Warrenville State of the City Address
BY WARRENVILLE MAYOR DAVID BRUMMEL
Delivered on February 10, 2011

Hello everyone. Thank you for joining me today for our annual community check-in, when we pause to reflect on significant events of the past year, note progress that has been achieved, stresses that have been dealt with, and generally take stock of Warrenville’s overall health, as well as our prospects for the coming year.

First, I would like to thank the newly-minted Western DuPage Chamber of Commerce for hosting today’s event, and offer my sincere wishes for the success of this cooperative effort between the former Chambers of Warrenville and West Chicago. As far as matches go, this one seems a good one, with excellent prospects, and I am much encouraged by the willingness of those involved to move in new directions. May the coming year be a productive one for you.

As I always do, I pulled up the previous year’s State of the City address in search of some perspective. Last year at this time, I noted the continued presence of economic storm clouds overhead, limited prospects for significant recovery, and I managed to muster only a guarded optimism for the coming year. Unfortunately, and I know this is not news to all of you, the situation has not changed dramatically for the better.

A new “normal” seems to have settled in, one that requires far more from us than the normal of a few years ago, when new business kept knocking on our door, the revenue stream was on the upswing, and our investments reliably increased in value with the passage of time. Today, nothing appears to be easy, and little is guaranteed in this new normal, save perhaps stress, struggle and uncertainty, salted with small, hard-earned victories here and there.

Granting all of this, we are still here, as individuals, businesses and as a community. This is, in itself, a victory.

Daily, we are making adjustments. We are often doing with less. We are working harder for a smaller check. We are finding satisfaction in those small victories that perhaps we took for granted previously. Because much of what we valued is in jeopardy or even gone, and we have been forced to defer plans and abandon dreams, we are a little off balance. But we are finding our way, with a new appreciation for the satisfaction to be found in surviving, and even prospering, after a fashion, in reduced circumstances and uncertain times.

In spite of the changes, challenges and uncertainty, a good deal of which is beyond our control, the City of Warrenville is doing remarkably well in adapting to the new normal. Unlike many other municipalities, we have cut no services or programs, nor have we had to lay off or furlough any employees. Nothing is guaranteed, of course, but for the moment, Warrenville is just fine, and in reasonably good position to successfully transcend the gap between good times I alluded to last year.

A couple of years ago, I shared with you my long-term vision for Warrenville: I want us to be the place where people come to see how a small town can do it right. I continue to believe that is who we can be, and I’d now like to highlight for you some of the things that I am confident we are doing right, things that have made it possible for the community’s stability in a most uncertain environment.

Let me begin with an anecdote, which, though I got second hand, I’m confident is accurate. Shortly before the recent blizzard, a reporter asked Jamie Clark, our Street Division Lead Supervisor, what Warrenville was doing to prepare for the coming storm. “Nothin’, he replied. “This is the Midwest. We were ready in October.”

Besides being a pretty funny guy, Jamie is a good example of the kind of folks you find working for the City: he knows his way around the job. By all accounts, we were ready for this storm, and our people did a phenomenal job clearing our streets and keeping us safe. This wasn’t by chance, or merely serendipity. They perform at the same high level on a regular basis and always in an emergency.

So this is one thing we definitely do right: we hire good people. From senior staff to laborers, our people are the best. Yes, there are still those who take pride in their work, and they work for you. Their leaders are here today, and I’d like to introduce the very best Senior Staff any Mayor could ask for : John Coakley, City Administrator; Ray Turano, Police Chief; Ron Mentzer, Community Development Director; Kevin Dahlstrand, Finance Director; Jennifer McMahon, Assistant City Administrator; and Mike Smith, Public Works Superintendent. Please recognize them.

These people make sure the everyday business of the City gets done, as well as provide the expertise, sound advice and backup information that we elected officials must have, to make responsible policy decisions.

Speaking of elected officials, I must note that I am continually impressed with the thorough, thoughtful, and respectful dialog that precedes the huge volume of decisions made by our City Council, decisions that regularly and consistently promote the best, long term interests of the community. Aldermen Clare Barry, Dan Leonard, Stuart Aschauer, Matt Wiesbrock, Bill Weidner, Bob Wilson, David Kratz and Fred Bevier. Thank you all.

Jamie Clark’s quip underlines another thing we do well that contributes to the stability and viability of the community: we plan ahead. Flash back to early 2006. City Staff brought to the attention of the elected officials that the budget had a structural problem (expenses would soon outstrip revenues), along with the circumstance that the Cantera TIF would end at the end of December, 2009, but the City would not see any additional revenue from the TIF properties, until after May 1, 2011. Something had to be done to bridge this gap, as well as to correct the structural problem, and we had to begin building reserves that were sure to be needed.

Staff recommended, and the Council made the tough decision, to increase the Home Rule sales tax from .75% to 1.25% and institute a Home Rule Food and Beverage tax of 1.5% as of July 1, 2006.

Fast forward to last year (FY 2010). Even though we anticipated using up to $667,000 in reserves to balance the budget, additional economies implemented by staff reduced this amount to only $50,000, leaving us with $7.6 million in fund balance at the end of FY2010. For FY 2011, we anticipate using about $1 million in reserves (originally projected at $1.5 million, before additional expenditure cuts were found, along with a slight recovery in the revenue stream) leaving us with a reserve total of roughly $6.5 million. Projecting into FY2012, if things remain flat, and even with the estimated $1.75 million additional revenue that will start flowing from Cantera, we see the need to use as much as $300,000 of reserves. Despite this, the general fund reserves will remain at a level roughly three times the minimum required by our ordinance.

I shudder to think what our situation today might be, had we not planned ahead for a tight spot that as it turns out, was exacerbated by a severe economic downturn.

As it is, we maintain a balanced budget without debt, only a modest dependence on our ample reserves, and we have maintained our service levels and quality, and not faced the need to reduce staff or eliminate programs.

So let’s see. Hire good people. Check. Listen to them and plan ahead. Check. Here’s another good policy: Don’t spend money you don’t have. The City of Warrenville pays cash and uses grant money from outside sources. We have no debt against our general fund, and therefore no debt service to divert revenues from providing services. It is our intention to keep it that way. I often tell people that former Mayor Vivian Lund left me with a debt free operation, and all I have to do is not screw it up. I’m doing my best, Vivian!

Another policy that has helped keep Warrenville in the black, is sticking to service levels, services and programs that we know we can afford to deliver. Would it be nice to have free leaf pickup? Certainly. Would it be a good thing if the City cleared snow off public sidewalks? Of course. What about hiring an event coordinator, that would be good. How about a nice car for the Mayor’s official use? Well, I can dream, can’t I?

Can we afford to do any of these things without higher taxes? No. So we resist the urge, and try to do what we are required and committed to do at the highest level we can afford to sustain.

To recap: all things considered, the City is on sound financial footing, which we have established and have been able to maintain because of excellent employees, who not only perform at a consistently high level, but have found many ways over the past couple of difficult years to streamline and economize, as well as sound decisions by the City Council, anticipation and planning for future needs, avoidance of debt, and limiting the scope of our services to what we are able to afford and sustain.

So, while in many respects, 2010 has been a trying and disappointing year as economic recovery continues to remain elusive, we have much to celebrate in Warrenville. Let’s look at some other highlights:

I mentioned that new revenues from the former Cantera TIF would begin flowing to the City after May 1, 2011. This is an additional revenue stream without a tax increase. Warrenville Park District, Warrenville Library District, Warrenville Fire Protection District, School District 200, as well as other overlapping taxing districts, will also benefit every year going forward from these increased revenues. This is money that the City and our other taxing bodies would likely have never seen except for the success of Cantera and its TIF. Twenty-three years was a long wait, but the financial payoff is substantial – not to mention the excellent amenities that now occupy the former quarry.

The river cleanup/thorium removal project nears completion. During 2010 all of the targeted thorium material was removed from Reach 7, an area from Butterfield Road extending south to the Warrenville Grove Dam. The final section of the river to be cleaned up is Reach 8, which extends south from Warrenville Grove Dam to McDowell Grove Forest Preserve. Work on this final phase will likely commence in June and be completed before the end of the year.

The CDH/ ProCure Proton Cancer Treatment Center, located here in Warrenville, celebrated its grand opening on October 19, 2010. This is only the ninth such facility in the U.S. It is anticipated that when the Center is fully operational, treatment will be provided for as many as 1,500 patients yearly, half of whom will likely live more than 60 miles from the Center, and many of these may decide to stay in town for the duration of their treatment, as well as choose to visit our restaurants and other amenities. The Center currently employs 45 people, and is projected to have nearly 90 employees by year’s end.

CDH also opened its traditional Cancer Treatment Center in October, adjacent to the Proton Center in Cantera, bringing its entire oncology program to Warrenville.

The City approved plans in February, 2010, for the Forest Preserve Districts’ Urban Stream Research Center in Blackwell, located behind the former Cenacle property, which has been restored as open space. This facility should be up and running in the coming spring. Plans for the adjacent Archery Complex were approved by the City in June, but the facility will not be open to the public for another year.

The City’s Cantera Development was the recipient of the 2010 Chaddick Institute Municipal Development Award. This annual award recognizes a suburban unit of government for innovative management of the development process to promote favorable outcomes, over a period of four years or more. Given the span in years from concept to completion for Cantera, and the changes in the roster of players and elected officials, the overall high level of success of this project is remarkable. This award honors the superb process the City developed to see this development through.

Community Development permitted and inspected approximately $11 million worth of construction activity in the City, issuing 589 building permits, up from 422 in 2009.

Final Certificate of Occupancy Permits were issued for the new Hyatt Place and Hyatt Summerfield Suites Hotels, the 5th and 6th hotels in the City.

The City initiated a Business Retention Outreach Program and conducted 22 on-site business visits thus far, involving the Community Development Director, the Mayor and a representative of Choose DuPage. A presentation is planned before the end of FY 2011, in order to provide a summary of input obtained from these visits. Any Warrenville businesses that have not been contacted, but would like to participate in the program, are invited to call Community Development for more information.

The City actively worked with DuPage County in the preparation of a Watershed Plan Addendum for the West Branch of the DuPage River, which recommends approximately $16 million worth of flood mitigation improvements be implemented to reduce future flooding impacts along the Warrenville segment of the river. We also actively supported the approval of the County’s recent Bond Initiative, which includes roughly $5.5 million worth of funding for the first phase of the mitigation improvements identified in the addendum.

The City applied for and obtained approximately $1 million in grant funding from the Illinois Transportation Enhancement Program, to help fund a variety of streetscape enhancements, in conjunction with the Route 56 Reconstruction and Expansion Project. The State Department of Transportation opened bids for this project on January 21, 2011, with construction to commence this coming spring, and with completion projected to be near the end of 2012.

Here are some selected 2010 highlights from Warrenville’s Police Department, which, under the leadership of Chief Ray Turano, continues on track to become the best small police department in the state:

1. The National Night Out Program, part of a national crime fighting initiative, where residents and police can share an evening of fun, activities and information was re-instituted. Over 200 residents attended the event, which was largely funded by corporate donations.
2. A peer jury program was developed and will be in place for the spring of 2011. This program provides an opportunity for Warrenville’s youth to learn citizenship as well as aspects of the criminal justice system. Additionally, youthful offenders not charged with a serious offense, will be provided with a diversionary sentencing alternative, so they may avoid having a juvenile record.
3. An additional 6 forensic Evidence Technicians were trained, thus allowing Warrenville PD to process in house any crime scene, from minor theft to a multiple homicide.
4. Warrenville Detectives and Evidence Technicians responded to ten call outs with the DuPage Major Crimes Task Force. This type of experience is invaluable for our officers.
5. Early this year, on January 12th, Warrenville Police obtained arrest warrants for three individuals in connection with the November 30, 2010, armed robbery at Jamba Juice Restaurant in Warrenville. All three are currently being processed through the criminal justice system. Thank you, Chief Turano, for providing the leadership, high standards and professional training that makes this kind of excellent police work not only possible, but the expectation at Warrenville PD.

Returning to general interest items, at the July 19, 2010 City council meeting, an intergovernmental agreement with the Library District was approved, to fund improvements to Bob Walters Commons. The work was completed in the fall, and the much-improved venue will be available to showcase the very successful, and well-attended, free summer concert series, Concerts in the Commons, sponsored by the Library District, and funded through a City Hotel/Motel tax grant. This is another example of how Warrenville’s taxing districts work together for the benefit of our citizens.

In 2010, the City launched a Sound Mitigation Program, funded with $1.2 million provided by Canadian National Railroad. This program is intended to help residents identified as being most negatively impacted by the increased rail traffic resulting from CN’s purchase, and intensive use of, the formerly seldom used EJ&E tracks, that border several subdivisions on the City’s western edge, adjacent to Fermilab. We have thus far received 151 applications to participate, out of 189 eligible properties, with a total of $795,471 being reimbursed to homeowners by year’s end.

I know that many of you have heard this several times over the past five years, but we are very close to getting our quiet zone designation for the Batavia Road railroad crossing, which will spare our citizens from the incessant, bone-jarring train horns, to which they continue to be subjected. To say that this has been a frustrating process is certainly an understatement. Kudos to Assistant City Administrator, Jennifer McMahon, who has been an implacable advocate for our citizens on this issue. Jenn, thank you for the outstanding effort. We will ultimately prevail!

The City’s Strategic Plan, adopted in 2007, has as one of its objectives the development of a Bicycle and Pedestrian Circulation Master Plan, as well as the identification and pursuit of grants to assist in the implementation of the plan. An engineering firm was hired to produce a draft plan, two public information sessions were held, and Phase II of the Master Plan was approved in November, 2010. As a result of this work, DuPage Mayors and Managers Conference approved a grant of $435,000, from FY10-15 Surface Transportation Program funds, for Warrenville’s Continental Drive shared-use path. The City Council recently approved funding for Phase I engineering for this worthy project.

Special thanks to all of Warrenville’s commissions for their excellent work over the past year. The Plan Commission/Zoning Board of Appeals, the Bicycle and Pedestrian Advisory Commission, the Environmental Advisory Commission, the Board of Fire and Police Commissioners, the Tourism and Arts Commission, the Electrical Commission, Emergency Services Disaster Agency, and the Police Pension Board are all staffed by community volunteers. Warrenville is definitely a better place due to your willingness to serve.

Capital Projects for the year: Batavia Road was resurfaced in 2010 from Route 56 to Route 59. This project was 100% funded by federal stimulus money. Warrenville was also awarded federal funds to cover 70% of the costs associated with the future resurfacing and curb replacement on another section of Batavia Road, from Route 56 to Warrenville Road. The City also completed Phase I engineering for the replacement of the Williams Road bridge. This project also includes the extension of water and sanitary sewer lines from Batavia Road, north across the river.

A special word of thanks to Public Works Superintendent, Mike Smith. For every project, Mike always considers what other ancillary work makes sense to include, as well as how to proceed with the least amount of disruption to our businesses and citizens, His thoughtful planning, and ability to organize, saves taxpayer’s money, and helps keep everyone’s blood pressure at acceptable levels during messy or prolonged projects. Thanks Mike.

Congratulations also to Finance Director Kevin Dahlstrand, and the entire Finance Department, especially Debbie Norman, for their 17th consecutive Certificate of Achievement for Excellence in Financial Reporting. Receiving this award, presented by the Government Finance Officers Association, is recognition that our financial and accounting methods conform to the highest professional standards, making Warrenville’s finances as well-ordered and transparent as possible.

On March 20, 2011, Kevin will have been with The City of Warrenville for five years as Finance Director. Every year in this address, I have teased Kevin that I had to extend his initial probationary period for another year. I have claimed that this was necessary to keep him on his toes and encourage him to stay late. Well, Kevin today is your day. In anticipation of your 5th anniversary, I now officially lift the cloud of potential perpetual probation that has been lingering over you until now. You are one of us, you have earned our affection and respect, and we appreciate your many talents and diligent professionalism.

Well, that’s the view from the crow’s nest, as my friend John would say. As I cling to the mainmast, and peer out over the choppy waters that threaten to inundate our small, but thankfully sturdy, well-tended and adequately provisioned craft, I see the prolonged economic downturn iceberg lingering uncomfortably close. There are other hazards to be dealt with to be sure: inadequate or misleading charts, pirates, shallow shoals, hidden reefs, and any number of dangerous, nearly-submerged mines thoughtfully set adrift by our friends in state government. This remains an uncertain voyage, but there are a few things about which I am certain:

First, I’m confident that no other Mayors in the greater Chicago land area managed to use alliteration in their state of the city address, or for that matter, chose to conclude their speech with a folksy, but in my opinion, well-crafted, extended nautical metaphor.

Second, I am certain, that I am unable to resist stretching this metaphor just a little further. Please join me back on board, as I scramble back up the mast, and reenter the crows nest for one more look-see.

Whoa, I must admit, this scrambling up the mast stuff was a lot easier 30 years ago.

Peering through my glass, I find that the hint of sunshine teasing over the horizon, that we have been doing our best to remain on course to reach, is just a little brighter. Yes. There is no question. The sun on the horizon is brighter than it was last year.

There will be smooth sailing again. Of that, I am certain.

Do have a good day. And thanks for coming.