Sycamore forms pact with DeKalb County to promote public works efficiency

The Sycamore City Council is looking to promote efficiency in the operations of its public works division.

At Monday’s regular meeting, officials were briefed on a pending intergovernmental agreement between the city of Sycamore and DeKalb County.

The pact addresses the sale of the city’s former Water Division facility at 202 E. Page St. If approved, it will allow the county to acquire that property along with the storage building that the city owns at 1730 N. Main St., and provides compensatory storage both for the county’s Peace Road improvements project and the city’s wastewater treatment plant project.

City Manager Brian Gregory said that forming the pact with the county makes sense on many levels.

“In a perfect world, we would bring all of our assets for public works together in one campus, but we understand that there’s cost to that,” he said.

Gregory said this wasn’t something the city originally thought would be feasible.

The city has also been looking to expand its wastewater treatment plant located near the county’s Peace Road improvements project, officials said.

“About the same time this was happening, the county was going out to bid for a storage building, and their building came in well-above budget,” Gregory said. “It was something that, in passing, was shared with us as staff. So, we started discussion about the possibility of being able to liquidate our buildings, and in return, then be able build a new storage building on our campus and on [another nearby] street.”

The agreement has been in talks between the city of Sycamore and DeKalb County for several months.

“I think that this intergovernmental agreement, it’s the result of the very positive working relationship that we have, ongoing communication, understanding the needs that each organization has,” Gregory said. “From some of the informal dialogue, it led to an opportunity where all of our residents have an opportunity to win, if you will. It’s efficient and meets all of our needs.”

The agreement helps Sycamore officials to begin realizing it can centralize the location for its public works division.

The two, city-owned buildings were appraised for $475,000, officials said.

Gregory brought up the topic for discussion to gain direction from the city council.

No city council action was taken during the city council meeting.

The Sycamore Planning and Zoning Commission is expected to consider approving the pact at its regular meeting Aug. 12, and the city council will look into taking action on the plats and intergovernmental agreement at an Aug. 19 meeting.