ECC Public Safety center plans advance
By Denise Moran For The Courier-News July 3, 2012 10:40AM
Updated: August 23, 2012 9:55AM
BURLINGTON — The village and Elgin Community College are moving ahead with the college’s planned Public Safety and Sustainability Center in Burlington.
Village President Kathy Loos announced Monday night that the village recently received the planned unit development application for the proposed project.
“The village engineer is reviewing the application for completeness,” Loos said. “As soon as a schedule of public meetings is set, the village will post a schedule on the website in addition to the required legal notices. The village anticipates that public meetings will be scheduled beginning the week of July 16 and continue through August and September.”
The proposed $15 million center will be built on a 118-acre site on the south side of Plank Road, north of the CNIC (Canadian National/Illinois Central) Railroad, and approximately one-half mile east of Main Street, according to Burlington Village Engineer and Zoning Enforcement Officer John Whitehouse.
It will feature “a burn tower, firefighter and police training programs, classrooms, and truck-driving programs,” according to the ECC Facilities Master Plan,
The project became possible after Community College District 509 voters approved a $178 million bond referendum in April 2009. According to the master plan timeline, the bid and award period for the project should commence during the winter of 2013. Construction is expected to begin in the spring of that same year. The anticipated completion date for the project is in the fall of 2013.
Another proposed project in the village is the realignment of Plank Road.
According to village officials, “Kane County’s engineering consultant, Crawford, Murphy and Tilly, has completed the pre-final engineering plans for the Plank Road realignment project, which are currently under review by the Kane County Division of Transportation and the village engineer. Following this review and any necessary plan revisions, Kane County will determine if sufficient funds are available to complete the project during the 2013 construction season or if additional funds will need to be secured before moving ahead with the project.”
Plank Road currently enters the village from the west and jogs south along Main Street before turning east. The road will be realigned from west of Burlington Creek to the railroad tracks.
The proposed realignment has been in the tentative stage for 20 years, according to Village Engineer John Whitehouse. The project is expected to take one or two years to complete.
