DeKalb Times

The city council of DeKalb discussed an upcoming grocery store, repairing a bridge and a grant from the Illinois Department of Transportation for the city’s transit operating funds.

“When I say exciting project, that really is an exciting project,” DeKalb Mayor Cohen Barnes said during the meeting. “This is probably another one that's going to excite some people.”

Alderman Barb Larson and Alderman Greg Perkins were absent from the Sept. 12 meeting.

The city voted to make two separate agreements with Hampton, Lenzini, and Renwick, Inc. for two different engineering projects. The first is replacing the bridge at North First Street and Lucinda Ave. This project called for over $555,000 in funding, about 80% of which will be reimbursable by the state. The second project was the widening and reconstruction of a portion of Peace Road. This project will cost about $160,000.

The council read through an ordinance regarding rezoning North Sixth Street and south of Oak Street to create a grocery store and small taqueria. The meeting’s agenda noted the Planning and Zoning Commission held a hearing for a petition for the rezoning that passed 6 to 0.

The council also passed a contract with Curran Contracting Inc for a project that involves resurfacing the primary access roads in the Market Square area. The project will be around $220,000 and will not exceed $240,000. The city had to get Special Service Areas approved in order to be able to handle the road maintenance in this area as it is mostly private commercial property.

The council will meet again at 6 p.m. on Monday at the DeKalb Public Library at 309 Oak Street.

The council also accepted a large portion of the city’s operating income for the transit systems via a grant from the Downstate Operating Assistance Program (DOAP) which is a program under the Illinois Department of Transportation (IDOT). The funding totaled over $6 million and would be about 65% of the city’s operating expenses for the year 2023.