The Aurora City Council on Tuesday approved a payment of up to $250,000 to AT&T for work the company needs to complete for a city roadwork project, but officials said the city will be trying to get those funds back.
While city staff disagree with AT&T that the city even needs to pay the company to relocate its utilities within the city’s right-of-way so it can do the roadwork on Farnsworth Avenue, Bilter Road and Church Road, which is near the new Hollywood Casino-Aurora resort project and the existing Chicago Premium Outlets mall, those utilities need to be relocated as soon as possible to keep the roadwork on track to be completed by its November deadline before holiday shopping starts, city staff said at Tuesday’s City Council meeting.
And, AT&T wants the full payment before the engineering is completed and their utilities are relocated, according to Aurora Public Works Director Ken Schroth. He said the company needs to relocate its facilities before the city’s contractor can go out and begin its own underground work, such as relocating stormwater infrastructure and water mains.
“We’re trying to get the roadway project done before Black Friday, but there’s a lot of work that has to be taking place right now,” Schroth said.
If the roughly $20 million roadwork project were to be delayed, it could cost the city $400,000 assuming even a relatively low yearly inflation rate of 2%, he said. That’s why city staff recommended the Aurora City Council approve the payment even as the city’s legal department continues to work the issue out with AT&T.
AT&T did not respond with a comment on the issue to The Beacon-News by late Wednesday afternoon.
According to Aurora’s Corporation Counsel Richard Veenstra, AT&T is arguing that, under its contract with Aurora, the city is responsible for paying for the relocation of its utilities in this area because the roadwork is related to development by the city. However, Aurora disagrees and argues that the roadwork needs to be done because of organic traffic conditions, and documentation will be given to AT&T showing that, he said.
If Aurora and AT&T cannot come to an agreement, the two will likely have to enter “some time-consuming process,” Veenstra said.
Ald. Daniel Barreiro of the 1st Ward, where the project is located, said the roadway is “very busy” and the project cannot afford to be delayed.
“If it goes beyond the construction season into next year, it’s going to be very costly and very disruptive to the people that use that roadway, so I urge that we move forward with this and then take it up with AT&T at a later date to make sure that we get reimbursed for our funds,” Barreiro said.
The Aurora City Council voted 11-1 to approve the payment, with Ald. John Laesch, at-large, voting against it. Laesch said that, although he understand the timeline, he doesn’t think the city should be paying for a private company’s infrastructure.
Instead of using what Laesch called a “weak legal case” that the road expansion is because of organic growth and not city-driven development, since the city has played an active role in putting new facilities and development projects in the area, he proposed that the city should instead lay its own public fiber cables and compel AT&T to use them.
“That might be a more aggressive negotiating strategy to relieve the $250,000 fee,” he said.
When asked by Mayor Richard Irvin for his opinion, Veenstra disagreed with Laesch, saying he did not think that the city laying its own fiber cables was the quickest or most cost-effective way to resolve the issue, and that the city has a “good case.”
In November 2024, the Aurora City Council approved a $19.5 million contract with R.W. Dunteman Co. for the roadwork along Farnsworth Avenue, Bilter Road and Church Road. A $1.9 million construction engineering contract with HR Green, Inc., was also approved by the Aurora City Council during that time, and that contract amount was increased in December.
Much of the roadwork work is tied to the Hollywood Casino-Aurora resort project currently underway, but the city has been planning for all the roadwork needed in that area through 2050, not just for the new casino, according to past reporting.
A staff report about the project included with Tuesday’s City Council meeting agenda shows that the project will widen and resurface around 1.7 miles of road.
Farnsworth Avenue will be widened from four to six lanes to match nearby Butterfield Road, according to the staff report. Bilter Road will generally be widened from two to four lanes, and Church Road will be widened from two to three lanes, staff said in the report.
The roadwork will also include the installation of new water mains, storm sewers, sidewalks, ADA ramps, bike paths, lights and traffic signals, among other work, the staff report said.
rsmith@chicagotribune.com
