Western Springs President and Board of Trustees met July 10.
Here is the minutes provided by the Board:
CALL TO ORDER
The meeting was called to order at 7:00 p.m.
PLEDGE OF ALLEGIANCE
President Gallagher led the audience in the Pledge of Allegiance.
ROLL CALL
As noted above.
Electronic attendance at meeting: None
READING OF AGENDA - ADDITIONS - DELETIONS
There were no changes to the agenda.
CITIZEN COMMENTS
There were none.
1) PUBLIC WORKS AND WATER - TRUSTEE ALLEN
A) Capital Projects Summary Report
Trustee Allen presented the Public Works and Water Committee Capital Projects Summary Report. A partial sewer collapse in the catch basin at 47'h Street and Fair Elms, which was identified through the sewer televising program and resident notification, has been repaired.
B) Water and Production System Q&A Session-July 20, 2017
Trustee Allen reminded everyone of the upcoming Q & A session planned for Thursday, July 20, 2017 at 6 p.m. which is open to all residents. Staff will answer questions about the water distribution system and how the Village is addressing some of the issues we have had with water quality.
C) Well #5 Letter From Infrastructure Commission
D) Well #5 Staff Recommendation
Trustee Allen reported on agenda items C & D related to Well #5. The Board received a draft memo from the Infrastructure Commission as well as a memo from staff. The memos detail the current status and culmination of the study of the various solutions to improve water quality when one of the Village's two deep wells, #3 or 4, have to go down for scheduled maintenance. Trustee Allen provided background on the 1.5 year study which the committee and commission have been conducting at the direction of former Village President Rodeghier. Former President Rodeghier' s directive to the committee was in response to the Well #3 maintenance in the fall of 2015, which was a scheduled maintenance, which lasted a lot longer than anticipated. The 2008 Water Study Report that recommended reverse osmosis over Lake Michigan water, or lime softening, did not address the issue of quality of water during maintenance of the deep wells. Trustee Allen said the committee was tasked to look for an improvement.
Two options were evaluated. The first was to pre-treat Well #l and the second was to construct a brand new deep Well #5. Pre-treatment of Well # l would require some modifications to the water treatment plant. The exact cost of those modifications is to be determined. This option would have some operating costs, somewhere between $100,000 and $200,000, each time it was needed. This would be for a period of about one month during the maintenance of either Well #3 or 4. With the Well #l pre-treatment option, the water quality would vary by season, and is expected to be similar to the water quality prior to the reverse osmosis treatment. This water would be harder than we are currently experiencing but the level of hardness would depend on the season, with summer and peak demand periods being lesser quality than winter low demand season. The key is that this water is not of the same quality as the water we currently have. The benefit to this approach is lower upfront cost and that this option could be completed sooner relative to Well #5. There are several drawbacks which were outlined in Director Supert's memo to the Board. One of the key drawbacks was that there are a limited number of suppliers and over the long term, the Village did not want to be tied to essentially one vendor. Also, this approach addresses Well #1, which is over 90 years old, and doesn't meet current standards. This option would entail keeping Well #l going for as long as we could.
Constructing a new Well #5 is the second option. This option requires a much larger upfront investment, estimated in 2016 dollars to be $3-$3.25 million, plus financing costs. Trustee Allen said the Village is looking to start a loan application process through the IEPA for this option. The benefits of a new Well #5 are expected water quality consistent with what is coming out of the reverse osmosis plant. The water drawn from Well # s is expected to go through the reverse osmosis system. Also, it might be important to note that Well #5 would increase the Village's overall capacity of water. This is not an issue today because our team has done a nice job of identifying water leaks but demand could change or we could experience additional water leaks, which could cause our overall capacity to be a concern down the road. So overall, the option of Well #5, has a lot of operational advantages, it just requires a big upfront investment cost.
Trustee Allen added that it is important to note that both of these options were to address the quality of the water during a scheduled or unscheduled maintenance of the two deep wells. Typically, under normal circumstances, maintenance would be done every 10 years on each well so roughly this would be done once every s years. Normally the maintenance period would last approximately one month, which equates to about 2% of the time. Unfortunately, our recent experience has been worse during the scheduled maintenance in 2015 as repairs took longer than expected and more issues than we thought were identified and after the Easter 2017 electrical issues with Well #3. It is important to note that this would not change other issues in the water distribution system. This would not address issues in certain sections of town with lower water pressure or intermittent quality issues. This is really intended for those times when Well #3 or Well #5 has to go down for maintenance.
The Infrastructure Commission recommendation to the Board from last year is for the Village to take immediate action to pursue Well #5 engineering. The Commission has unanimously concluded that Well #1 "is incapable of being filtered to provide the consistent quality of water the Village needs at any reasonable price?. Staff concurs with the recommendation and supports pursuing additional Well #5 engineering. This does not mean we are voting for Well #5, but rather for additional engineering, which does mean we are moving in that direction. The cost of this next level engineering is $19,100 and would be conducted by Baxter and Woodman. This is for Well #3 and Well #4 interference testing and is to determine whether the proposed Well #5 location would be a good viable location. The Public Works and Water Committee met and agreed with those recommendations. The approval of the engineering for Well #5 was added to the July 24, 2017 omnibus vote list.
Trustee Allen then asked the Board if the Well # l pre-treatment option study should go forth. Discussion followed regarding the Well #1 high level review, which is ongoing. After much discussion, the Board came to a consensus that the review should continue into the possibility of using Well #1 pre-treatment as a back-up during the period of time until Well #5 has been brought online which would be between 2-3 years out. The Baxter and Woodman study should provide the Board with more information about the proposed cost and timeline to develop the Well #l pre-treatment for temporary or long term uses. It is anticipated that the results of the Well # l pre-treatment study will be available in the late August or early September timeframe.
Manager Higgins recommended pursuing the study to see what the cost would be in case we mn into a problem in the next three years. The second step would be to decide whether or not to actually move forward with the Well #1 pre-treatment solution. Discussion continued on whether or not to complete the study. Trustee Tymick said given the time involved to get Well #5 implemented, it is well worth it to finish the Well #1 study to know the cost so we can decide what we want to do. Trustee Rudolph said three years is a long time and she wants the confidence that there is sufficient back-up. Trustee Allen said his concern is spending money to implement Well #l pre-treatment when that money could be used to improve other areas of the distribution system. Manager Higgins said we need to know the answer to the question of what it would cost. Trustee Hansen said it will be beneficial to have the Well #1 pre-treatment timeframe firmed up too.
Trustee Hansen said the Public Works and Water Committee will come back to the Board with the cost of interference testing at the next meeting which is anticipated to be in the area of $1 g,ooo.
2) PROPERTIES AND RECREATION - TRUSTEE HANSEN
Capital Projects Summary Report
Trustee Hansen reported that the east train platform reconstruction was scheduled to start July 10 but due to the rain, work had not yet begun. It is anticipated the work will begin on July 11. The platform is being completely rebuilt. IDOT has 70 working days to complete the project.
Trustee Hansen also noted that a staff meeting with IDOT is planned for the Bemis Woods bike path project, which is located north of Ogden Avenue on Wolf Road connecting to the existing bike path.
3) GENERAL GOVERNMENT - TRUSTEE TYMICK
Trustee Tymick presented an application from the Western Springs Police Department for a raffle license for the August 1, 2017 National Night Out/Special Olympics fundraiser the department has planned. The approval resolution providing for license issuance was added to the July 24, 2017 omnibus vote list and includes a waiver of the bond requirement and fee.
4) PUBLIC HEALTH AND SAFETY - TRUSTEE SIFFERMANN
Trustee Siffermann stated the Public Health and Safety Committee and the Transportation and Safety Commission had not met this month. Trustee Siffermann publicly acknowledged and commended Director of Law Enforcement Services Brian Budds upon his completion of the Harvard University Leadership Program which is a selective three week program at the John F. Kennedy School of Government at Harvard University. The program provides a balance of traditional and hands-on learning experiences to help seasoned public officials meet the changing needs of their constituents and communities. Trustee Siffermann noted that the community and staff will benefit from Director Budds' learning experience in this Senior Executive program for many years to come. President Gallagher also congratulated Director Budds and said this program will benefit the Village residents.
Trustee Siffermann set forth his goal to become more familiar with the Department's peer jury program. Through the peer jury process, youthful offenders are given a second change to right their wrong, give back to the community and learn valuable lessons. Trustee Siffermann said he is well aware of the positive impact of this program with youths who make mistakes and commented that he plans to update the Board on his assessment of the program in the near future.
5) FINANCE - TRUSTEE RUDOLPH
Trustee Rudolph said the Finance Committee had not met this month. Trustee Rudolph announced that the Police Pension Board is scheduled to meet on August 2, 2017 at 7:00 p.m.
6) PLANNING AND ZONING - TRUSTEE TYRRELL
Trustee Tyrrell provided an update on the Foxford Station project. The overhead wires slowly came down and other Com Ed-related work has been completed to pave the way for Foxford Station to begin true construction work. The groundbreaking celebration for Foxford Station will be on Tuesday, July 25Ih, at 4 p.m. An email invite from Foxford LLC will be forthcoming. The celebration will continue with a reception at a local restaurant.
OTHER BUSINESS
There was no further business.
REPORTS
7) VILLAGE PRESIDENT GALLAGHER
A) Commission Appointments:
1) Appointment of John Brooks as Member of the Transportation and Safety Commission for a three year term to expire in July of 2020; 2) Appointment of Thomas Kelly as a Member of the Transportation and Safety Commission for a three year term to expire in July 2020; and 3) Appointment of Jose Venegas as a Member of the Transportation and Safety Commission for a three year term to expire in July 2020.
President Gallagher announced her intention to appoint John Brooks, Thomas Kelly and Jose Venegas to the Transportation and Safety Commission for three year terms which will expire in July 2020. The candidates are all very well qualified and will be a fine addition to the commission. With no objections from the Board, the appointments were added to the July 24, 2017 omnibus vote list.
B) August Meeting Schedule
President Gallagher recommended the Board combine the August workshop and regular meeting into a single meeting on August 14. With no objection from the Board, the combined meeting will be held on Monday, August 14, at 7:00 p.m.
C) Farewell to Senator Christine Radogno
President Gallagher wished Senator Radogno farewell. Senator Radogno recently retired from office. President Gallagher noted Senator Radogno is a fine public servant who served her communities well. President Gallagher added that Senator Radogno knew what it meant to reach across the aisle to get things done for the citizens of Illinois. President Gallagher added that we will miss her and we wish her happy days in her retirement.
8) VILLAGE MANAGER HIGGINS
No report.
9) VILLAGE ATTORNEY JURUSIK
No report.
RECESS TO EXECUTIVE SESSION For the Purpose of Discussing:
l. The appointment, employment, compensation, discipline, performance or dismissal of a specific employee or legal counsel (5 ILCS 120/2(c)(1)).
2. Pending litigation (5 ILCS 120/2(c)(1 1)).
3. Probable or imminent litigation (5 ILCS 120/2(c)(1 1)).
MOTION:
Trustee Tymick moved, seconded by Tyrrell, to recess to executive session for the purpose of discussing the appointment, employment, compensation, discipline, performance or dismissal of a specific employee or legal counsel (5 ILCS 120/2(c)(1)), pending litigation (5 ILCS 1 20/2(c)( 11 )), and probable or imminent litigation (5 ILCS 120/2(c)(1 l)) at 7:30 p.m.
The motion passed on a roll call vote. Voting aye: Trustees Hansen, Tymick, Allen, Rudolph, Siffermann and Tyrrell. Voting nay: None.
RECONVENE AND ADJOURN
The Board reconvened to adjourn at 8:19 p.m.
MOTION:
Trustee Tymick moved, seconded by Trustee Hansen, to adjourn at 8:19 p.m. The motion passed on a unanimous voice vote.
http://www.wsprings.com/AgendaCenter/ViewFile/Minutes/_07102017-604
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