Voters in the Village of Summit were in favor of two questions on Tuesday’s ballot as village officials were looking for their input.
One was: Shall the Village of Summit Issue Bonds to obtain Sufficient Funds to Repave All Alleys In The Village?
Complete but unofficial results showed voters easily supported that question by a vote of 238-102.
The other: Shall The Village Of Summit Manage All Parks And Recreation Centers In The Village?
That was also approved by voters 219-123.
Back in February, Summit Village Administrator Jerry Hurckes said, “These are key issues that Mayor Sergio Rodriguez and the Board of Trustees hear, and we would like to hear how residents feel about this.”
These were non-binding questions, which means officials are not bound by the results. Less than 10 percent of registered voters cast ballots on the questions.
The results gave village officials what the voters wanted, and if they should move forward with the ideas.
If it’s decided to move forward, there would be a binding vote taken in the future to see if the ideas again pass and come into play.
Issuing bonds means the village would borrow money, then pay it back over a series of years.
Alley paving has been underway in Summit since 2004, but there are plenty more alleys to do.
The village has received grant money in the past, but that only goes so far.
It’s a huge expense for each alley, and the cost to finish all of them would be in the ballpark of $8 million.
Hurckes explained the huge expense of tearing up and resurfacing an alley.
“A normal street alley costs about $350,000,” said Hurckes. “And that’s gone up in the last couple of years. They need to be cleaned out, repaired, and any damages such as fixing aprons has to be done after the alley is complete.”
If the village gets $1 million a year in grant money, they can possibly do three or four alleys, but many residents have voiced concern that they’re not getting done fast enough and they would like to see all of them paved.
As far as the question of running the parks and recreation centers, Hurckes had said the village board is very active in getting out to hear from residents and acting on issues that they have.
“They hear from families that have young children, and some say the parks could be better utilized.”
“The non-binding questions are to see what the community would want,” said Hurckes back in February.
“We’ve done this in the past with marijuana, for example. We are hoping for a couple of thousand responses.If it goes further, there may be a binding referendum down the road.”