Naperville City Council Meeting Summary - October 21, 2025

The Naperville City Council convened on October 21, 2025, to address a range of municipal matters including the consent agenda, public safety updates, infrastructure progress, and new business regarding the SECA grant program. The meeting featured public testimony from community groups concerning senior services, SECA fund eligibility criteria, and data center planning. Council members engaged in detailed discussions regarding the fairness of food and beverage tax expansions and the historical evolution of SECA allocations, ultimately directing staff to prepare a report for future deliberation.

Consent Calendar

• Approved the omnibus payment of September cash disbursements totaling $45,995,871.27.
• Approved the minutes of the October 7, 2025, regular council meeting and the schedule for October, November, and December 2025.
• Received the year-to-date budget report through September 30, 2025.
• Awarded bids for job order contracting services (McDonough Demolition, Anchor Mechanical, Pacific Construction Services, SMB Contracting) for a two-year term.
• Awarded a bid for medium/heavy-duty truck repairs to DNA Powertrain Corporation (up to $230,000, two-year term).
• Approved sidewalk improvements with Triggy Construction (up to $309,343 plus 5% contingency).
• Awarded cooperative procurements for roadway salt (Morton Salt/Compass Materials/Minerals America) and electric utility meters (Wesco).
• Exercised option year one for building maintenance services with JP Superior Cleaning (up to $307,505).
• Exercised option year two for electric utility transformer reconditioning with Emerald Transformer (up to $90,000).
• Approved change order number two for security camera maintenance with Pay Systems (up to $200,000 plus 12 months).
• Passed ordinances establishing Special Service Area Number 36, approving variances for a fitness studio and ground sign, and amending the owner's acknowledgment for the Heinz Deal Road resubdivision.
• Actioned separately: Received staff report for the Residences at Naper and Plank (8-1). Passed ordinances approving the final plat and planned unit development plat for the same project (8-1).

Public Comments & Testimony

• David Halleck (Naperville Senior Task Force): Presented an overview of the Task Force's activities, including Silver CPR training for seniors (200 participants last year), dementia care support groups, diabetic screenings, and the upcoming Golden Age Summit. Councilman White expressed personal support for parking accommodations for seniors and disabled residents but noted this is outside the Task Force's official sphere; the Mayor requested the police department explore cybercrime awareness training for seniors, which Mr. Halleck confirmed is not currently part of the police partnership.
• Sam Entel: Expressed strong support for the city's right to evaluate an organization's general activities before awarding SECA funds, arguing that funds are fungible and inherently support the organization's broader mission and branding. Mr. Entel stated it is an "untenable position" to claim an event is isolated from the group it markets.
• Ted Burlard (NEST): Expressed concern regarding Keras's revised 36-megawatt data center proposal, noting it exceeds 10% of Naperville's peak demand. Mr. Burlard highlighted unanswered questions regarding greenhouse gas emissions and electricity rates, recommending a six-month pause on data center consideration until the city's electricity contract (IMA) is settled.
• Councilman Holzhauser: Provided information that Naperville Township is accepting applications for grants for mental health services, including Dementia Friendly Naperville. Also noted that the Metropolitan Mayors Caucus is forming a task force on data centers, but no guidelines have been published yet.
• Councilman McBroom: Expressed disappointment regarding "passive aggressive" criticisms of his scrutiny on SECA and NEST, urging for open, honest dialogue without personal attacks.
• Councilman White: Expressed concern about politicized speech at SECA events, agreeing that politics should be kept off the stage while cautioning against conflating individual opinions of attendees with official organizational stances.

Discussion Items

• Food and Beverage Tax (Item I-13):

  • Mayor Worley proposed amending the ordinance to include drive-through concepts and food trucks that operate like permanent restaurants, arguing it is unfair for mobile vendors to compete with brick-and-mortar establishments that already pay real estate taxes and food taxes.
  • Councilman Wilson expressed discomfort with adding new revenue streams without a clear plan to reduce the existing tax or knowing the revenue potential.
  • Councilman Kelly supported equity for drive-throughs but raised concerns about the logistics of taxing transient food trucks; suggested a review of thresholds for trucks based in Naperville versus those attending festivals.
  • Councilman McBroom stated he could not support the item because he has "issues with how the food and beverage tax is being spent right now" and does not want to add more money to that pot.
  • Councilman Gibson supported including food trucks but noted the inconsistency of excluding them at festivals while including them as permanent locations; she recommended applying the tax to both.
  • Finance Director Munch indicated that different communities have varying approaches to food trucks and that research is ongoing.
  • Outcome: The item was not voted on for final adoption; the Council agreed to bring back options to include food trucks for future consideration.

• New Business: SECA Program Review (M1):

  • Councilman McBroom requested a public workshop and staff report to review the SECA program's history, intent, and allocation practices, citing concerns over conflicts of interest, political activities of grantees, and the program's growth beyond its original scope since its 2004 inception.
  • Councilman White acknowledged concerns about politicization but defended the program's essential role in funding community art (e.g., Max's Mission) and mental health services, noting that nonprofits often fill gaps government cannot.
  • Councilwoman Jane expressed support for efficiency but requested specific guidance on which aspects of the program to review, noting the difficulty of the current application process has historically helped organizations refine their proposals.
  • Councilman Sayed (representing SECA Commissioners) highlighted that applicants feel the process is too strict but also that commissioners are frustrated when organizations inflate budgets for negotiation.
  • Councilman Gibson clarified that the discussion is focused on SECA allocations, not the food and beverage tax generally.
  • City Manager Krieger and Councilman Holzhauser (listing permanent recipients: Naperville Band, Riverwalk maintenance, NDP Food Guide) contributed to the discussion. The City Manager suggested a staff report as a first step to seed feedback before a workshop.
  • Consensus: The Council supported directing staff to produce a report on the history of the SECA program, including permanent recipients and timeline events, to inform a future workshop. The timeline for the workshop was estimated for Q1 2026, after budget season.

Key Outcomes

• Consent Agenda: Approved 9-0 with items I-13, 14, 15, and 16 removed.
• Item I-14, I-15, I-16 (Naper & Plank): Received staff report and approved final plats for Residences at Naper and Plank (8-1, Councilman Wilson opposed).
• Item I-13 (Food Tax): Item pulled to consider including food trucks; staff instructed to research thresholds and bring back options for a future meeting.
• New Business (SECA): Council directed staff to prepare a report on the history, permanent allocations, and evolution of the SECA program to support a future workshop (8 hands in support for the report); workshop expected in Q1 2026.
• Adjournment: Meeting adjourned.