Mayor Matt Brolley wants a Metra commuter train station in Montgomery.
Brolley told the audience at his State of the Village address Tuesday that a commuter station is a crucial asset to the future development of the downtown area.
Michael Gillis, a spokesman for Metra, said that a station in Montgomery is included in a proposed extension of the BNSF line.
“Metra is currently in the midst of preliminary engineering and environmental assessment studies for that extension,” Gillis wrote in an email to The Beacon-News. “Those studies, which will likely take until 2016, will determine the cost/benefits and environmental impacts of the proposed extension.”
According to Gillis, the results of the studies will be shared with Kane and Kendall county residents to determine the next course of action.
“…Any extension of service beyond the six-county RTA service area will require a new funding source to support construction and ongoing operations of the service,” Gillis wrote.
In his address, Brolley said Montgomery is growing out of the previous recession and said while development has gone up considerably over the past year, there is more to be done.
“Our greatest accomplishment in 2014 was the passage of a non-home rule sales tax referendum in November, predicted to generate $1.8 million annually, specifically for critically needed infrastructure repairs and maintenance,” he said.
Brolley cautioned residents and business leaders that the revenue generated by the new sales tax won’t be coming into village coffers until October.
“Revenue generated by this sales tax will allow for investment in road maintenance, repair and replacement and other infrastructure improvements while minimizing the financial burden that would be shouldered by Montgomery residents,” he said.
Passed in the fall election, the new tax doesn’t take effect until July 1.
“Since controlling taxes for our residents is also a priority, along with the sales tax increase I proposed an unprecedented local property tax relief program that will rebate nearly all, and for some families more than, the (amount of the) additional sales tax, while still providing the funding essential to maintain a long-term road improvement program. The village will issue the first rebate checks in 2016,” he said.
That rebate check, estimated at $45 per residence, is just one of the promises given to residents if the sales tax measure passed. The other promise was better roads that increase property values.
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Brolley also thanked his own trustees and touted the recent approval of a measure that will allow Michels Corp. to buy the vacant building and land at 1266 Orchard Road. The company, which is based in Wisconsin, provides services to various utility companies and contractors and will bring 60 new jobs to the area.
Judy Pochel is a freelance reporter