St. Charles Council OKs Street Closures for Parades, Scarecrow Fest

The St. Charles City Council on Monday approved without comment the street closures sought for the homecoming parades next month for both of the city’s high schools, and for the annual Scarecrow Festival in October.

The vote comes two weeks after aldermen, meeting as the City Council Government Services Committee, gave their initial assent to the street closures. The City Council on Monday formally approved the measures as it adopted its “omnibus bill,” a collection of actions that had received unanimous support from aldermen during prior committee meetings.

The two homecoming parades will be held on Illinois Street, as they have the past two years. That will require the closure of Illinois Street as it crosses Route 31 and heading over the Fox River. More details about the closures will be released as the parade dates approach. The parades, which last about 30 minutes, will be:

• 1 p.m. Friday, Sept. 20, 2013: St. Charles North High School.

• 1 p.m. Friday, Sept. 27, 2013: St. Charles East High School.

Scarecrow Festival

The closures for the 2013 Scarecrow Festival, slated for Oct. 11-13 and sponsored by the the St. Charles Convention & Visitors Bureau, will be a more expansive closure of both street and parking lots this year.

The event draws 150,000 to 180,000 people to St. Charles, and its intent is to showcase St. Charles businesses. The city is estimating its cost for providing police and other emergency agency personnel at $26,515 for the three-day event.