Public Works Minutes 2014 01-21-14Page 1 of 3
APPROVED 2/18/14
UNITED CITY OF YORKVILLE
PUBLIC WORKS COMMITTEE
Tuesday, January 21, 2014, 6:00pm
Yorkville City Hall, Conference Room
800 Game Farm Road
IN ATTENDANCE:
Committee Members
Chairman Diane Teeling
Alderman Ken Koch
Alderman Jackie Milschewski
Absent: Alderman Larry Kot
Other City Officials
City Administrator Bart Olson
Public Works Director Eric Dhuse
Engineer Brad Sanderson, EEI
Administrative Intern Jeff Weckbach
Other Guests: None
The meeting was called to order at 6:00pm by Chairman Diane Teeling.
Citizen Comments: None
Previous Meeting Minutes: December 17, 2013
The minutes were approved as presented.
New Business
1. PW 2014-01 Route 71 Sanitary Sewer and Water Main Replacement – Engineering Agreement
This agreement with EEI is for preliminary engineering for the Rte. 71 expansion expected to take 2.5
years. Mr. Olson said it will cost $1 million to move one mile of water main, however, it will not
impact the City's budget until 2016 or 2017. Chairman Teeling asked why 2 engineers (IDOT and the
City) are needed. Mr. Sanderson said the City takes care of the water lines and sewer while IDOT
handles the roadwork. A separate contract is needed since it is not included in the overall contract.
The south end of Rt. 47 at Rte. 71 should be completed by the time Rte. 71 is begun. It was noted there
will also be an improvement project on Rte. 47 coming from Morris starting this year.
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2. PW 2014-02 Windett Ridge – Plat of Easement
Engineer Sanderson said Ryland Homes approached the City to modify some drainage easements on
the final plat. Ryland purchased the property from the original developers and it was determined that
some additional width was needed on the drainage swales. Mr. Sanderson recommended approval and
the committee agreed. This item moves to the Council consent agenda.
3. PW 2014-03 Autumn Creek Units 1A Resubdivision, Unit 1B, Unit 2B, and Unit 2 Acceptance
Acceptance of these units was requested by Autumn Creek since all punchlists and inspections have
been completed. Mr. Sanderson said the agenda packet memo discusses the bond reduction and he
recommended approval. Ms. Teeling asked if the policy had been changed to account for inflation,
however, Autumn Creek was approved prior to the policy change.
4. PW 2014-04 NPDES Annual Report
This annual report is required by IEPA according to Brad. Ms. Teeling asked how the Green
Committee affected this report. Mr. Olson said one component of this permit/report is to change to
“best management practices”. The permit received was created in 2003 and the Green Committee
public education/outreach was part of this. They also maintained minutes and monitored stormwater.
When the committee was disbanded, City staff took over these duties. Brad said certain goals/targets
are identified in the permit, however, not all were met due to economic reasons. Ms. Teeling noted that
Ms. Milschewski served as a key part of the committee and asked if the committee might be formed
again. This agenda item is for information.
5. PW 2014-05 2013 Road to Better Roads Program
a. MFT Funds – Change Order No. 1
b. Non-MFT Funds – Change Order No. 1
Mr. Sanderson said most of the work on the MFT portion is completed and there was a decrease of
$38,986.24 to the contract. This change order is for balancing purposes. For the non-MFT change
order, there is an increase of $13,276.35. This was due to very soft ground on McHugh Rd. which
required extra work/undercutting. Overall this was only a 3% increase to the original project total.
The committee approved these changes.
6. PW 2014-06 Road to Better Roads 5-Year Plan Update
Administrator Olson said there are 2 discussions needed. The first is the FY 2015 plan. In 2015 there
is $2.7 million budgeted for roadwork, sewer and water work. In a previous discussion, it was decided
to proceed, but to not increase water rates 40%. As a result, some road projects had to be omitted,
however, the streets still scheduled to be repaired are Adrian, Heustis and State. (Morgan St. will be
moved to 2016). This resulted in a revised figure of $1.153 million with a water rate increase needed.
Mr. Olson recommended proceeding with engineering for these plans and to determine the costs in the
next 3-4 months. He suggested deciding how much of the project could be finished with the available
funds, rather than incurring a deficit and weakening the bond rating.
Mr. Olson said the the second discussion is to plan for the next 5 years. Funding water and sewer
repairs or issuing bonds must be determined. Mr. Dhuse said one alternative is to “line” the pipes
with a PVC product that can last 50 years. The lining also creates a continuous pipe impervious to
roots. Mr. Sanderson added that many of the pipes are clay and have now outlived their usefulness.
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The committee members discussed the unpopularity of raising City fees for the needed work. Mr.
Olson said the costs can be avoided this year, however, increases will be needed in the future.
Alderman Koch suggested a referendum so that the increase can be written off in taxes. Ms. Teeling
said she feels the citizens will reject a referendum. Mr. Olson pointed out that even though there would
be a tax write-off, there is interest that needs to be paid for borrowing the money. Mr. Koch said he
would like this matter to go before the Council for more opinions. He also inquired if there would be
any grant possibilities and he will check into that further.
Alderman Teeling also said she would like to see the numerous East and West Kendall Rd. water breaks
fixed and road repairs made. Mr. Sanderson suggested a map/graph showing the various watermain
breaks in the City. This map will be compiled and Mr. Dhuse added that 67 breaks were observed in
Countryside. The committee also discussed the area in Alderman Kot's ward that needs major repairs.
Mr. Olson said if the recommendation is adopted and the water rates are raised, there will still be a
deficit in the water fund in addition to the debt service payments already in place.
Chairman Teeling asked if any water infrastructure needs to be built. Mr. Dhuse said there is a well and
treatment facility scheduled for Bristol Bay in 6-7 years. He added that many larger water mains have
already been installed and $15 million was already spent for mandatory radium remediation.
Ms. Milschewski inquired if the costs quoted for street improvements include sidewalk costs. New
sidewalks are included in the figures.
In summary, the committee recommended reducing the number of roads to be repaired in 2015 and
there will be further discussion regarding the 2016 plans.
Old Business:
1. PW2013-62 Subdivision Securities – Reduction Policy
Administrator Olson said the ordinance in the package would codify the direction given by the
committee. It would allow the staff to determine the reduction amount and a report would be submitted
to the Council. This will move forward to the Council for approval.
Additional Business:
Chairman Teeling was contacted by a resident in Blackberry North who requested an “overnight
parking ban” policy. Ms. Milschewski noted a previous attempt for this policy that was met with
resistance. The resident also said a City truck had plowed a residential driveway. Mr. Dhuse said the
plowing was most likely for the lift station at this location. It was noted that Oswego has the overnight
parking ban and it is viewed negatively. In addition, such a ban must be policed. The committee said
they were not in favor of the ban and Ms. Teeling will report back to the citizen.
The treacherous/icy conditions on Heustis were noted by Alderman Milschewski and she asked about
using sand on the street. Mr. Dhuse said it does give some traction, however, it is difficult to remove.
The Main St. hill was also discussed. Ms. Milschewski said Lockport deals well with many hilly
streets and suggested talking with them. However, Mr. Dhuse replied that they use corrosive
chemicals.
There was no further business and the meeting was adjourned at 7:07pm.
Minutes respectfully transcribed by Marlys Young