Several residents at the District 161 Special Board of Education meeting voiced their concerns about safety as a stormwater detention basin around Heather Hill School is nearing completion.
Some Heather Hill residents are frustrated with what they say is a lack of clear and factual communication about the project. Several spoke at the Monday, Aug. 26, board meeting after an Aug. 22 board meeting was postponed because the board lacked a quorum.
“A safety plan has not been provided, and it appears that the village and the school district are improvising as we go along,” Ashly Giddens said.
(Eric Crump/H-F Chronicle)
“We are simply asking that you see us, hear us and put observable, measurable solutions in motion regarding this water detention basin that keeps kids at the center of all of your decisions,” Aneesa Seargent said.
Crystal Cleggett read from a village newsletter that stated: “In August, the permanent safety fence was installed.” The newsletter said the contractor was moving on to the final construction phase, described as landscaping and project completion. Cleggett noted that the communication was misleading.
Weather contributed to delays in the earthwork part of the project, and the contract missed the mid-August target date for completion.
Superintendent Dana Smith explained to the board that he was told that several loads of dirt would still need to be removed and that an optimistic projection for the completion of the permanent fence was mid-September.
Giddens asked the village and school board to revisit the discussion on underground project alternatives. She would like the pit behind the school filled in and an underground water storage facility installed.
Village officials presented the underground option to the board of trustees in May, but that option would have more than $12 million, forcing the village to find an additional $4.4 million in funding. The project is funded with a combination of grants and revenue from the 2020 bond approved by voters to improve streets and reduce flooding. Trustees voted to stay with the open basin.
The residents have also asked for Lawrence Crescent to be made a one-way street during drop-off and pick-up.
They want surveillance and monitoring systems to be installed and site supervision to be increased suggesting hiring additional staff members to monitor children before, during and after school to ensure they do not enter the basin area.
This comes after a young boy was found playing inside the construction site’s fence after work had halted for the day, prompting a community meeting.
Last spring, the original plan to dig a stormwater detention basin on school district land surrounding the elementary school was met with considerable resistance from the community.
In April the District 161 Board of Education vote 4-3, barely passing the resolution to give the village an easement on the land, after receiving assurances from the Village of Flossmoor that the site would be safe for children and work would not be conducted during school hours. Despite those promises, the work has continued during school hours through the early weeks of this school year. Construction halts during pickup and dropoff times.
School board members discussed the detention basin and security options at the special meeting in great detail. They decided that a district employee would walk the fence before and near the end of the school day to ensure there were no openings in the temporary fencing. They also agreed that Smith would take their concerns to village management.
“I think it’s important to understand that we created an environment where there’s this thing that’s very closely adjacent to our school, and therefore, we have a responsibility to make sure it’s as safe as we possibly can make it as long as it continues to exist in its current form,” board member Michael Rouse II said.
Rouse voted no in April on allowing the village to dig the detention basin at Heather Hill.
A discussion item about updating and replacing security cameras on district buildings was postponed until the conversation with the village was concluded. The Heather Hill project connects all district cameras and servers and provides remote access to administrators and first responders by connecting to the E-COM/SOUTHCOM emergency dispatch system.
Note: Eric Crump contributed information to this story.