Community Feedback Wanted For Future Of Geneva Infrastructure

GENEVA, IL — The City of Geneva is turning to residents to gather feedback on how to proceed with resolving "significant infrastructure challenges."

Staff are kicking off a series of community engagement efforts to develop a plan for the future of Geneva facilities. The first step is asking locals to review a presentation and fill out a feedback form by Oct. 11.

The following problems are highlighted in the presentation:

• The police station experiences flooding and both roof and sewer backups that regularly impact operations. The ceiling recently partially collapsed. Ambulances also don't fit inside, and employees don't have enough office space. There are mice in the walls and ceilings. With only a public parking lot, the potential for unsafe interactions between arrestees and the public exists.
• City Hall is not accessible, which is not acceptable for the center of government where all our public meetings are held. More than a century old, the building has inadequate insulation, wasting significant energy, and is not equipped to support today’s technology needs. There is a lack of space for employees to work, meet, and collaborate, making it difficult to conduct city business. There is also no space to seek safety from severe weather, which is especially dangerous during public meetings.
• The public works building is an old metal barn that is nearly 50 years old, with numerous potential safety issues and tripping and shock hazards. The building is a designated severe weather shelter for the city yet, without a storm shelter, it can only safely house a handful of people. The building also experiences leaking, forcing water to be caught in garbage bags and buckets.
• Our west side fire station was built to residential standards over 30 years ago, leading to long-term issues that need to be addressed. These include a need for proper locker room space, separation in the sleeping quarters for female and male firefighters, and expanded space for training and daily activities. Also, apparatus bays are undersized and infrastructure is deteriorating.
• Finally, in all our city buildings, heating and cooling is inconsistent. Many mechanical systems have surpassed their useful life, including some that are over 40 years old. Backup power generators are woefully inadequate.

Needs are due to the city's aging facilities and "serious space challenges" for staff to serve the population, which has grown by about 70 percent since 1980, according to the document.

City Administrator Stephanie Dawkins published a letter Tuesday detailing the problems. She said the city's resources for residents are funded by 5 percent of the public's property tax bill. Comparatively, the City of Batavia receives 8.42 percent of residents' property tax bill and the City of St. Charles gets about 10.3 percent.

Dawkins said the problems also pose a challenge with recruiting and retaining staff.

"These significant infrastructure challenges make it harder for our staff to provide the level of service our community expects," she wrote. "This negatively impacts morale, making it difficult to recruit and retain quality staff."

The city administrator said community engagement efforts regarding the plan are expected to last several months.