Stormwater Commission

STORMWATER COMMISSION MEETING SUMMARY January 20, 2015 The following persons were present: Chair Joe LoVerde, Fred Kudert, Steve Vinezeano, Mary Anderson, Mousa Nazzal, Jack Grana, Chuck Ostman, Richard Wlodarski, Andrew Vitale, Jeff Wickenkamp from Hey & Associates, resident Marcin Groholo, resident Louella Preston, Igor Studenkov from Niles Herald-Spectator. The meeting was called to order at 8:30 a.m. I. Approve Meeting Summary from October 2, 2014 – Summary was approved and to be posted on the Stormwater Commission webpage. II. Old Business – Review of Neighbor Concerns from 8700 block of Merrill - Steve Vinezeano noted that the Mayor met with residents of the 8700 block Merrill regarding stormwater concerns after the last Commission meeting, with those concerns noted to Jeff Wickenkamp from Hey & Associates for further review and input. Jeff Wickenkamp indicated that he was requested to look at restrictors in this area, which is part of the East Side Core Study Area. There were no restrictors identified just traps in the CSO area. This was identified as one of the 28 problem areas but not prioritized for work as there were no houses directly impacted by flooding here. Crain and Ozanam is the main location of flooding – especially east on Crain and south on Ozanam. There is a large sewer system at the upstream end of this system with a depressional area. The downstream neighborhood floods during heavy rains. Mr. Marcin Groholo, 8718 Merrill, identified his ongoing concerns with street flooding that is creeping closer to his and neighbors’ homes in the area. The Village has been cleaning and maintained the storm pipes in this area, but the 8” storm ultimately drains to a 12” combined system. The storm system here cannot be enlarged without creating sewer back- ups for homes downstream that are served by the combined system. There is a catch basin in Mr. Groholo’s rear yard that he replaced within the last 4-5 years, but there is a missing section between the yard and the street that has not been replaced and he does not want to do that until the Village takes additional action to enlarge the sewer in the area. Water stands in the street and the yard for up to 3 hours after the rains cease. Steve indicated that he needs to consider the cost sharing program to address this as it will be many years before this area may be prioritized for major storm system construction. A. Flood Control Assistance Update – Rich Wlodarski reviewed the program results to date - $1.8 million in funding has been made available and $1.319 million of that amount has been reimbursed. There are 13 residents who submitted for reimbursement as of the date of the meeting that have not yet been reimbursed, and another 21 residents who have been permitted for work but not yet completed the repairs. The estimated reimbursements due as of 1/20/15 are $1.453 million. Also, 63 residents have been sent certified final notices that work must be completed by March 1 and completed by April 30 to be eligible for reimbursements of $252,000. Andrew Vitale indicated 619 total flood control measures installed since 2009. There was also a discussion of the amount of funding to be requested for the FY2016 budget, with the recommendation to Finance to be $350,000. Attachment 1 summarizes the program work to date. B. Capital Projects Improvements Update – a. Cleveland Corridor Sewer Improvements - Jeff , Moses and Mary updated the status of project design and funding. The project is in the final stages, but reviews are still underway with IDOT and MWRD and IEPA. Jeff noted that the Village suggested changes for a collector sanitary sewer to be added along Cleveland between Waukegan and New Castle that will benefit the Village and the homeowners. Additional permit requirement from MWRD for the sewer, and MWRD incorrectly reviewed the plans based on new ordinance. There had already been agreement with MWRD that the Cleveland project was exempted from new requirements, so a second review under the old program was being completed. Once the comments are received from the reviewing agencies, the plans will be finalized. Bidding can proceed while awaiting final sign-offs from reviewing entities, but Jeff noted that there is a risk of putting bids out too early and then having a major addendum. Steve noted that the Intergovernmental Agreement with MWRD would be presented to the Board of Trustees at the February meeting. Chair LoVerde expressed concern that the project bidding has been delayed and that the residents need to be apprised as to when work will realistically be underway, rather than promising residents it will be started earlier. The target continues to be bidding in Spring 2015 and construction to begin shortly thereafter. Phasing of project construction was also discussed, as work is anticipated to be completed over two construction seasons based on the expansive scope. b. Closeout for Maryhill and Our Lady of Ransom – Projects are completed except for punchlist items that will carryover into the spring. Both will be  under-budget – Maryhill about $70,000 and Our Lady of Ransom approximately $200,000 under budget. c. Oak Park Bio-Swale – Project is included in the FY16 budget. In addition to possible IGIG funding, the Village has submitted for an additional up to $10,000 Canadian ($8400 US) funding. C. Other Small Stormwater Projects Analysis – Jeff opened the presentation by noting there were a number of small stormwater projects that were being evaluated in 2014 and were prioritized by Hey & Associates based on two criteria – the severity of flooding in the area and the benefit achieved by the projects. He also stated that there were two drainage studies underway within IDOT that impacted neighborhoods in Niles. The first is the Dempster Street drainage study that could potentially impact the Chesterfield area. Jeff stated that IDOT was asked to insure that correcting Dempster drainage problems would not worsen, and might even incorporate benefits, for Chesterfield. A second analysis is for Prairie Farmer’s Creek in relation to flooding in Park Ridge. This study may impact the Carol and Crain area of Niles and so that study is being followed by the Village and Hey & Associates. The remaining projects were evaluated and ranked for inclusion in the Village’s FY16 and beyond budgets. The attached memo (Attachment 2 of this Meeting Summary) reviews each of the potential projects and recommends 3 projects for Three projects from the attached list - #1, #2 and #8 - could be incorporated into the FY16 Capital Improvements Projects list. These 3 projects have an approximate cost of $285,000+/-. It was agreed by the Commission that funding should be requested for the 3 projects. There was further discussion on the specifics of each of these, especially Project #1 at Oconto near Mulford. Concerns centered on the fact that this project does not eliminate standing water but it can reduce the length of time that flooding conditions continue on the streets and yards. Ultimately, the Commission recommended the project be included. The communication with residents of this area is a critical element. III. New Business: None IV. Public Comment: Louella Preston spoke about the need for more regional cooperation since the Commission had discussed potential impacts for studies in other communities, and that Northwest Municipal Conference could be used to help facilitate regional support. She also stated that this was the first time she had  heard about the possibility that Notre Dame High School campus may have land that could be used to assist with detention to support flooding concerns in the surrounding neighborhood. V. Next Meeting: TBD