title
RESOLUTION
APPROVING THE USE OF COUNTY OWNED LAND
FOR THE CONSTRUCTION OF THE
HIGHWAY MAINTENANCE FACILITY AND
COMMITMENT OF FUTURE INTERFUND LOAN
resolution
WHEREAS, the County of DuPage (“County”), by and through its Division of Transportation is responsible for the maintenance, operations, and development of the County’s highway and transportation system, including snow plowing and ice control operations, on a year-round basis; and
WHEREAS, the County’s existing Highway Maintenance Facility, commonly known as 140 N. County Farm Road, Wheaton, IL, was constructed in the 1950’s and has been expanded and modified multiple times since its construction; and
WHEREAS, the County’s Division of Transportation and Facilities Management Department have determined that the existing Highway Maintenance Facility has exceeded its useful life and can no longer meet the needs of the County’s Division of Transportation as it fulfills its road maintenance responsibilities; and
WHEREAS, the County’s Division of Transportation and Facilities Management Department have evaluated multiple potential sites for constructing a new Highway Maintenance Facility, including building in the existing location, building in a new location at the northern portion County’s property that is currently used as the County Fairgrounds, and building in various potential sites located elsewhere in the county; and
WHEREAS, the evaluation indicated that the only viable location for a new County Highway Maintenance Facility is the northern portion of the County’s property currently used as the County Fairgrounds; and
WHEREAS, the Division of Transportation and its design consultant have determined that improvements and design elements can be included in the facility construction to mitigate the impact to the County Fairgrounds; and
WHEREAS, the County Board has determined that the construction of the new Highway Maintenance Facility is necessary to provide an adequate and modern space to operate the Division’s highway maintenance and administrative functions; and
WHEREAS, the current County Fairgrounds lease allows for the creation of a storage facility such as the Highway Maintenance Facility referenced in this Resolution; and
WHEREAS, the preliminary estimate of the construction cost for a new Highway Maintenance Facility is up to $82,000,000.00 (EIGHTY-TWO MILLION AND 00/100 DOLLARS); and
WHEREAS, the County, by and through its Division of Transportation, has included sufficient funds in its Fiscal Year 2025 budget request and its multi-year plan for Fiscal Years 2026 and 2027, to pay for $60,000,000.00 (SIXTY MILLION AND 00/100 DOLLARS) toward the cost of the Highway Maintenance Facility using a combination of Motor Fuel Tax and Local Gas Tax funds; and
WHEREAS, the County has determined that the most cost-efficient and time-effective means of implementing the new Highway Maintenance Facility is by supplementing the Division’s budgeted and anticipated funds with an interfund loan; and
WHEREAS, funding for the new Highway Maintenance Facility is proposed to come in part from an interfund loan, from a specific fund source to be determined at the time of the fund transfer to the Division of Transportation as appropriated by the County Board, to be paid back over a period of up to eight (8) years; and
WHEREAS, the “payback” of the loan will be accounted for by budgeted interfund transfers to the designated fund source from the Division of Transportation as appropriated by the County Board; and
WHEREAS, the County Board deems an interfund loan of up to $22,000,000.00 (TWENTY-TWO MILLION AND 00/100 DOLLARS), or such portions thereof as may be necessary, to the Division of Transportation to partially fund the new Highway Maintenance Facility to be in the best interest of the residents of DuPage County.
NOW, THEREFORE BE IT RESOLVED, by the DuPage County Board that the Division of Transportation is authorized to use the northern portion of the County’s property currently used as the County Fairgrounds for construction of a new Highway Maintenance Facility; and
BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED, the initial recitals presented above are incorporated and adopted into this resolution; and
BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED, by the DuPage County Board, that an interfund loan in the aggregate amount not to exceed $22,000,000.00 (TWENTY-TWO MILLION AND 00/100 DOLLARS), is authorized and directed, to be made from a specific fund source to be determined, to the Division of Transportation for the new Highway Maintenance Facility, subject to a formal and detailed interfund loan resolution prior to the actual transfer of the funds; and
BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED by the DuPage County Board that, at the time of approval of the interfund loan resolution, the Chief Financial Officer shall authorize transfers of monies to be made in accordance with this resolution from and to the designated funds, and that minimum annual payments will be calculated by the Chief Financial Officer to be made by the Division of Transportation from its budgeted capital dollars each year for eight (8) consecutive years or a lesser period of time as mutually agreed upon by the Director of Transportation and the Chief Financial Officer until such time the interfund loan is fully reconciled if prior to the eighth (8) year, and shall be reallocated for repayment of the interfund loan, commencing in the fiscal year immediately following the fiscal year in which the new Highway Maintenance Facility is completed and receives a final occupancy permit from the City of Wheaton or the appropriate government agency.
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Enacted and approved this 10th day of December, 2024 at Wheaton, Illinois.
________________________________
DEBORAH A. CONROY, CHAIR
DU PAGE COUNTY BOARD
Attest: ___________________________________
JEAN KACZMAREK, COUNTY CLERK