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Eastern Avenue culverts will soon be replaced now that a bid has been approved by the Manhattan Village Board for its construction. The $419,970 winning bid from Austin Tyler was the lowest received.
Eastern Avenue between Smith Road and North Street is a narrow stretch of road with two one-lane bridges. Reconstructing the road is part of the plans, but the culverts are the first part of the project. The shoulder will be widened to four feet paved for pedestrians, and the village is looking into safety guardrails to protect pedestrians.
During the discussion, Trustee Dave Beemsterboer wanted to know why the bid wasn’t sealed.
Public Works Superintendent John Tyk explained they conducted the bidding in such a way that only contractors capable of handling the scope of work would be applying for the job.
Village Engineer Carrie Pintar added that they are all IDOT-certified for the scope of work.
“So it’s earthwork, drainage, and concrete construction at a certain dollar amount. It also takes into account if they’re pre-qualified as far as IDOT is concerned — if they have a Certificate of Eligibility specifically for the scope of work. The elevenish contractors we’ve had bid on the other jobs that we’ve done recently just didn’t have the appropriate certifications,” Pintar explained.
Trustee Bob Dilling inquired about the project’s timeline, which Tyk said would involve an eight-week lead time. Beemsterboer wanted to know how long the road would be shut down, which Tyk explained would depend on the board and how quickly approvals for the rest of the reconstruction project came.
Pintar said Metra reported last week that the signals do not have to be moved, which would have been a considerable cost. They are hoping to get the last permit needed for village approvals.
The board also approved an amended annexation with Fox Prairie Development, also known as the Ivanhoe subdivision, located at Bruns and Rt. 52. The amendment allows the developer to continue building and extends the deadline for proposed road improvements due to delays with IDOT approvals.
Due to Illinois EPA requirements, the village approved a Project Summary and Preliminary Environmental Impact Determination for its Wastewater Treatment Plant Expansion Project. Though the village doesn’t intend to expand the plant anytime soon, the state requires a PEID to be renewed every five years. The application needs to be renewed annually.
“We’re not committing to anything. This is just if we decide to go ahead with the plan in the future. This is a step we’d have to take. Once a year, we have to keep doing this until we actually do the project,” Tyk explained.
During public comments, Tim Murphy spoke on behalf of his mother, who lives in Foxford, to report a street light has been out for nearly a year.
“I don’t think it needs to take 10 months to get a street light fixed in this town,” Murphy said, noting that a new wire for the light had been run in January, but it’s been sitting unfinished. He requested the village escalate the issue.
Tyk responded it has been taking that long to get the lights fixed, noting that in this situation, a boring crew had ripped the light out, and there was a disagreement about who should repair it. The dispute was finally settled, and the village is waiting on ComEd to hook up the new wire. He advised they would contact the next day and update Murphy if he left his number with him.
Manhattan’s part-time patrol officers will receive a pay increase when their new contract begins in May, thanks to the approval of a collective bargaining agreement that includes a $2 per hour pay increase each year for the next three years.
New Finance Director Justin VanVooren offered some high-level numbers regarding the budget as he’s still trying to finalize the numbers, which Adrieansen said will be up for a vote on April 15 after being posted for a week. Village staff will have the opportunity to meet with him to review it.
VanVooren explained he needs to input all the capital projects and hopes to have the final budget for the board’s review in the next couple of days. Beemsterboer wanted to know why it wasn’t done for the meeting.
Vanvooren explained part of the reason is that he has only been with the village for a month and is still trying to get a handle on day-to-day operations. He also advised he has had difficulties finding some of the information needed to finalize the budget.
Administrator Jeff Wold added the conversion from MSI to BNSA (two accounting software services) did not go as smoothly as anticipated, and they are working on correcting several issues. VanVooren said he didn’t want to present an incomplete picture at the meeting but is a couple of days away from being able to do so.
The board discussed challenges from Irish Fest after agreeing it was overall a great event.
Before the meeting concluded, Adrieansen reminded everyone Baker Road would be closed beginning on April 1 to reconstruct the Baker Road bridge. It is expected to be closed through November.
Stephanie Irvine is a freelance reporter
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