrastructure projects — one to two projects a year — we're figuring about six years with existing revenue sources, to fund a project like this.'
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