Public Works Committee Minutes 2021 03-16-21Page 1 of 4
APPROVED 4/20/21
UNITED CITY OF YORKVILLE
PUBLIC WORKS COMMITTEE
Tuesday, March 16, 2021, 6:00pm
Yorkville City Hall, Council Chambers
800 Game Farm Road
In accordance with Public Act 101-0640 and Gubernatorial Disaster Proclamation issued by Governor
Pritzker pursuant to the powers vested in the Governor under the Illinois Emergency Management
Agency Act, the United City of Yorkville is encouraging social distancing during the pandemic by
allowing remote attendance for this meeting.
IN ATTENDANCE:
Committee Members
Chairman Joe Plocher , remote Alderman Seaver Tarulis, remote
Alderman Ken Koch, in-person Alderman Chris Funkhouser, remote
Other City Officials
City Administrator Bart Olson, in-person
Assistant City Administrator Erin Willrett, remote
Engineer Brad Sanderson, EEI, in-person
Public Works Director Eric Dhuse, in-person
Other Guests:
Jason Pesola, remote
The meeting was called to order at 6:00pm by Chairman Joe Plocher.
Citizen Comments:
Mr. Pesola thanked the city for everything it does.
Previous Meeting Minutes: February 16, 2021
The minutes were approved as presented.
New Business:
1. PW 2021-08 Snow Operations Report
Mr. Dhuse reported a very busy February and that 3 trucks were down much of the month. He thanked
the crew for the job they did with the equipment available. He will have the year end report next
month. Alderman Funkhouser asked about the salt brine failure and how to mitigate it. Mr. Dhuse
replied a replacement part is on order and the truck will be ready for service next year. Report is
informational.
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2. PW 2021-09 Water Department Reports for September – December 2020 and January 2021
Mr. Dhuse said less water was used in the winter. This is the monthly report for EPA and moves
forward to City Council for approval.
3. PW 2021-10 Road to Better Roads Program – Contract Award
4. PW 2021-11 2021 Road to Better Roads Program – Construction Engineering Agreement
Items 3 and 4 were discussed together. Bids were received and the low bidder was D Construction at
$857,885.67 which is below the budget estimate. About $50,000 of the leftover money will be spent
for striping and crack sealing. EEI will do the construction engineering to complete the work this
summer at a cost of about $66,291.
5. PW 2021-12 Elizabeth Street and Appletree Court Water Main Improvements - Contract Award
6. PW 2021-13 Elizabeth Street and Appletree Court Water Main Improvements – Construction
Engineering Agreement
Eleven bids were received and the low bidder was Stokes Excavating from Rockford at $600,295.12.
Mr. Sanderson recommended awarding the bid to them. The construction engineering agreement is
with EEI for $68,791. Mr. Olson recommended approval.
7. PW 2021-14 Kennedy Road and Mill Road Intersection Improvements Engineering Agreement
This is the last piece of the Mill Rd. project, east of this intersection, and is $51,383 for the engineering
contract and $6,200 direct expense for design engineering from EEI. The job will be put out to bid and
hopefully completed with funds from Grande Reserve.
8. PW 2021-15 Heartland Circle – Plat of Abrogation (1162 Spring Street)
Mr. Sanderson said the property owner wishes to vacate the easement in the rear yard. It is a public
utility easement with no utilities there and drainage is not needed. He recommends approval of the plat
of abrogation which will shrink the easement by 10 feet of the 20-foot easement. Alderman Koch
asked how it might affect the adjacent properties. The request is for a building permit for a pool and
will not affect the nearby lots. This is recommended to move forward.
9. PW 2021-16 Ashley Road Improvements – Status Update
An update of Ashley Rd. projects was given by Mr. Sanderson. He said based on past agreements with
the city and the developer, the agreement was to complete Rt. 126 and Ashley improvements by
November 2021 where Yorkville Christian School will be located. The developer has received the
IDOT permit and is ready to meet that schedule. The city has reviewed and signed off on the plans and
work will be started in June or July. Performance guarantees are in place to insure the work is
completed. The committee was OK with this info.
10. PW 2021-17 Stop Sign Analysis
a. Freemont and Somonauk Streets
b. Heartland Circle
A request was made for stop signs at Freemont and Somonauk. After review of traffic data, it does not
support a 4-way stop, but it was recommended to replace the Freemont yield signs with stop signs. Mr.
Sanderson said equipment to track speed data was used in this location. As a result, a stop sign is
recommended at McHugh right off Rt. 47. The Heartland Circle requests did not meet the criteria for a
stop sign. The committee concurred with the recommendations.
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11. PW 2021-18 2021 EEI Hourly Rate Request
Mr. Olson referred to a memo in the packet in which EEI requests an inflationary increase in their
hourly rate for base level and supplementary contracts. There was no request in 2020. He said the city
supports the request and noted that the city will receive fewer hours. Alderman Funkhouser requested
information regarding how many hours have been reduced from the base contract. Regarding the rates
themselves he asked about the variation of the increase between 3-6% and 33%. Mr. Sanderson said
the 33% increase is for a GIS Tech whose rates were too low based on other similar positions.
12. PW 2021-19 Professional Services Intergovernmental Agreement with Oswego and
Montgomery and Water Study Contribution
Mr. Olson said the city proposes to pay Oswego $58,650.93 and about $4,000 in legal fees for work
being completed on the water study which also benefits Yorkville. Oswego did not ask for
contributions, however, Yorkville did not wish to duplicate services and the city will offset Oswego's
costs. The Mayors have discussed this matter and this item will set up an agreement with Oswego and
Montgomery with each town agreeing to pay the others for services as they see fit. Administrator
Olson is recommending a positive vote for the agreement and the other vote is to approve the
contribution shown above. A special counsel is also being recommended and other expenses will be
forthcoming which will be discussed next month. A supplemental EEI agreement will likely be
necessary also. Land acquisition might also be needed.
13. PW 2021-20 Wyland National Mayor's Challenge for Water Conservation
Ms. Willrett said this is the city's fourth year in the challenge. There is information on social media
and on the website. She said teachers will pick up this information for the classroom. She asked for
approval of the resolution by the City Council and she said a press release will be issued. The
committee agreed with participating in the challenge.
14. PW 2021-21 Sale of Surplus Vehicles
Mr. Dhuse said he wishes to dispose of several vehicles in Public Works. The proposal is to sell or
trade after the replacement vehicles are received. Two of the vehicles are tied to the next agenda item
of a proposed vehicle purchase proposal. The committee members approved this action.
15. PW 2021-22 Public Works Vehicle Proposals
Mr. Olson said the proposal is to buy $680,000 worth of vehicles and equipment as part of a 2021
Budget Amendment or 2022 Budget proposal, plus funds left over from 2021. More impact fees were
received than expected. Mr. Dhuse outlined the desired purchases: tractor for $41,000 and 4-6 week
turnaround time, lawnmower, replacement of wheel loader with 8-12 weeks turnaround, seal coating
machine to do maintenance on trails etc., line sprayer, bucket for leaf pickup for wheel loader and 2
trucks. Two trucks have already been ordered and Mr. Dhuse proposed rehab on two other trucks.
Alderman Funkhouser questioned the seal coating machine, however, Mr. Dhuse said he had done a
time study that reflected a savings of $127,000 for the city being able to do the sealcoating on trails
which have had no sealcoating thus far. Mr. Funkhouser had concerns about adding more tasks to staff.
Mr. Dhuse said that rehabbing the 2007 trucks will add 5-7 more years to the truck lifespan and provide
better resale value. He said it takes 2 years to receive a new truck once ordered. He said the city is
lacking the necessary number of trucks in comparison to other communities.
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In conclusion, Mr. Funkhouser asked for additional information while Mr. Tarulis said equipment is
needed to do the job. Chairman Plocher suggested removing the purchase of a sealcoating machine,
making it a separate item and moving the other items forward.
Old Business: None
Additional Business:
Alderman Koch asked for a discussion on repairing additional streets. Mr. Olson said approximately
$550,000 would be put towards roads yet to be determined. If bids are lucrative, other streets in Fox
Hill will be added to the repair list. He asked the committee which roads they would like to see
repaired and Mr. Dhuse had been asked to draft a list of additional streets that should be repaired.
Estimates and an analysis will be brought to the April meeting. Alderman Funkhouser asked for a total
of the expenditures for Roads to Better Roads as of now and for the summer. Mr. Olson provided that
estimate.
In another matter, Mr. Funkhouser noted that some of the downtown areas have gravel parking spaces
which become muddy and he would like to see them paved. Chairman Plocher agreed.
There was no further business and the meeting adjourned at 7:04pm.
Minutes respectfully transcribed by
Marlys Young, Minute Taker, in-person