Public Works Minutes 2014 07-15-14Page 1 of 5
APPROVED 8/19/14
UNITED CITY OF YORKVILLE
PUBLIC WORKS COMMITTEE
Tuesday, July 15, 2014, 6:00pm
Yorkville City Hall, Conference Room
800 Game Farm Road
IN ATTENDANCE:
Committee Members
Vice-Chairman Larry Kot
Alderman Jackie Milschewski
Alderman Ken Koch
Alderman Diane Teeling (arr. 6:10pm)
Other City Officials
City Administrator Bart Olson
Public Works Director Eric Dhuse
Engineer Brad Sanderson, EEI
Alderman Chris Funkhouser
Other Guests:
Tony Scott, Kendall County Record
The meeting was called to order at 6:05pm by Vice-Chairman Larry Kot
Citizen Comments: None
Previous Meeting Minutes: May 20, 2014
The minutes were approved as presented.
New Business:
1. PW 2014-48 Water Department Reports for March and April 2014
Mr. Dhuse said both reports reflect watermain breaks, one due to the Rte. 47 construction. More water
usage is reflected in April when flushing is done. No further action.
2. PW 2014-49 Road to Better Roads - Update
Brad Sanderson described the road projects for this year. Heustis will start in early August and finish in
November. Bids have been taken for State and Adrian, starting early August and finishing in
September. MFT projects will go to bid in August, start in September and be done in October. The
Cannonball LAFO project will begin in late August and be done in October. No further action.
3. PW 2014-50 Sewer Cleaning Machine (Vac Truck) – RFP Results
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Mr. Dhuse said there were 3 bids for this machine and EJ Equipment was cheaper by $31,000,
however, over what was budgeted by $20,393. He said Finance Director Fredrickson indicated there
was money in the sewer budget for this purchase. Mr. Olson said this budget is at 108% and is
proposed to be spent down each year. The machine will be received in November or December and the
old machine will be traded in for $110,000. The committee was OK with this purchase and it will
move forward to the Council consent agenda.
4. PW 2014-51 Heustis Street Improvements – Bid Opening Results
Six companies bid on this job according to Mr. Sanderson. Additional improvements will be able to be
added to this project which will include Heustis from Orange to Fox and small portions of Mill and
Washington. Low bidder was D Construction at $479,934.70 and Brad recommended awarding the bid
to them. Alderman Milschewski asked about tree removal on Heustis. Letters were sent to
homeowners with only one response. Two trees will be saved and residents will be offered a tree for
their front yard. She also said cobblestones are showing on Heustis—these will be removed and
repurposed. Alderman Kot commented that he liked being able to add on to projects when it is
financially responsible such as this project that ties in with Rt. 47. This moves forward to the Council
consent agenda.
5. PW 2014-52 State Street Sanitary Sewer and Adrian Street Water Main and Drainage
Improvements – Bid Opening Results
Bids were let and this project will fix watermain issues on Blaine and Adrian and the State St. sanitary
sewer will be replaced. Some drainage work will be done as well. Bids came in higher than
anticipated due to a short window to complete ahead of Rt. 47 paving this fall. Alderman Kot asked
how this could be avoided. Mr. Sanderson said sometimes it is unavoidable. Longer range planning
can now be done with a more stable budget said Mr. Olson. S & K was the low bidder at $322,871 and
they are recommended. The State St. project will start at Washington and go to Ridge. Alderman Kot
said there is no storm sewer in that part of town and he asked if the City had ever gotten a price as this
would be the time to add this. Brad said he looked at it last spring and the cost to do the project was
very large. More stone will be put in the ground to help drain the water, said Mr. Dhuse. The storm
drains in place are very shallow and City personnel have been monitoring this very carefully. This item
moves to the Council consent agenda.
6. PW 2014-53 Cannonball Trail and Route 47 Improvements – Change Order No. 1
Geneva Construction submitted a request for a wage rate increase that occurred during the project.
This project was awarded in February 2012 to be built that year. It did not start until May/June 2013
due to utility moves needed. They are seeking compensation for the wage increases that took place in
the amount of $13,581.04. These requests have occurred before and Mr. Sanderson recommended
approval. Mr. Olson noted this is funded entirely by Kendall Marketplace bond proceeds. He also said
this matter was not brought forward previously as a result of staff turnover/transitions at H.R. Green.
Alderman Teeling asked why the utility moves were delayed. Brad explained that it was utility
company schedule backlogs. This item moves to Council consent agenda.
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7. PW 2014-54 Pond Naturalization
a. Sunflower Estates
b. Greenbriar
Mr. Olson said these are 2 separate projects now with a possibility of combining the two. However,
Sunflower Estates HOA will pay for their project while the City pays for Greenbriar from the Capital
Fund. That is not budgeted now and either a budget amendment must be done or the project must be
delayed. He said it is best to complete the project this year.
Alderman Koch said he would like to see the project done toward the end of this year as residents are
upset that the problem has not been fixed and that they must pay for it. Mr. Sanderson gave an update
on the ongoing issue and said easements are being obtained, plans are being finalized and bids will be
done for the expansion. Brad will send completion dates to Mr. Koch. Mr. Olson asked if the plans
can be done concurrently to best utilize equipment. Mr. Koch would like the flooding project
completed first. If combined, the projects will not be fixed completely until next spring.
Notification letters to residents will be sent when the project is going to bid and will ask for any
concerns. After the bids are received, the project will be reviewed again. This will move forward to
the Council consent agenda.
8. PW 2014-55 Illinois Economic Development Program Agreement - Wrigley
This is one of four agreements and is needed to secure State funds. The State will provide 100%
funding for the entrance improvements. H. R. Green is being used by Wrigley for an engineering
agreement and to coordinate early estimates. An engineering agreement will be requested from EEI as
well and it will be determined which firm will be used for future work.
The improvements being done are a full traffic signal, 4 “legs” and is 95% front-funded.
Recommendation for approval of the grant agreement is needed from this committee. Alderman Koch
asked if the front-funding goes into the City budget for a short time and then is paid out next year. Mr.
Olson will check with the Finance Director. Alderman Kot also asked if the money might be delayed
due to the State's slow bill paying, however, Mr. Olson said the money is awarded at time of grant
approval. He said that the money could be delayed if Congress delays action on the Highway Trust
Fund for funding highway projects.
This matter will go to regular agenda for some further discussion.
9. PW 2014-56 Blackberry Woods Subdivision Improvement Status - Update
It had been previously suggested to call the Letter of Credit, however, Mr. Sanderson said he had a
meeting on this date (July 15) with the developer and some of the punchlist work will be started.
Landscaping is still questionable, but he recommends not calling the Letter at this time. Alderman
Funkhouser suggested that this be brought back to Council if no action occurs within a month.
10. PW 2014-57 Residential Street Parking
a. Restrictions in Street Parking near City Parks
b. Restrictions on Street Parking throughout City
Alderman Funkhouser asked to have this item on the agenda. He said parking restrictions come up
repeatedly and he would like to be proactive and have restrictions in all parks. Most requests come
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from the parks with baseball fields. Alderman Koch would like to see a roadway put in toward the
back of the park at Whispering Meadows to help the parking situation. Mr. Funkhouser said he would
like to see a dedicated parking lot at each park. Ms. Milschewski asked how it would be addressed
when there are special events downtown and parking occurs on Heustis. She said the posted signs were
removed at the last event.
Mr. Olson asked if the City should study the parking near all parks to be proactive. Alderman Kot
would like to be proactive, however, he questioned if it should be handled by Public Safety. He said
the Police Department may have information regarding enforcement issues. They have been providing
input according to Mr. Olson. He replied that recently it has been discussed at Public Works since it
deals with streets.
Mr. Funkhouser said his plan would entail a study of all parks first and determining if restrictions are
needed. Alderman Kot said his main concern is that emergency vehicles can get through.
Mr. Funkhouser noted there are many narrow streets in the older part of town and he would like
restrictions on one side, suggesting that it be on the hydrant side. He also said the cul-de-sacs or higher
density areas might not be suitable for restrictions.
Ms. Teeling said she has had only one issue with parking restrictions since becoming an Alderman. Mr.
Koch said Windett was brought to his attention and temporary restrictions are in place during
construction.
Much of the information needed is available from the road study according to Mr. Dhuse. He said his
staff could look at a list of street widths and curbs. Pulling this information would be relatively easy he
said and the study is estimated to take about 3-4 months. He added that parking on one side would be
valuable, especially for snowplowing. However, Ms. Teeling said she would prefer a case-by-case
study and Mr. Kot concurred. He also requested input from the Fire Department.
It was recommended to move forward with a study, obtain preliminary information from the road study
and bring it back to this committee to determine if there are problem areas. Fire and police department
input will be encouraged as well.
Old Business:
1. PW2014-37, CC 2014-59 and CC 2014-60 Parking Restrictions - Update
Mr. Olson said no notices had been sent out yet, but they should be ready for August.
2. PW 2014-41 Route 71 Improvements (Route 47 to Route 126) – Update
IDOT has delayed this project by two calendar years, but will begin in Spring of 2016. The cause of
the delay is not known. Mr. Olson briefly discussed how this would affect future budgets. He said the
City can now choose which projects to do and water rates can be reassessed, however, construction
costs could rise. He said 27% of the water rate increase was based on this project. Regarding the
City's request for a 10-year payback, he said the State instructed him to put this in writing, but a quick
response is not anticipated. Alderman Milschewski asked if the City could put these water funds aside
for this project and Mr. Olson will ask Mr. Fredrickson to dedicate these funds. Alderman Kot asked if
a letter could be written to ask for a further delay, however, Mr. Olson said the project could become
disjointed from the Oswego project. Alderman Teeling commented that with a retail study it might be
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appealing to potential residents to have this project done. This is informational at this time.
Additional Business:
Mr. Sanderson updated the committee on Caledonia and said some punchlist work has been done with
more anticipated in August. No contract has been signed yet for the concrete and asphalt work, so he
recommended bringing this back to either Council or Public Works.
Alderman Teeling asked about the progress of the downtown parking lot. The stairs are done and the
railing has to be modified. The parking lot is open and only minor items remain to be done. Alderman
Funkhouser questioned the perimeter fence and Mr. Dhuse said it will be mounted down shortly.
Alderman Milschewski questioned the sidewalk wall on Rt. 47 downtown. A fence will be mounted on
top of the wall and a traffic mast arm will be installed which will help protect the corner with the
Ingemunson building.
As a reminder, Ms. Milschewski asked Public Works to check for placement of signs on Heustis prior
to events. She also noted that the business CrossFit had an event on the weekend and related parking
spilled out around the area. It was noted it was on the same weekend as the Ribfest. It was estimated
100-200 people attended the CrossFit event. They will be asked to inform the City of future events.
In another matter, Alderman Funkhouser inquired as to the trees in the parkway by Menards and on
McHugh and whose obligation they are for trimming. They are the City's responsibility and were
trimmed 3 years ago. Mr. Dhuse said his staff has been tied up removing trees affected by ash borers.
Even though seasonal people are assisting with the removal, time has been a factor, but they will do the
work needed. Ms. Milschewski also said a tree on Heustis is growing into the guide wires and Mr.
Dhuse will inspect it.
The recently installed railroad crossing gates are permanent and there will be a concrete median to
prevent certain turns.
Alderman Kot asked what caused the recent flooding at Somonauk and Rt. 47. Mr. Dhuse explained
that the new storm sewer was not installed yet. New inlets have been installed and some minor
flooding might still occur there.
A map of lightning detectors in the parks was requested by Alderman Kot. He said two weeks ago,
coaches did not know what the sirens meant. It was noted the Riverfront siren does not work at this
time. Mr. Funkhouser said the sirens are not tied in with one another, except for 2 of them. He asked
if a sign could be placed by the sirens explaining what they are and the signal that is activated. Eric
noted that in-depth instruction is given to coaches in the Spring. Alderman Koch noted that the siren
activations are triggered by conditions of the atmosphere. Alderman Kot wants this subject brought
back to committee along with a map, to determine if any areas are unprotected. Parks and Rec now
manages the detectors and they are trying to set up a monthly check with the installing company. Eric
will research the life expectancy of the devices.
There was no further business and the meeting was adjourned at 7:32pm.
Minutes respectfully transcribed by Marlys Young