Flossmoor’s proposed drainage improvement plan for Hagen Lane and Douglas Avenue is moving forward, with a familiar engineer.
The village board voted unanimously Monday, Nov. 2, to award a design engineering contract not to exceed $58,000 to Baxter & Woodman Consulting Engineers to address flooding issues in those areas. The company worked with Flossmoor earlier this year on the successful application for a Metropolitan Water Reclamation District grant that netted the village $754,000 for the project. The firm did stormwater modeling and conceptual design work.
Public Works Director John Brunke said because of the work Baxter & Woodman has done already, he recommended moving forward with the engineers as the most cost-effective option. But Mayor Paul Braun asked whether the board thought the engineers doing the original plan outweighed the opportunity to get the best rate possible by going out to bid for the work.
Trustees ultimately went with Brunke’s recommendation, with Trustee Diane Williams noting she was happy to see the project was mostly being funded with something other than taxpayer dollars.
“I’m fine with the project, very happy with it,” Williams said.
The project involves the installation of storm sewer infrastructure to rear yard areas behind 2118-2128 Hagen Lane and 1022 Douglas Avenue, which is expected to reduce flooding during heavy storm events and prevent structure flooding and property damage, according to a report submitted by Brunke. The total estimated cost of the project is $904,000, to which the village plans to commit $150,000 upon receiving $754,000 from MWRD. The village’s contribution is intended to cover engineering, land acquisition (if needed), operations, maintenance and other costs not related to construction.
Baxter & Woodman submitted for that grant in February and received notice on Aug. 28 that the Flossmoor project was one of 10 selected by MWRD for funding. The village board must still negotiate an intergovernmental agreement with MWRD to officially secure the funding. MWRD funds would exclusively go toward construction.
The Baxter & Woodman contract amounts to roughly 7.3% of the project construction cost. A budget amendment was required because the project was not in the existing budget. Flossmoor did not have the grant when the budget was approved, Brunke said. The storm sewer fund balance was not sufficient to cover the contract, according to his report.
Construction is anticipated to begin in summer 2021 and take roughly six months, Brunke said.