Collins Responds To Argoudelis: Letter

Submitted by Plainfield Village President Mike Collins:

I don’t normally respond to newspaper articles; however, I take great offense to Mr. Argoudelis’ comments that the Village has not accomplished anything under my leadership.

While it would be difficult for me to cover every project, I’d like to highlight a few of the projects that have been completed during my three terms as Village President.

• Steiner Road was completed providing the community with another north-south connection.
• 127th Street, west of Route 30, was reconstructed improving the safety of the roadway for the neighbors and drivers.
• In Downtown Plainfield, to support the local businesses and visitors, we added and improved over 100 new parking spaces.
• Due to numerous train delays, we worked with Canadian National Railroad to relocate their safety equipment, so Plainfield residents no longer had to sit through lengthy delays due to stopped trains.
• Reconstruction of water service and roadways around the Village Green was completed last year. This project resulted in the investment of over 8 million dollars in the downtown area.
• To help connect the historic downtown and expanded downtown, west of the river, we constructed the Lockport Street Pedestrian Bridge.
• After community-wide strategic planning sessions, we expanded the Village’s bike and trail network and continue to spend approximately $400,000 each year on bike lanes and trails.
• We quadrupled the street resurfacing budget.
• After feedback from residents, we installed a new traffic signal at Meadow Lane with most of the cost paid by others. There is a new signal also planned at Champion Drive and Route 59.
• We created a public-private partnership to develop the 58 acres that the Village owns off of Van Dyke Road. The site is home to the Pace Park-n-Ride with several projects in the works.
• Route 30 is now a TIF District which has helped bring new economic development to the area.
• Costco recently opened at the Boulevard and we are looking forward to additional construction in the area this spring.
• Diageo has expanded multiple times bringing new investment and new employees to the community. We were also able to recruit Logoplaste, a company that is located in 61 countries and commented that we were one of the most responsive communities that they had ever worked with.
• We recently adopted a new Riverfront Master Plan that showcases the community’s vision for the riverfront including trails, additional parking, and a paddlecraft launch.

Furthermore, the future is bright for Plainfield and the incoming administration will find that a number of projects are ready to move forward including:

• The extension of 143rd Street to the west which will be under construction this year and the east extension will begin the following year. These extensions will help alleviate traffic concerns throughout the community and open up new economic development opportunities.
• A new bridge and pedestrian path at Indian Boundary Road.
• The reconstruction of Renwick Road will occur in the next 2-3 years.
• Improvements to the Old Town area, similar to those made around the Village Green, will begin next year.
• We are working with Romeoville and Bolingbrook on interchange improvements to I-55.
• Engineering work for a new traffic signal at 127th Street and Plainfield/Naperville Road has been completed.
• Perlow Steel is relocating to the Village; the foundation work will happen this spring.
• The new Pace Bus Maintenance Facility is under construction and will open in 2022.
• A new home for the Plainfield Emergency Management Agency will be under construction soon.
• Work is underway to refresh landscaping and concrete work in Downtown Plainfield.
• Construction of the Springbank Trail will be starting in the next few weeks.
• The Prairie Creek Development will be under construction this year. Rod Baker Ford will be constructing a new dealership and Aldi will be relocating to the site.

As many of you know, I am not one to grandstand or shout from the rooftop what we have accomplished. I prefer to have my body of work stand as testament of my leadership these past 12 years. That said, every good leader knows that they are not anything without those that are around him. For that, I am very thankful for what the Village Board and Staff have accomplished over the last 12 years and I look forward to Plainfield’s future progress.