Plainfield Trustees Reverse Decision on Route 30 Redevelopment

The Plainfield village board on Monday had a change of heart about Route 30 redevelopment.

Trustees voted to approve a $78,200 contract with a Chicago-based consultant for a TIF district eligibility study for the Route 30 corridor from Renwick Road to Spangler Road.

The contract with SB Friedman Development Advisors includes a $26,100 study to establish parameters for the TIF district along the Route 30 corridor, and $52,100 for a redevelopment strategy.

Trustees voted 4-1 Monday on the proposal, reversing a vote taken with two trustees absent and a vacant spot on the board on Dec. 1. Mayor Mike Collins, who initially voted against the plan, also switched his vote to yes.

It was Collins who made the motion to get the proposal back on the table at Monday’s meeting, with trustee Paul Fay voting against bringing the issue back for another vote.

Trustee Margie Bonuchi, who was absent at the Dec. 1 meeting, supported the TIF district.

“I think this is important to the development of the community,” she said, calling the corridor a “key area” for the village.

“I think we are sitting on an area that’s got great potential,” Bonuchi said.

Village Administrator Brian Murphy thanked the board for reconsidering the TIF study.

TIF, or tax increment financing, is used to divert property tax revenues for redevelopment within a specified area.

Murphy said he met with representatives of the Plainfield school district and other taxing bodies that would be affected by the TIF. TIF, or tax increment financing, is used to divert property tax revenues to fund redevelopment within a specified area.

“There is strong support for the district to go forward,” Murphy said, noting that the TIF would not be a “full-capture” district. A portion of funds will be returned to the taxing bodies throughout the life of the TIF, according to Murphy.

Fay cast the lone no vote against the proposal. Trustee Garrett Peck, who did not attend the Dec. 1 meeting, was absent again. A board vacancy remains since the resignation of trustee Dan Rippy, who stepped down after a successful campaign for circuit judge in November.

Watch the Dec. 15 meeting on the Village of Plainfield’s YouTube channel.

Route 30 improvements

Trustees also voted Monday to approve an agreement with IDOT for reconstruction and widening along Route 30 from Route 59 to I-55, along with OKing the village’s portion of project funding, which totals $1,049,033.

The state, Will County and City of Joliet will also pay a share of the project’s cost.

The project could take up to two years to complete, Public Works Director Allen Persons said, according to the Chicago Tribune.