Elgin Mayor gets road tour in Century Oaks

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From left, Don Kramer, Public Works Director Dave Lawry, Vince Froberg, Mayor Dave Kaptain, and City Manager Sean Stegall, tour roads in poor condition in the Century Oaks East subidivision in Elgin, Ill., on Saturday, July 9, 2011. | Andrew A. Nelles~For Sun-Times Media |

Updated: October 29, 2011 12:41AM

ELGIN — More than 100 area residents met with Mayor Dave Kaptain, City Manager Sean Stegall and Director of Public Works Dave Lawry on Saturday morning to discuss the condition of the streets in the eastern portion of the Century Oaks subdivision.

With some carrying signs that read “Save Our Streets” and “Behave-Repave,” citizens walked with the three city officials south on Hillcrest and then north of Parkview Drive so that everyone could see firsthand the potholes and crumbling pavement.

Katie Schmitter pulled her two sons, Lukas, 4, and Lance, 2, in a covered Radio Flyer wagon during the walk. She said that she and her family have lived in the subdivision for the past five years.

“I have potholes all over my road,” Lukas said.

Joe Zmigrocki brought his Kerry Blue Terrier, Pip, to the walk. He has lived in Elgin for the past 30 years.

“These streets are a lawsuit waiting to happen,” Zmigrocki said.

Craig Braun said he purchased his home along Oakdale Road in Century Oaks in 1976 when the subdivision had gravel roads. He noted that Oakdale Road was installed in 1977.

Simon Wall wants the city to “fix the streets so that my brother can visit me. His car bottoms out when he visits me.”

Herb Weyers said that “the only thing holding the streets together is asphalt. The problem is basically galvanized steel pipes under the street that are deteriorating, rusting, and causing dips in the road.”

Century Oaks resident Vince Froberg spearheaded the movement toward fixing the streets that triggered the walk on Saturday. He organized a petition drive that garnered 230 signatures.

“The roads are over 35 years old,” Froberg said. “Their expected life is 12 to 15 years. The roads here are causing our homes to lose value. One neighbor had a home in good shape that she tried to sell for three years. She wasn’t able to sell the home, and it foreclosed.”

Froberg sent an open letter to the city council about the streets on behalf of the residents of the eastern portion of Century Oaks.

“Our streets are no longer safe,” Froberg stated in the letter. “There are places where an entire lane is gone, creating a hazard for drivers as they must move into the opposite lane in order to proceed. After a heavy rain, ponds develop and become so large that in some areas they actually take up half the width of the street.”

Froberg said he decided to do something about the streets after reading an article about Kaptain in The Courier-News. The article said that Kaptain would make “house calls” in order to be consistent with the grass roots campaign that won him the mayoral seat.

“It is our hope at this particular point in time that, with a new mayor and some new council members, a fresh approach to budgeting will emerge,” Froberg said. “We hope that the City of Elgin will get back to basics and begin to prioritize the spending of our tax dollars in a way that reflects the essential needs of its taxpayers. Residents of Century Oaks have come to understand, in a most unpleasant way, that decent streets are not only a basic need. They are also essential.”

Don Kramer lives along Parkview Drive. He worked for the Illinois Department of Transportation for 30 years. He has also worked as a consultant on matters involving soils, materials, and road construction.

When Froberg came by Kramer’s house to ask him to sign the petition, Kramer not only signed it but asked that an asterisk be placed alongside his name so that he could offer his professional advice.

“I’ve watched these streets deteriorate,” Kramer said. “The roads are completely shot and should be fixed. We don’t deserve this.”

Kaptain told the crowd on Saturday that he sympathizes with their situation.

“I live in Eagle Heights in Elgin. I am a poster child for bad streets,” Kaptain said. “My house was built in 1961. The water main in front of my house broke on Easter Sunday.”

Stegall added: “There are neighborhoods in Elgin that have streets that are worse than the ones here.”

The streets in Century Oaks have what are considered “estate lots,” according to Froberg. Instead of sidewalks, curbs and gutters, there are easements and swales.

Century Oaks resident Barb Harwood said that she and her neighbors became hopeful about their streets two to three years ago when the western half of Century Oaks was repaved. She said they stopped before repaving the eastern portion because they ran out of money.

In Froberg’s letter to the city council, he stated that “over the past few years when inquiries and complaints about the deteriorating condition of our streets were made to various officials, they were either ignored or met with vague promises like ‘maybe next year.’ Two of our residents, upset over the fact that other neighborhoods with streets in better condition that ours but were being redone ahead of us, were actually told that our streets ‘couldn’t get any worse’ and were beyond saving. They were told that because our streets were so bad, the city was putting our roadwork aside indefinitely.”

City officials on Saturday told the crowd that their streets will soon be receiving some attention.

Stegall said that by the end of October, 2.6 miles of Parkview Drive and all the streets east in the subdivision will receive a 1 ½-inch asphalt overlay. Hangers will be hung on the doors of homes to notify residents before the work begins.

Kaptain described the resurfacing as a temporary fix.

“The residents know that it will not solve the drainage problems,” Kaptain said. “In five to six years, the city will come back to do the culverts, streets and water mains. The water mains are 50 years old.”

Froberg said he was pleased on Saturday with the large turnout of residents.

“When you get started on something like this, you wouldn’t believe the details involved,” Froberg said. “You don’t know what to expect, but getting a patch job is worth the effort. We’re reaching out to the city and saying: Please help us.”