The Villages of Manhattan and New Lenox are working to renew their longstanding boundary agreement, which recently expired.
The Village of Manhattan approved the renewal at its February 17 board meeting following a public hearing.
The proposed agreement requires approval by both villages for the boundary to take effect. According to the public hearing notice, the Village of New Lenox’s board will consider the proposed agreement at its February 23 board meeting following a public hearing.
Mayor Mike Adrieansen explained the boundary agreement is largely the same as the one that had expired, with the exception of some changes near Delaney and Route 52.
He said about one block of homes already have been annexed into the Village of New Lenox, and the previous boundary line jogged around them. The new agreement simplified the boundary there, creating a straight line, Adrieansen explained in a phone call with The Vedette.
The intergovernmental boundary agreement signals a positive working relationship between the two villages. Without a boundary agreement in place, the unincorporated land between the two villages could lead to a land grab, especially when third parties become involved and seek annexation to one of the communities.
“These agreements are important for long-term planning and provide stability,” Adrieansen said at the meeting.
The agreement, expected to be approved by the Village of New Lenox, will remain in place for 20 more years, expiring in 2046.
The Village of Manhattan recently renewed its agreement with the villages of Elwood and Frankfort, solidifying good relationships with its neighbors, Adrieansen said. Manhattan’s boundary agreement with the Village of Peotone was renewed several years prior and remains in effect.
The only neighboring renewal holdout is an agreement between the Village of Manhattan and the City of Joliet, which expires in November.
Previously, the City of Joliet let the boundary agreement with the neighboring Village of Elwood lapse. Joliet then proceeded to annex a significant amount of land into the city, despite several public and private requests from the Village of Elwood’s Mayor, Doug Jenco, to renew the agreement.
In a call with Mayor Mike Adrieansen, Mayor Adrieansen expressed hope that Joliet Mayor Terry Darcy and the city council would work with the Village of Manhattan to renew the soon-to-expire boundary agreement.
“It’s great to be able to work with our neighboring communities. I’m confident we can soon come to an agreement with Joliet,” Adrieansen said.
Manhattan Approves Engineering for Traffic Calming, Multi-Use Path
In other news, the Village of Manhattan also approved a Safety Action Plan to be developed by the Farnsworth Group to potentially implement traffic-calming measures to slow truck traffic through the village.
The village received a $100,000 Safe Streets for All federal grant, with a $25,000 local match requirement, to develop a safety plan for Rt. 52. It was one of six communities to receive the grant.
“The study is a result of feedback from the residents and businesses during our discussions for the village’s downtown redevelopment plan in 2023,” Adrieansen explained of the Safety Action Plan.
“I believe it just helps enforce the fact that we do know Rt. 52 is a concern for Manhattan, and this is one way we can take some data to IDOT to make some improvements, even though they’ve already made some improvements, which is pretty good,” Adrieansen said.
Recently, IDOT lowered speed limits in the downtown area of Manhattan along Rt. 52 and along North Street, also known as Manhattan-Monee Road. Street lights have been added along Smith Road by the school, and the village is looking at potentially adding some along Baker Road.
Additionally, the village also is pursuing a multi-use path along Rt. 52 from Foxford Drive to Round Barn Farm and approved engineering services for it. Adrieansen said the future plan is to connect the path to Old Plank Trail and the Wauponsee Trail.
Trustee Bob Dilling inquired about safe golf cart passage, but Adrieansen said he didn’t believe the forest preserve, which maintains the Wauponsee Trail, allowed golf carts on its paths.
Adrieansen explained engineering was required for a multi-use path before they could pursue grant funding. He advised some right-of-way would need to be acquired to make it happen.
Manhattan Named in Top Ten Safest Communities, Police Chief Urges Safe Travel
The Village of Manhattan was ranked the sixth-safest community in the state, according to a study by SafeWise. SafeWise is an independent organization, out of Utah, that collects data to rank communities based on property and violent crime per capita data from the FBI.
“I’d like to just extend my thanks to the police chief and the village of Manhattan Police Department for their continued dedication and commitment to keeping our communities safe,” Adrieansen said.
The village moved up six spots on the list from last year’s rating.
Adrieansen took a moment at the village meeting to acknowledge the police department’s efforts in securing a $20,000 grant for body cameras.
“We’re glad to see that we’re headed in the right direction,” Police Chief Gulli said, adding they were working on getting to number one.
Gulli explained that property crimes were up slightly, which could include things like a vehicle being egged. Although those aren’t violent crimes, they are crimes nonetheless, Gulli said.
“In the monthly report, the concerning thing is we had 15 accidents in January. That’s super concerning considering the speed limits are lowered,” Gulli said.
Additionally, Gulli reported to the board another serious accident had occurred just prior to the start of the board meeting at the intersection of Manhattan-Monee and Schoolhouse Roads.
“One thing we can reiterate is please just follow the speed limit signs. It’s for everybody’s safety, not just for us to pull you over,” Gulli said.