Village of Westmont Public Works Committee met July 14.
Here are the minutes as provided by the Committee:
Called to Order: at 4:30 p.m. by Trustee Harold Barry
Present: Mayor Ron Gunter, Trustee Bruce Barker, Trustee Linda Liddle, Trustee Jim Addington, Trustee Harold Barry, Trustee Marie Guzzo, Village Manager Steve May, Finance Director Spencer Parker, Community Development Director Jill Ziegler, Public Works Director Mike Ramsey, Village Engineer Noriel Noriega, Public Works Supervisor Virgil Viscuso, Public Works Foreman Jon Yeater, Police Chief Tom Mulhearn, Guests: Robert Frey, Susan Frey, Geraldine Richter, Albert Bochenek, Jaroslaw Marczyk, Jim Bourke, Nick Schacht.
Pledge of Allegiance
Approval of Minutes: Minutes from 4/28/2016 were approved.
Unfinished Business:
A. Residents were present to discuss the roadway located within the Villas of Birch Point Condos. Manager May gave a brief history with regards to ownership of the roadway between Sunny Meadows and the Birch Point condos. With the easement plats, the ownership of the roadway from dead end of Morning Glory circle running out to Cumnor Rd. along the condos belongs to the condominium association. The condition of the roadway is deteriorating and as this is not village property, the Village will not maintain it as the Village is not the easement holder. If the Village takes over this roadway, the parking lot would need to be maintained by the association. The homeowner’s association is not willing to give up control of the road. An option is to move the parking spots if the Village acquires the roadway to be able to put in sidewalks and repair the road. If the land was dedicated, the Village requires the road is to be improved to code by the association first. The first option is to take the road as is. The second option is to keep the lot as is but improve the road to code. There also is a share option to split the cost to bring the road up to code. Supervisor Noriega stated the road is below standard with a full reconstruction. The lowest cost for minimal reconstruction comes in at $92,000. Manager May discussed the possibility of an special service area being set up for the residents to pay for the repairs should the Village take the roadway as is. Trustee Barry reminded the guests that once the Village takes over the roadway, all decisions regarding the roadway is by way of the Village only and the status of the repair if the Village took the road as is would not be an instant repair as this would need to be budgeted. Manager May will send a letter to the president of the HOA with all topics discussed this evening for a future agenda item. It was decided by the Committee for the residents to go back to their HOA to give the options on the table and decide which option they want to go.
B. Manager May discussed the request from a resident on 61st St. regarding putting in full sidewalks from Cumnor Rd to Fairview Ave. The grant funding program has been unsuccessful as of the past years. When new homes are built, it is a requirement to put in the sidewalk. Existing owners would not have to pay if the Village went forward to put in sidewalks. The design for the project is $15,000. The construction would be about $60,000. With the sidewalks presently there, many drop off into grass when the new homes are built. The Village does not have funding to maintain the sidewalk on the south side of 61st St., so budgetary constraints may be in place. The example of Adams St. in Newfield Manor was discussed as the bus stop on the SW corner of Adams St. and 57th St. does not have sidewalks and the children stand in the street waiting for the bus. The Village needs to prioritize the places that need sidewalks. Finance Director Parker said a special assessment can be put in place to charge the residents without sidewalks. It was decided to move forward with a plan of designing the sidewalk and put a special assessment in place.
C. Director Ramsey presented the Committee with a powerpoint presentation describing the need for a new Public Works facility. He brought up the main goals of acquiring more space, combining Water, Streets, and possibly Community Development, and moving out of residential areas. In the upcoming weeks, there will be site visits to other Public Works facilities.
D. Residents from Linden Ave. and Norfolk St. expressed concern with the flooding issues in that area and noted the amount of money budgeted for stormwater management. The Village is currently in design engineering for putting in a detention basin in the area across the street just north. There are still talks going on with Manning School for acquiring property. The construction will not begin until at least 2017.
New Business:
A. Multiple stop sign requests have been made to the Village for putting in four way stops. The police department has run traffic tests to see if the areas of concern meet standards to put in a four way stop. The intersection of Wilmette Ave. and Irving St. did not meet these standards. The intersection of Washington St. and Chicago Ave. also did not warrant a four way stop sign. The final intersection at 61st St. and Western Ave. did not meet the standards either. B. Manager May brought up the concern with parking around Ty Warner park as the parking was switched to the inside of the roads. There was talk of putting in a bike path along Blackhawk Dr. and Chestnut Ave. as it is part of the designated bike route. Various options can be done with medians in the middle as well. A parking lot could be put in as well. There is an increased demand with the People’s Resource Center. Parking will not be banned on Chestnut. C. The property owner for 6101 S. Cass Ave. is being sought after by the Village. This development will be used for stormwater management. There is another property owned by the same owners the Village is interested in. The property falls within the TIF district. The properties can be bundled and bought by the Village. D. The committee went outside to look at three different examples of what can be put in the alleys with the alley reconstruction project. The committee decided based on the most aesthetically pleasing and following the theme with the red bricks in the CBD. Upon returning, Supervisor Noriega updated the committee members with numbers from the bid with just the pervious concrete in the alleys. Adding the pavers adds an additional $250,000 for the project, with R.W. Dunteman coming in as the low bidder. Trustee Barry had concern about lack of funding for sidewalks yet increasing the project for the alleys by $250,000 for pavers. The committee decided to keep the pavers with the increase.
Reports: Chairperson:
1. Trustee Barry wanted to thank all the Public Works employees for their hard work with the Taste of Westmont.
Public Works Director:
1. East Richmond water main replacement starts on Monday
2. Mobilelite towers is looking to put up small towers throughout the town. The proposal is in the beginning phases and the Village is looking to see what other municipalities are doing
3. A press release will be going out soon to answer any lead questions. All schools will be tested by the Village once a year. If lead is found, remediation will need to happen. Meeting motioned to adjourn at 7:16 p.m. by Bruce Barker: all in favor.
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