Title
Joint resolution appropriating $250,000 of ¼% Sales Tax for Transportation funds for the acquisition of real property and demolition of the associated structure necessary for the reconstruction of Lewis Avenue, from Illinois Route 137 to Belvidere Road.
Staff Summary
• Lewis Avenue, from Illinois Route 137 to Belvidere Road, will be reconstructed, inclusive of non-motorized travel improvements.
• Phase I preliminary engineering is currently in progress, and right-of-way needs for the improvement are being identified.
• The property at the northeast corner of Lewis Avenue and Martin Luther King Jr. Drive (1918 Martin Luther King Jr. Drive) is required to construct the improvement.
• The property is currently vacant and listed for sale by the Federal Home Loan Mortgage Corporation (Freddie Mac) through a real estate agency.
• The Lewis Avenue Improvement project is included in the Transportation Improvement Program with construction anticipated to begin in 2027.
Body
RESOLUTION
WHEREAS, Lewis Avenue, County Highway 27, from Illinois Route 137 to Belvidere Road is a designated route on the County highway system; and
WHEREAS, Lake County believes it would be beneficial to the safety and welfare of the traveling public if Lewis Avenue, from Illinois Route 137 to Belvidere Road, be reconstructed, inclusive of non-motorized improvements; and
WHEREAS, Phase I preliminary engineering is in progress and the right-of-way needs for the improvement are being identified; and
WHEREAS, a property located at 1918 Martin Luther King Jr. Drive needs to be acquired and the structure demolished in order to construct the improvement; and
WHEREAS, the property is currently vacant and is listed for sale by the Federal Home Loan Mortgage Corporation (Freddie Mac) through a real estate agency; and
WHEREAS, an appropriation of funds is required.
NOW, THEREFORE, BE IT RESOLVED, by this County Board of Lake County, Illinois, that it is necessary, and desirable, that Lake County acquire title to, and possession of, real property located at 1918 Martin Luther King Jr. Drive, which said property is needed for the improvement of Lewis Avenue from Illinois Route 137 to Belvidere Road; and
BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED, that the Lake County Division of Transportation, or its agents on behalf of Lake County be, and are hereby authorized, empowered and directed to negotiate with, and purchase from, the owner or owners of the real property determined to be necessary under this resolution; and
BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED, that the County Engineer of Lake County, with guidance from the State’s Attorney’s Office, be authorized, and is hereby directed to execute the necessary documentation to effectuate the purchase of real property located at 1918 Martin Luther King Jr. Drive; and
BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED, that there is hereby appropriated $250,000 of ¼% Sales Tax for Transportation funds for the purchase of the real property, and the demolition of the associated structure, located at 1918 Martin Luther King Jr. Drive, determined to be necessary under this resolution and designated as Section 23-00082-12-BD.
DATED at Waukegan, Illinois, on November 14, 2023.