Milwaukee Avenue Corridor Committee

MILWAUKEE AVENUE CORRIDOR COMMITTEE AUGUST 30, 2019 - MEETING SUMMARY CALL TO ORDER The meeting was called to order by Co-Chair Matyas at 9:05 a.m. ATTENDANCE The following Committee members were in attendance:  Danette Matyas, Village Trustee  Ross Klicker, Economic Development Coordinator  Bob Pilat, Asst. to the Director of Public Works  Tom Powers, Village Engineer  Nathan Bruemmer, (Representing Ron Traub, Senior Planner) Others in attendance were:  Andrew Przybylo, Mayor (intermittently)  Tony Dati, Streets Superintendent  Tim O’Brien, Civil Engineer II APPROVAL OF MEETING SUMMARY A motion was made by Tom Powers, seconded by Ross Klicker, to approve the July 12, 2019 meeting summary notes. The motion carried unanimously. PRIORITIZATION OF STREETSCAPE PROJECTS Bob Pilat explained the next ITEP grant cycle is opening this fall, with applications due in December. Because of the limited funding available, we need to prioritize eligible projects. A listing of possible projects and their associated costs were provided as a handout. This grant cycle Phase I engineering must be completed Phase I to be eligible to apply, and the Village has completed or will complete Phase I engineering on Milwaukee from Monroe to Greenwood, and for projects at the intersection of Milwaukee and Waukegan, and the intersection of Waukegan and Oakton. We can choose to apply for some or all of the projects, reduce the project size to only complete intersections, and increase the match amount provided by the Village. There was back and forth discussion regarding the various projects and items within each project as well as the grant selection process. Items highlighted during discussion. Page 1 of 4  Ross Klicker stated the area on Milwaukee north of Monroe is now in a TIF district and may be able to provide funding. There is no guarantee but we can plan to use the TIF.  The sidewalk north of Golf Road has pedestrian issues if we stay in the right of way.  Bob Pilat asked if there was enough money in the TIF to complete projects and Ross said potentially, however it reduces available funds for other projects.  There was discussion about the Golf Road project and how it relates to the application. It was stated the Golf Road improvement is a separate project. The RTA applied for funding for those improvements.  Ross Klicker said the area north of Golf Road is not a heavily used pedestrian area.  Bob Pilat said he likes the Milwaukee/Waukegan and the Oakton/Waukegan project but he has concerns if the state were to resurface Oakton, are we completing improvements only to have them removed.  Ross said he thought the Milwaukee/Waukegan project gave us a big bang for the buck and does not think we would be throwing money away by completing the project.  Tom Powers said IDOT will be completing projects at Waukegan and Oakton and perhaps we can have them complete the improvements in coordination with their project.  Bob asked if there would be any issue completing just a portion of the project included in the Milwaukee/Waukegan and Oakton/Waukegan Phase I report. Tom said he did not think it would be an issue. There was general discussion this is what was done in the past along Milwaukee Avenue when the Phase I engineering report was completed for Albion to Monroe, and then several projects were completed in phases.  There was general discussion concerning how IDOT scores the various applications. Bob mentioned he believed the Governor’s office provides input in the review process as a number of the last ITEP projects improved were high number of bike path improvements. In addition, there are grant projects just for bike path improvements.  Tom Powers read the eligibility requirements and ranking system used by the State from the ITEP guidelines. Some items that benefit projects are multi-modal project or projects with multiple agencies participating or supporting.  There was consensus about not completing a project from Monroe to Dempster in the residential/cemetery area as that project made limited impact.  Tim O’Brien discussed projects with smaller project costs.  Danette asked why we would invest funding at Dempster and Milwaukee since the area is unappealing. Tony Dati replied that perhaps completing this work would encourage others to make improvements.  Tom Powers mentioned while the state has written criteria, they may have other actual criteria they follow, and that land acquisition might be penalized. Page 2 of 4   Nate Bruemmer said from the grant guidelines the Dempster intersection would be savvy due to the transportation point of view. Tom said it did have good relationships and connectivity.  It was discussed the plaza area at Historical should be eligible but repurposed uses may alter the plan. This would also need Cook County approval.  Bob Pilat said the Phase I requirement may reduce the number of applications as some communities cannot afford to complete the engineering, so we should apply for two or three projects.  Due to the number of pedestrian accidents, Nate recommended to consider something by Golf Mill. It has a PACE component as well. There was consensus completing pedestrian improvements in this area addresses an important issue that has been recently highlighted by the Village and supports requests the Village has made to IDOT.  There was discussion how the Dempster intersection offered limited improvement and how it does not draw people to the location. It was also stated it was not the best use of funds.  Bob discussed our funding level commitment, as we must match at least 20% of the project cost. There was consensus to keep the grant application request for each project under $1 million. After the discussion, Ross Klicker made a motion, seconded by Danette Matyas to apply for funding for the following projects:  Milwaukee Avenue – Maryland Street to Golf Road Streetscape Improvements  Milwaukee Avenue and Waukegan Road Intersection Improvements Motion carried unanimously. Mayor Przybylo returned to the meeting and asked questions relating to past projects and the IDOT selection and scoring process. Bob Pilat provided information and Tom Powers agreed to forward the ITEP guidelines to the Mayor. OLD BUSINESS Crosswalk Demo Project - Milwaukee/Waukegan Tom Powers stated the Milwaukee Avenue and Waukegan Road crosswalk project bids were received and the low bidder was just over $99,000. We had $100,000 budgeted for the project. Engineering is reviewing the bids and if the review is favorable, the item will be on the September Village Board agenda. Page 3 of 4 ITEP VI – Milwaukee from Howard to Jonquil Tom said the pre final plans are complete and we are still shooting for a January letting, however there was an issue obtaining a second easement. It was hoped this would not delay the project. Ross Klicker said the Village was approached regarding redeveloping the Schmeissers area including the parking lot. It was discussed even if this did occur it should not impact the project because most of the work is being completed in the IDOT right-of-way. The parking lot, which was included in the grant application and awarded funding, was deemed ineligible by IDOT once engineering work was underway. NEW BUSINESS There was no new business. No date was set for the next meeting. ADJOURNMENT There being no further business, Danette Matyas made a motion, seconded by Bob Pilat to adjourn the meeting. The motion passed unanimously and the meeting adjourned at 10:00 a.m. Handouts provided at the meeting are attached as part of the meeting minutes. Page 4 of 4