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HomeMy WebLinkAboutPublic Works Committee Minutes 2026 06-16-26APPROVED 7/21/26 Page 1 of 3 UNITED CITY OF YORKVILLE PUBLIC WORKS COMMITTEE Tuesday, June 16, 2026, 6:00pm Yorkville City Hall, East Conference Room #337 651 Prairie Pointe Drive, Yorkville, IL IN ATTENDANCE: Committee Members Chairman Craig Soling Alderman Rusty Corneils Alderman Dan Transier Alderman Joe Plocher Other City Officials City Administrator Bart Olson Assistant Public Works Director John Sleezer Engineer Brad Sanderson, EEI Administrative Intern John Burner Other Guests: Dave Hubert, Fox Highlands The meeting was called to order at 6:00pm by Chairman Craig Soling. Citizen Comments: Guest Mr. Dave Hubert said he had attended a previous Public Works meeting and also followed the water study. He said the updated study seems to focus on the last 5 years and 100 million cubic feet of water have been pumped since then and 60 million cubic feet of that was wasted water. He said it seems the more good work intended by replacing infrastructure, the more leaks occur. He sees no conclusion that this is a temporary situation and that it would return to the 10% loss for the 10 years prior to 2021. He said it is negligible to blame the software for the loss of water and that is the problem that needs to be addressed. Previous Meeting Minutes: May 19, 2026 The minutes were approved as presented. New Business: 1. PW 2026-50 Solid Waste RFP Contract Mr. Burner drafted a memo and RFP which is based on what the city did 5 years ago and it resulted in the Groot contract currently in effect. Reductions in costs have occurred as a result of going to RFPs. The issue last contract term was the transition plan and material shortages during Covid and as a result, the city will ask for more information to ensure a smooth transition if haulers are changed. Approval is not needed for an RFP, however, Mr. Olson said they are requesting the committee to concur to go to bid. Bids would be due in September or October and the contract expires in April of 2027. Mr. Burner added the 2 big changes were the transition plan and inclusion of a competency section to safeguard that the next provider can adequately serve the city. This moves to the consent agenda with committee approval. 2. PW 2026-51 Skid Steer Purchase Mr. Sleezer said old equipment was traded in 4 or 5 years ago for a miniature loader. They wish to add a skidsteer back in the fleet for work that cannot be done with the loader and it will help with water main breaks and snowplowing. It is a Sourcewell bid. He said it has tires rather than tracks and the tires are beneficial for roadwork. Alderman Corneils asked if additional attachments would be needed, however, existing ones will fit the machine. This will move to the City Council regular agenda. Page 2 of 3 3. PW 2026-52 Water Main Replacement Project Plan – Engineering Agreement This agreement is with EEI to update a multi-year water plan with IEPA which makes the city eligible for low interest loans for future water projects. This has been beneficial in the past with several million dollars worth of loans as well as the Lake Michigan Water project. The cost is within staff authority to initiate, however, Mr. Olson said staff wants to make Aldermen aware and it is also a cost outside the $25,000 EEI limit. This moves to the consent agenda with committee approval. 4. PW 2026-53 Public Works Fiscal Year 2027 Trucks Purchase and Disposal of Property Mr. Sleezer said these are two 2016, one ton dump trucks that need to be replaced and will be auctioned by a company in Morris. They are on a 10-year replacement schedule. The new trucks will be equipped to plow snow. Alderman Corneils asked if there are alternate vendors. Mr. Sleezer said it is a Sourcewell contract which was budgeted and they have had the best prices. This will move to the City Council agenda 5. PW 2026-54 Water Audit and Non-Revenue Water Reduction Update Engineer Brad Sanderson gave a slide presentation regarding the water audit. He said the following points would be addressed: non revenue reduction plan, dual metric analysis, and general status of allocation. He said the numbers had risen to over 19% non-revenue water loss for “water year” 2024-2025, up from 14%. A large amount of water main was installed in that time, much greater than past years, which takes a large amount of water to flush and refill the mains. There was also an increase in breaks and leaks which are due to pressure and surges which puts stress on old pipes. Mr. Plocher commented that in his work experience where pipes were replaced, pressure in other areas caused water mains to burst due to opening/closing valves. One large water main break was in Wildwood in 2025 due to corroded pipe which all needs to be replaced. Mr. Sanderson showed a map of the water main breaks and IDNR wants any pipe installed before 1980, to be replaced. He gave an example of one industrial meter that was replaced and showed a significant change in water use. It is believed there are other situations like this, as well as in residential. He said an annual leak detection study is done by a 3rd party. He noted Joliet water losses are also not decreasing while they are replacing pipe. A Non -Revenue Water Reduction Plan was prepared for IDNR and it indicated water losses over 10%. Regarding Dual Metric Analysis, there has been discussion of the 10% threshhold and where it originated. There has been a push by AWWA to use different parameters to study water loss and IDNR is engaging in similar discussions with other communities having difficulty getting below the 10%. IDNR will follow up with the city. Mr. Sanderson highlighted the action the city is taking: a water loss team meets regularly to address the concerns, education program, staff has converted unbilled water use to billed use and ordinances have been passed to accomplish this. There is also an monitoring system to account for non-metered water for the fire district for flushing hydrants, construction, etc. Also being done is water meter replacement that should be finished by end of September, billing software has been reviewed and preliminary findings should be available next week, enforcement of illegal water use and 5 miles of water main has been replaced and more is scheduled for after July 4. Staff discussed setting up district metering areas where flow can be monitored in and out of pressure zones to discover possible leaks. This involves software and monitoring. Mr. Sanderson suggested setting up a meeting to pursue this. For the Allocation Permit, IDNR has stated the final water order needs to be submitted in January 2028 before the DWC water connection. Mr. Sanderson answered several committee questions: 1. The city is focused on the highest water users first for meter replacement. 2. The remainder of the water meters needing replacing will need an appointment. 3. When we do this tracking, we are able to cross reference with what we are pumping. Master meters help track at water treatment plant and help find areas of water losses, though not pinpoint them. Page 3 of 3 4. If we form water districts, it would take a couple weeks to set it up. Software must be purchased and we already have pressure zones. 5. Substantial gains in water losses should be seen after all meters are replaced. 6. The lifespan of meters is 10-15 years. 7. Other communities exceed the 10% threshhold, without penalty from DWC. Guest Mr. Hubert asked about the water loss percentages for other towns comparable to Yorkville. 6. PW 2026-55 Mowing and Grass Fines - Discussion Chairman Soling said this item was discussed previously. He would like to see the fines raised and be more stringent. Complaints have been received about both of the Walgreens and their tall grass. Mr. Olson said the mowing fines are minimum $75 and maximum $50,000, set by statute. There are 2 ways to address it-- by a minimum fine for commercial properties or ask the prosecutor to ask for a higher fine. Minimum fines can be different for commercial vs. residential. Mr. Soling asked if there is a better compliance method since Walgreens seems to ignore the issue. Code officials speak with all violators frequently. Mr. Soling said he would like to start with asking for higher fines, however, Mr. Transier said the city cannot instruct the Hearing Officer what fine to assess, but they should be advised of repeat offenders and can order it mowed. Mr. Corneils said he agreed with the initial step of higher fines. Old Business: 1. PW 2026-49 Kennedy Road and Freedom Place Intersection Improvements Mr. Olson said this item was discussed at City Council and Alderman were debating between option 1 to remove 13 trees and improvement cost of $790,000 and the 3rd option to remove 5 trees, improvement cost of $945,000 and install a guard rail—leaving more of the trees in the clear zone. Mr. Sanderson had drafted a memo regarding the engineering design considerations. Alderman Plocher opined that the guard rail is a liability and the trees would not be saved. He would like replacement trees planted elsewhere. Chairman Soling disagreed, saying that 90% of the city is not in compliance. He added he would like to save as many trees as possible and hitting the guard rail would be better than hitting the trees. Mr. Sanderson said a guard rail does not need to be installed, but 5 trees would have to come out. Mr. Soling asked if there is any type of grandfather clause since the trees have been in place much longer than the road. Mr. Sanderson said the intersection improvements are the trigger factor for the rules about the trees. Mr. Olson added that Kramer Tree Specialists did an assessment of the trees. A specialized company who reviewed Kramer's report had concerns because of the tree decay and the roots are intertwined. Intertwined trees can be moved, however, it is very intensive. It would be $200,000 to move 4 trees. Alderman Transier asked if the money for the guard rail would be from Grande Reserve. Mr. Olson said a policy would need to be made and currently there is a tranche of money for improvements from Grande Reserve. Mr. Transier said if the city is not in compliance, they open themselves to litigation, so he favors option 1. Alderman Soling said Mr. Funkhouser is also in favor of the guard rail. Mr. Plocher said he would change his position to move this issue out of committee. This will move forward to City Council on July 14th. Additional Business: Alderman Corneils said motorists ignore the stop sign at Countryside Parkway and Center Parkway to cut through the subdivision and residents have asked for a flashing stop sign. Mr. Sleezer noted they are expensive and unfortunately motorists still don't stop. Alderman Plocher suggested asking the police to monitor which they already have. Mr. Olson noted speed studies have been done and it has not warranted a 4-way stop, so enforcement is a good plan. There was no further business and the meeting adjourned at 7:08pm. Minutes respectfully transcribed by Marlys Young, Minute Taker