Flossmoor is returning to a common partner for its next round of fire hydrant maintenance.
The Flossmoor Village Board on Monday, Feb. 20, voted unanimously to award a $37,494 contract for Fiscal Year 2023 fire hydrant maintenance and flow testing to M.E. Simpson Co. Inc. The board waived the competitive bidding process to do so.
“In the past, we’ve tried to use other firms but that has not worked well for the village due to the quality of their work,” Assistant Public Works Director Dan Milovanovic said. “Because of those past experiences, staff recommends that we continue to work with M.E. Simpson.”
Milovanovic explained that the maintenance program is critical for maintaining the village’s fire hydrants. Each year, Flossmoor completes flow testing on one-third of its hydrants and maintenance on all of them, he said.
“This is a critical maintenance program that public works does every year to ensure the operation and flow capabilities of our fire hydrants,” Milovanovic said.
The village has contracted M.E. Simpson for fire hydrant maintenance and flow testing since at least 2014, and the work is typically done in late winter or early spring, according to Milovanovic. Flossmoor has “in the neighborhood of” 840 hydrants in town, he added.
Consent Agenda
● The village board voted unanimously to approve its consent agenda, which includes the approval of a purchase of a 2023 Mack MD7 truck chassis and truck buildout (a large dump truck with snow plow, salt spreader and salt pre-wet application system) at a cost of $257,432 from Lindco Equipment Sales. The truck is a scheduled replacement.
● The consent agenda also included a 12-month renewal of a contract with federal lobbyist Smith Dawson and Andrews at $5,000 per month. Mayor Michelle Nelson noted the village has secured $200,000 in federal funding toward the Flossmoor Road Viaduct project over the past year of SDA working for the village.
● The consent agenda also included the approval of a Downtown Redevelopment Plan, designation of a Redevelopment Project Area pursuant to the Tax Increment Allocation Redevelopment Act and adopting tax increment allocation financing for the project area for a downtown Tax Increment Financing (TIF) district.