CITY OF PALOS HEIGHTS
WATER and SEWER COMMTTIEE
Meeting Minutes
March 27, 2012
Meeting of the Water & Sewer Committee was held on March 27, 2012 at the Palos
Heights City Hall. Chairman Phillips called the meeting to order at 8:00 p.m. Those present were
Alderman McGrogan, Alderman Basso, Director Scott Smith, and City Engineer Jon Vaznelis.
Also present were City Administrator Dan Nisavic and Bob Draves.
Approval of Minutes:
Chairman Phillips moved to approve the minutes of the February 28, 2012 Water &
Sewer Committee meeting, seconded by Alderman Basso. All in favor and the motion carried.
Director's Report: Scott Smith
 Water Main Repairs. Scott reported there was a water main break at 12119 Flambeau
Drive which may have been a result of the fire department checking their hoses one block
over.
 Lift Station Maintenance. 1.) A radiator went out on the Oak Hills generator which was
removed, repaired and re-installed. Some other routine maintenance was done at the same
time. Total costs were approximately $4,000. 2.) The pumps were clogged again at south
Westgate station and had to be pulled and cleaned out. It is an ongoing problem. 3.) There
was a control issue with the floats at the Southwest Highway station which was fixed inhouse.
 Backflow Program. Notifications continue to be sent to the businesses and residents.
Scott noted most people understand the concept and are willing to go along with the
program.
 Large Meter Testing. Scott said M.E. Simpson is the company they use to do the large
meter testing. The top ten meter users that were checked for accuracy included South
Palos Sanitary District, Palos Community Hospital, several of the schools, car washes,
and nursing homes.
 Water Valve Boxes. The crew had been using the vacuum truck/street sweeper to clean
along the larger mains that are along Harlem, 127th Street, Rt. 83, and Ridgeland. Some
of the valves are in manholes and sediment from street runoff gets in the valve vault.
 Pump Station Maintenance. The painting of the interior piping and pumps was being done
in-house and if the weather stays consistent, the work should be done within a week.
 Sanitary Sewer Maintenance. They had been televising the line along 127th from
Ridgeland to Austin, which is one of the main collectors in town, before turning it over to
the sanitary district. They are looking for any defects/debris build-up to increase the flow
rate. The crew had also done sewer jetting in various locations throughout the town as a
preventative measure.
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Old Business
Scott explained that a representative from Sprint was suppose to be at the meeting to
address the committee and explain why they did not want to remove their equipment from the
Westgate water tower without compensation. City Attorney Tom Brown had been working with
Sprint on a Letter of Agreement. Chairman Phillips asked how many locations Sprint had in
Palos Heights and when the termination dates were. Scott was only aware of two locations with
staggered renewals dates. The Westgate tower renewal date was in 2022 and the tower by City
Hall was in 2029. Alderman McGrogan reiterated what he had said at the last meeting about the
Mayor bringing this subject up to the Southwest Conference of Mayors and working on a
solution collectively. He also recommended some various options regarding Sprint’s rent
abatement proposal in the Letter of Agreement.
Scott said that Tom Brown had reviewed the contracts for all four of the cell carriers on
the Westgate water tower and only the AT&T contract contained language stating it was the cell
carrier’s responsibility to remove their equipment at their own cost. The other two carriers
seemed a little more agreeable than Sprint. Discussion ensued on the subject. Scott also
reviewed the proposal for the water tower maintenance that was presented at last month’s
meeting.
The committee told Scott to let Tom Brown know the terms in the Letter of Agreement
were unacceptable and to re-negotiate. The City Administrator suggested Tom Brown needs to
contact an executive from Sprint directly instead of dealing with Sprint’s contractors.
New Business
Pick-Up Truck. Scott said the Water & Sewer Department was in need of a new pick-up
truck. Bob Draves had found a one-ton Chevy Pick-up through the state purchasing program, but
there was a deadline for purchasing. The cost would be approximately $30,000 which included a
plow. Scott requested the committee refer this item to City Council for approval.
Chairman Phillips moved to refer the purchase of a one-ton Chevy Pick-up Truck with a
plow at a cost not to exceed $30,000 to City Council, seconded by Alderman McGrogan. All in
favor and the motion carried. AGENDA
Water Supply Service Contract. Scott said he had just received notice from the South
Palos Township Sanitary District that they would like to extend the Water Supply Service
Agreement to 2016 which would be the Third Amendment to the Agreement. Scott requested the
committee authorize the City Attorney Tom Brown to proceed with negotiating the terms of the
amendment.
Alderman McGrogan moved to authorize the City Attorney to negotiate the terms of the
Third Amendment to the Water Supply Service Agreement with the South Palos Township
Sanitary District. He would like Tom Brown to try negotiating to have Misty Meadows removed
from the sanitary district. Scott noted he thought there was a bond issue that would keep Misty
Meadows in the district until the year 2032. Alderman McGrogan also felt that the sanitary
district should be billed at the non-resident rate. Scott noted they were currently paying the
residential rate which was an increase from the original terms of discounted bulk rate. Discussion
ensued on the subject. The committee referred the negotiation of the amendment to the
agreement to the City Attorney with their recommendations.
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Morris Engineering Report: Jon Vazneils
Salt Storage Facility. Jon reported that all the items had been completed on punch list for
the salt storage facility. He explained that 10% of the contract value had been retained but now
that the work was completed, Jon recommended decreasing the retainage to 5% and releasing a
payment to Schwartz Construction in the amount of $20,769.69. This would leave the City with a
retainage of $20,769.00 until the close-out paper work was finished.
Chairman Phillips moved to approve payment to Schwartz Construction Company for the
Salt Storage Facility in the amount of $20,769.69 which was 50% of the retainage, seconded by
Alderman McGrogan. All in favor and the motion carried. AGENDA
McCarthy Road Water Main Extension Project. Jon said that with the warmer weather he
expected the landscape restoration along McCarthy Road to begin within a week (the first week
of April).
Invoices
Chairman Phillips moved to approve payment to Morris Engineering for various projects
totaling $1,700.00, seconded by Alderman Basso. All in favor and the motion carried.
Comments
Alderman Basso asked Scott why residents would be involved with the backflow
program. Scott explained if a resident had an underground water sprinkling system they should
have a backflow installed on it which should be inspected and certified annually by a state
licensed plumber. Scott said any of the businesses that are related to food, medical, hair
treatment, etc also need to be in compliance. Alderman Basso asked what BSI (Backflow
Solutions Inc) does and Scott explained that they compile data and administer the program (refer
to the minutes of January 24, 2012 for BSI’s presentation to the committee for details).
Alderman Basso inquired why only one company was invited to present their proposal for
the Backflow Program and the Electric Aggregation Program. Scott explained he had been
researching backflow programs for a couple of years and there were very few companies that
offered backflow programs. BSI was the only company in the northern Illinois area, appeared to
be the leader in the industry and had a good number of referrals. The City Administrator
explained the reason the City had decided to use NIMEC for the residential and small business
electric aggregation program was because the City had been working with NIMEC for several
years in purchasing energy for the City’s pump stations and street lighting. They were a reputable
company and the City had good results with NIMEC in the past. He further explained that many
other municipalities were using NIMEC and they would be able to pool together for lower
electric rates.
Alderman McGrogan asked for an update on SD 118’s request for Annexation and the
water main loop. Dan said the Mayor asked Tom Brown to negotiate with the school’s attorney
on the various issues. Dan explained that if the school was not in Palos Heights and the City
wanted to loop the water main to the Misty Meadows water tower, the City would have to
purchase the easement from the school district in order to do so. The City is trying to establish
the cash value of the easement to use as an in-kind contribution towards the annexation.
Alderman McGrogan noted that the City would also be providing police protection and services
they would not have had before.
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Adjourn
There being no further business, Chairman Phillips moved to adjourn the meeting,
seconded by Alderman McGrogan. All in favor.
Meeting adjourned at 8:52 p.m.
Respectfully submitted,
_________________________
Patricia M. Sheppard
Recording Secretary
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