DeKalb Times

City of Naperville Riverwalk Planning, Design and Construction Committee met June 3.

Here are the minutes provided by the committee:

A. CALL TO ORDER:

Riverwalk Commission Chair Erickson called the June 3, 2025 Naperville Riverwalk Planning, Design and Construction (PDC) Committee meeting to order at 7:30 a.m. The meeting was held in the Naperville Employee University (NEU) at the Municipal Center, located at 400 S. Eagle St., Naperville, IL.

B. ROLL CALL:

Present: Hannah Brauer; Grant Cowen; John Cuff; Jan Erickson; Andy Hynes; Seth Michael; Tiffani Picco; Johnna Shields; Mike Sullivan and Carl Wohlt

Absent: Ian Holzhauer

Also Present: Tim Ball, Gary R. Weber and Associates, Inc. (GRWA); Mike Blank, resident; Rebecca DeLarme, City staff; Mike DiCristina, Naperville Park District; Brian Dusak, Engineering Resource Associates (ERA); Shannon Greene Robb, Naperville Art Forum; Rick Hitchcock, former Riverwalk Commission Chair; Peggy Motta, Naperville Park District; Stephanie Penick, Naperville Riverwalk Foundation; Carl Peterson, GRWA; Dawn Portner, City Clerk; and Marilyn Schweitzer, resident Erickson was appointed as Riverwalk Commission Chair and announced Shields as the new PDC Committee Chair. Shields facilitated the remainder of the meeting.

C. PUBLIC FORUM:

Schweitzer reported that the Riverwalk2031Fund.org website was currently not working. She inquired if approved concepts from the Riverwalk 2031 Master Plan could be included on either the City’s website or the Riverwalk 2031 Fund’s website. She also inquired about plans to reposition the Prince Castle monument and Fredenhagen statues at Fredenhagen Park. Picco noted that the monument and statue placements were discussed on the recent Asset Management Plan (AMP) Walk. She will be following up on this and other items to bring forward to future PDC Committee meetings for further discussion.

A change in the agenda was requested to accommodate a public speaker for item E. 1.

A motion was made to change the agenda order to discuss New Business, Upcoming Events, at this time by Erickson and seconded by Sullivan.

MOTION CARRIED UNANIMOUSLY by voice vote.

D. NEW BUSINESS:

1. Upcoming Events - Andy Hynes

Discuss various upcoming events planned adjacent to the Naperville Riverwalk to include:

∙ 2nd Annual Water Street Art Fair

∙ River Sounds

∙ Other

Hynes noted various upcoming events planned adjacent to the Naperville Riverwalk that included the 2nd Annual Water Street Art Fair on July 13th and River Sounds which will be held on Tuesday evenings on the following dates: June 17th, 24th, (no event on July 1st), and July 9th, 15th, 22nd, and 29th.

Greene Robb discussed Naperville Art Forum’s involvement with the River Sounds event that the Downtown Naperville Alliance (DNA) will be putting on Tuesday evenings on the dates listed above. The event will begin in the Naperville Jaycees (Wi-Fi) Park, west of the corner of Water Street and Webster Street, at 6:30 p.m. with local singer-songwriters, jazz quartets or cultural musicians performing. At around 8:15 p.m., artists such as opera singers, cellists, or cultural instrumentalists will perform an acoustic set from a tethered boat within the river. Funds for this event were provided through the Special Events Community Arts (SECA) program, and more information can be found on DNA’s website at https://downtownnaperville.com/events/river-sounds/

Hynes discussed the 2nd Annual Water Street Art Fair that will be held on Sunday, July 13th, from 10:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m. The event will have booths on Water Street, the Naperville Township lot, and both sides of Webster Street up to the entrance of the parking area of the Municipal Center. They may also be using a portion of the Naperville Jaycees (Wi-Fi) Park, as they did last year.

Erickson discussed the Walk On for Chuck Papanos event that was previously held on the Naperville Riverwalk to raise funds for the Lymphoma Research Foundation. Mr. Papanos was a former Riverwalk Commissioner and Riverwalk and North Parks Operations Manager with the Naperville Park District. This year’s event will be held at the 2025

Chicago Lymphoma Walk on Sunday, July 27, at Montrose Harbor. More information can be found at https://giving.lymphoma.org/fundraiser/6314882

Hitchcock noted his previous request to include a discussion on the location of the Jaycees’ Last Fling event for the upcoming Riverwalk Commission agenda. This item will be included for the June 11, 2025 meeting.

E. OLD BUSINESS:

1. Approval of Minutes - Jan Erickson

Approve minutes from the May 6, 2025 Planning, Design and Construction Committee meeting

Attachments: 25PDCMinutes0506

A motion to approve the May 6, 2025 Planning, Design and Construction Committee meeting minutes was made by Cuff and seconded by Erickson.

MOTION CARRIED with Brauer abstaining

2. Park District Report - Tiffani Picco

Picco reported that staff was busy with maintenance, mulching and planting annual flowers for summer.

Vandalism occurred over Memorial Day weekend with a garbage can being tipped over, covers for bollard lights being pulled off, and an 8’ tree being pulled out of the ground and thrown into the river. The tree has been replanted, and they will continue to monitor to see if it can be reestablished.

Sullivan inquired if the Horse Trough Fountain basin had been painted.

Picco noted the fountain is running but time and weather conditions have prevented them from painting. They plan to complete this within the next couple of weeks. Discussion followed on feedback received on the change in the basin color for the fountains with Picco noting they have received both positive and negative comments. Erickson inquired about the status of the Exchange Club Memories Fountain repairs. Picco reported that the pressure testing has been completed but the contractors are working to rerun the electric lines into a junction box outside of the fountain.

3. South Extension Project Update - Andy Hynes

Review and discuss the 3D graphic design of the South Extension of the Riverwalk Shields noted the public comments received from Wehrli which are included with these minutes.

Schweitzer discussed having two crosswalks at Martin Avenue and removing the east/west ramp if plans were to eliminate the north crosswalk.

She discussed the need for signage indicating access along the pathway and inquired if the footprint of the area at the Hillside Road Gateway had changed. Dusak noted that no changes were made from the original concept with Peterson noting that a small shift may be made to incorporate the existing utility pole. Schweitzer also suggested considering a curve in the area near the split from the multiuse path.

Hynes discussed the information included in the agenda packet, noting that the alignment was approved by the Riverwalk Commission at their August 9, 2023 meeting. The rendering provided by the consultants is to scale, and the low flow walkway width is approximately 5’, which is comparable to the Eagle Street and Main Street bridges. The vertical clearance is 7’1”.

The lights will be repositioned per the Park District’s request regarding maintenance and will have shields to reduce impact on the residents.

Erickson noted Wehrli’s comments regarding the Community Event Sign with Ball reporting that the area is to scale. Erickson also noted Wehrli’s concern of not depicting the residents and the Naperville Cemetery in the graphic design. The consultants noted that by using DuPage GIS information, they could include the outline of the homes. The graphic design will be updated to include this information and shared at next week’s Riverwalk Commission meeting.

Shields thanked Picco and the consultants for their participation with the recent Annual Asset Management Plan (AMP) Walks. Discussion followed on potential screening behind the business located on the northeast corner of Hillside Road and Washington Street with a rolling fence being suggested. Dusak noted the need for future discussions on what the access signage would look like with Motta noting that the current Riverwalk signage is outdated. Picco noted that an access sign should also be posted at Eagle Street. Suggestions for upcoming sign discussions included: 1) conducting an existing sign audit; 2) considering posting information within the pavers; 3) including directional information and geographic points; 4) including mini versions of the entire Riverwalk map indicating “you are here”; and 5) including QR codes.

Dusak advised that permitting should be received soon from DuPage County and they will have a pre-final set of plans along with updated cost estimates by summer. The project is expected to be bid in late fall. He also noted some of the removals could occur over winter months with most of the work scheduled for completion in 2026.

F. NEW BUSINESS (Continued):

1. Riverwalk Standard Paving Brick - Andy Hynes

Discuss and provide feedback regarding the next Naperville Riverwalk standard paving brick

Hynes and Picco discussed the Riverwalk standard paver, the Stockholm, that has been in use since it was initially constructed in 1981. The PDC Committee previously discussed this at their July 2, 2024 meeting and it was noted that Unilock could produce the Stockholm bricks. It was recommended at that time to maintain the existing Stockholm style paver on the pathways with an alternate for another exact sized 4” x 8” paver consistent with the style used at the Bambule Riverwalk Gateway at North Central College. Pavers in the plaza areas would be consistent with the existing style (Il Campo) and layout currently used the in the Youth Plaza area of the Riverwalk.

Unilock has since advised that they can no longer produce the Stockholm paver. With several large upcoming projects, it is necessary to discuss what paver style should be used going forward. Picco suggested incorporating the new pavers in existing areas and using the Stockholm pavers to patch other areas.

Discussion followed on the different styles of pavers now available, the difficulty in working with the existing Stockholm pavers, and technology changes that offer color stability for the newer products.

A motion was made for a recommendation to the Riverwalk Commission of using 4” x 8” bricks in a herringbone pattern for the Riverwalk paths and the Il Campo bricks in the plaza areas by Erickson and seconded by Picco.

MOTION PASSED

G. MEETING SCHEDULE:

**Riverwalk Commission, June 11, 2025, 7:30 a.m.

Municipal Center LUNCHROOM, 400 S. Eagle St., Naperville, IL

Riverwalk Planning, Design & Construction, July 1, 2025, 7:30 a.m.

Municipal Center NEU, 400 S. Eagle St., Naperville, IL

Riverwalk Commission, July 9, 2025, 7:30 a.m.

Municipal Center NEU, 400 S. Eagle St., Naperville, IL

Riverwalk Planning, Design & Construction, August 5, 2025, 7:30 a.m.

Municipal Center NEU, 400 S. Eagle St., Naperville, IL

H. ADJOURNMENT:

A motion to adjourn the meeting was made by Cowen and seconded by Cuff. The meeting adjourned at 8:33 a.m. MOTION CARRIED

https://naperville.legistar.com/MeetingDetail.aspx?ID=1235129&GUID=C8DBA875-A7C0-4087-A421-964B8C1FA1CB&Options=&Search=