PUBLIC WORKS COMMITTEE 2014/07/29 MinutesPUBLIC WORKS COMMITTEE
TUESDAY, JULY 29, 2014 – 6:30 P.M.
CITY HALL – 220 E. DEERPATH
CITY MANAGER’S CONFERENCE ROOM
MEETING MINUTES
I. CALL TO ORDER/ROLL CALL: Chairman Cathy Waldeck called the meeting to
order at 6:30 p.m. Aldermen Stanford Tack and Michelle Moreno were present.
City staff in attendance included Michael Thomas, Director of Public Works;
Robert Kiely, City Manager; Robert Ells, Superintendent of Engineering; Dan
Martin, Superintendent of Public Works; and Cathy Czerniak, Director of
Community Development.
Other attendees included Peter Procaccio from T.Y. Lin International and a
member of the public, Walter Hamann.
II. APPROVAL OF THE JULY 8, 2014 PUBLIC WORKS COMMITTEE MEETING MINUTES:
Alderman Moreno moved to approve the minutes of the July 8, 2014 meeting as
written. Chairman Waldeck seconded the motion, which carried unanimously.
III. REVIEW OF COMED’S MCKINLEY LINE BURIAL PROPOSAL – DEERPATH TO
WESTMINSTER: Please see comments of this item included in agenda item # IV.
IV. REVIEW OF EAST SIDE TRAIN STATION PARKING LOT DESIGN OPTIONS: Items III. and
IV. were discussed together during the Public Works Committee Meeting.
Superintendent of Engineering Robert Ells reviewed the area of concern at the
East Side Train Station. The project that prompted the ComEd item being
discussed is the new Bike Path. The purpose of this project is to take the existing
Bike Path out of the Commuter Lots and provide a new space for bikers/walkers.
The new path from Woodland Road to Illinois Road will be 10 feet wide, 14 feet
at its widest point. Superintendent Ells explained that this is a grant-funded
project in which 80% of the cost is being paid by this grant. This project is out for
bid through the State with a bid opening on Friday, August 1.
Originally, ComEd was told that they would need to relocate some of the power
poles that were in conflict with the new Path. The engineering standard for bike
paths is that there should not be any obstructions within three feet of the edge of
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Meeting Minutes from July 29, 2014
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the path, so ComEd returned to the City with a proposal to move any necessary
poles three feet off the path.
Along with the new Bike Path is another grant-funded project to renovate the
exterior of the train station, to include painting and tuck pointing. The City
portion for both projects totals approximately $400,000.
These two projects prompted staff to question if the parking lot should be re-
designed and updated. The parking lot needs to be resurfaced, but staff is
investigating if there are there better ways to improve traffic flow, to increase
parking, and to improve pedestrian safety.
Staff is looking for feedback from the Public Works Committee to determine 1.) if
the City should bury the ComEd lines between Deerpath and Westminster, and
2.) if the parking lot should be redesigned at the same time that all of the other
construction is taking place.
The Committee questioned the type of reconfiguration that staff is proposing for
the parking lot. Superintendent Ells explained that staff asked the design team
from T.Y. Lin International that designed the Bike Path to also review the parking
lot and provide design options.
Peter Procaccio from T.Y. Lin International reviewed the design options with the
Committee. Mr. Procaccio first reviewed the existing conditions of the parking
lot. The current configuration in terms of turning radius for passenger vehicles is
acceptable, but it can be modified slightly to improve the safety of the lot. The
total number of stalls in the existing condition is 125 spots. From the existing
condition, Mr. Procaccio then reviewed the “Existing Modified Option” in which
the turning radii have been modified to give the driver more comfort through the
turn, restriping, standardization of the size of parking stalls, and traffic calming for
the area around the former drive thru. Mr. Procaccio presented three different
options for traffic calming at the drive thru. He noted that the width of the drive
thru area is decreasing as a result of the curbing for the new Bike Path. It will
reduce its width from 30’ to 16’ regardless of the traffic calming option selected.
There are no anticipated changes in the drainage.
Mr. Procaccio then presented “Option 1” to the Committee, which is a
reconfiguration of the existing parking lot. He explained that this option offsets
the Bike Path from the new curb line and creates a perpendicular layout in the
parking lot. This proposal shrunk the parking lot by a few feet, but maintained
the same number of stalls. The center island was also removed in this design.
Design “Option 2” involves blocking out a large island with a reduction in the
overall total number of parking spaces from 125 to 81. Design “Option 2A”
recovers some of those parking spaces by including parallel parking around the
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Meeting Minutes from July 29, 2014
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center island, bringing the number back up to 113 spots and “Option 2B”
includes diagonal parking. Mr. Procaccio highlighted that “Option 2” has the
island to allow for plantings and greenery, which was removed in “Option 1”.
Staff prefers “Option 2B” because there is a minimal loss of spaces and it
standardizes the size of spots and drive lanes. Cost estimates are not yet
available. Staff requested that these estimates from T.Y. Lin International include
the pricing for the different traffic calming options (brick, stamped concrete, and
asphalt).
The Committee requested cost estimates to determine the appropriate
recommendation.
The Committee then discussed the original $617,000 proposal from ComEd to
bury the electric lines on McKinley Road. Staff met with ComEd and requested
that they revise their proposal to include relocating the poles and only burying
the lines on McKinley Road from Westminster to Deerpath. Staff also requested
that ComEd investigate if the existing underground duct system in this area can
be used for burying the electric lines. The revised proposal from ComEd was
approximately $360,000.
The primary purpose for relocating the poles and burying the lines on the one
block is primarily aesthetics, but logistically, it is tight area for the new path and
there would be more space if the wires were placed underground. ComEd
requires 10% down payment in order to begin the design process. With the Bike
Path bid opening on Friday, August 1, the City can request, through IDOT, that
the awarded contractor maintain the same pricing for the Bike Path project if
completed in May, 2015. In doing that, ComEd would have nine months to
design and relocate the poles and eliminate poles on this one block.
Superintendent Ells explained that ComEd is obligated to move the poles in the
right-of-way per the franchise agreement at no cost to the City; burying the lines
will cause the City an expense.
The remainder of the Bike Path project hinges on the decision about these four
poles on McKinley Road. Staff is requesting a recommendation from the
Committee as to whether to proceed with the design for burying the lines on this
one block or just move the poles. ComEd will already have to move poles to the
north and south of this stretch for the Bike Path project. City Manager Robert
Kiely explained that if the City Council wishes to bury the lines, there are two
ways to fund it. The first is that the City can pay ComEd the full amount. The
second is to factor the capital expenditure into the rates of Lake Forest residents,
in which an additional charge will appear on electricity bills for Lake Forest users.
The Committee went to the site to review the options. Chairman Waldeck and
Alderman Tack were concerned about the cost to bury the poles and
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Meeting Minutes from July 29, 2014
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questioned if it would be a justifiable expense. Alderman Moreno supported the
idea but was also concerned about the high cost. The Committee agreed to
ask for City Council’s opinion on the topic at their upcoming meeting on August
4, 2014.
V. OPPORTUNITY FOR PUBLIC COMMENT: Mr. Hamann commented on the recent
City Council approval for additional Water Plant membrane filters. Mr. Hamann
stated that he is in support of the pre-purchase of additional filters to be stored
as opposed to a multi-million dollar retrofit of the Water Plant. He asked that the
Committee consider this option based on the current quote and storage
requirements. Director of Public Works Michael Thomas explained that the
membrane filters cannot be stored longer than one year, that there is a study
underway to evaluate retrofitting of the Water Plant, and AquaSource
contacted the City to state that they plan to retrofit the Water Plant at no
additional cost to the City. He stated that additional talks need to occur with
AquaSource to better understand their plans to retrofit the plant.
VI. NEXT MEETING – WEEK OF SEPTEMBER 8, 2014: Director Thomas will confirm a date
and time for the Committee’s next meeting in September.
VII. ADJOURNMENT: Alderman Tack motioned to adjourn the meeting and
Alderman Moreno seconded the motion. The meeting adjourned at 8:15 p.m.
Respectfully submitted,
Donna Dunn
Assistant to the Director of Public Works