Metra Parking Article from Todays News Sun

Trustees reject free parking during Metra station lot work

BY ALEC JUNGE Special to the News-Sun

ROUND LAKE -- The village's Metra station parking is going to get messed up and ugly with construction potentially beginning in August.

The Village Board has decided to continue to charge residents the same parking fee during the construction process, despite losing 129 spaces, according to Village Administrator Marc Huber. He added the lot construction and reconfiguration is expected to last at least four months.

"Whatever decision we make, we are going to have some unhappy people," said Mayor Bill Gentes.

He suggested the village not charge for parking during construction. That idea was rejected by a majority of trustees.

"The tollway closes lanes and still charges the toll," said Trustee Robert Del Prato.

"People know that there is going to be some inconvenience with construction," said Trustee Sherry Perkowitz.

"We should go for free," said Trustee Dale Multrerer, who was the only one to support suspending the parking fees. "At least we have attempted to do something."

Marc Huber noted the village had the potential to lose approximately $22,000 in revenue for the period. That was an amount trustees agreed was too much money to squander.

Gentes stressed the positive, that once complete, the parking lot will bring back the original 128 spaces lost and add 112 more.

Also, another consideration was how to handle the two residents who hold year-long passes. They all agreed to refund the portion of money that would cover the construction period.

Trustees also agreed to suspend seasonal and monthly permits during the construction process. Included in the plan was to allocate the spaces on a first-come, first-served basis, according to Gentes.

The growing village was able to finance the project by diverting $200,000 from a previous federal grant relating to the purchase of the Long Lake Metra Station, Gentes said.

The village was able to set aside that amount for construction costs which it is transferring from the Long Lake project. The grant now permits the village to reallocate a portion of it to another project, according to Huber.

Del Prato was concerned Metra officials might forget they requested the transfer and then leave the village on the hook for the portion that was reallocated for the Round Lake lot.

Village Attorney James Magee said it was unlikely Metra would go back and seek the funds at a later date.

Huber added the construction start is still uncertain. He stressed that a preconstruction meeting still needs to be conducted. If construction begins in August, expected completion is slated for early January with landscaping finishing in spring 2009.

Gentes stressed the timing is really up to Metra, which will control when the project starts and is completed.