Cost Overruns Continue to Hit Bourbonnais Municipal Center Renovation Project

For the third time since contractors were on the grounds to begin site prep at the Bourbonnais Municipal Center Renovation project known as Village Green, another estimate has come up short of what will be required. So far, there have been miscalculations regarding a water main and an electrical underground conduit that will have to be relocated to accommodate design plans, both of which have added multiple thousands of dollars to the final cost.

Now, the village has revealed it had initially ordered light pole bases that are the wrong size and will have to be larger. That will add an additional $40,000 to the cost of the project. The total cost for Village Green is estimated at $18 million.

Despite the snafus, Mayor Paul Schore says he is confident the project will come in at, or under, the amount the village had originally allocated for it. At the Monday, March 20, village board meeting, trustees authorized the additional money for the 90 larger light pole bases required.

Also at the March 20 meeting, Bourbonnais Mayor Paul Schore invited residents, who did not attend the first information open house meeting on the proposed local sales tax increase, to attend another such session on March 29, from 5:30 to 7 p.m., in the Community Room, just next to village hall. Schore says passing the referendum on the April 4 ballot will result in a 100 percent rebate of the village portion of the property tax to all Bourbonnais homeowners.