La Grange Today

Flood prevention tips for residents to consider as village officials address sewer system issues

La Grange officials and representatives of the Metropolitan Water & Reclamation District (MWRD) held a special meeting Oct. 18  to explain the causes behind the record summer floods that filled the basements of many homeowners, and also to detail the solutions they are pursuing in an effort to prevent future flooding events.

There's little sense in repeating here the details found in last week's online coverage of the meeting by other La Grange news operations.  One can read those by clicking here, here and here.

Also, video coverage of the entire meeting, which lasted more than two-and-one-half hours can be found on the village's official website. By the way, we applaud the village for its recent decision to post videos of some of its meetings online, in addition to showing them on cable television public access channels.

That said, some La Grange Today readers may find value in watching an excerpt of the meeting, taken from our own footage, in which Community Development Director Patrick Benjamin and Village Engineer Tom Heuer review some of the steps homeowners might take to mitigate flood damage.

These flood prevention tips may not stop a cascade of water rolling off the country club grounds from smashing through your basement window wells, but village and MWRD officials say they are working to prevent a recurrence of that unforeseen nightmare.

 

Video: Town meeting at Seventh Ave School

Only about 20 residents attended the La Grange village board's "town meeting" Monday night in Seventh Ave School gymnasium.

Village President Liz Asperger attributed the low turnout to the Monday Night Football television broadcast, featuring the undefeated Chicago Bears versus conference rivals, the Green Bay Packers. (The Bears won, 20-17).

But here's your opportunity to view full video coverage of  the town meeting. Simpy click on the image below.

Resident challenges village to rethink leaf collection

With the arrival of autumn, La Grange village officials once again are making plans for the curbside collection of fallen leaves.

But one resident, Rose Naseef, a member of Go Green La Grange, is encouraging homeowners to hang on to their leaves and recycle them as compost, and as mulch for plant beds.

In the video below, addresses the village board at its Sept. 13 meeting to ask that they too consider promoting an eco-friendly approach to leaf management.

 

Video: Response to July flooding dominates another village board meeting; drainage basin study OK'd

Click here to view video segments of discussion at Monday's village board meeting regarding the response to date on the flooding that affected several neighborhoods July 23-24.

Video of residents' comments at last board meeting and update on village's response to recent flooding

UPDATED - Aug. 10 at 3:30 am: The village board Monday night approved funding for a preliminary engineering study for a combined sewer drainage basin south of 47th St. Village staff set plans for a special public meeting this fall to address sewer plans. More residents spoke about how the flood affected them. Click here to watch video of the meeting.

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The biggest issue of discussion at the July 26 regular meeting of the La Grange village board of trustees was not even on the agenda.

Who could have predicted when the meeting's agenda was published and distributed on Thursday, four days earlier, that the intervening weekend would bring a deluge upon the village--a near-record six inches of rain in the overnight and early morning hours of July 23-24?

By the following Monday night, when the board convened, village officials already had logged 80 calls for assistance from residents who streets and/or basements had flooded, in several instances with raw sewage.

Many of the residents affected by the flooding attended that meeting spontaneously to address their concerns to the board and village staff. About a dozen of them, many residing south of 47th St and west of La Grange, whose, neighborhoods were hardest hit, claimed that the weekend flooding was only the latest, albeit greatest, instance of a flooding issue that has perked up on several occasions in recent years.

Below you will find a link to four videos that capture firsthand the comments, questions and criticism directed at village officials regarding the flooding situation, along with the responses.

These videos complement our report from last week in which Village Manger Robert Pilipiszyn summarized the weekend flood event and the immediate response from public works and public safety officials. We also at that time posted , a transcript of remarks made by Public Works Director Ryan Gillingham outlining the ongoing projects designed to improve the village sewer infrastructure.

Today we report that, in the 10 days since those reports were posted, village officials logged another 40 assistance calls from residents, many of them coming just this past Tuesday, when a second but less sustained downpour occurred in the early morning hours. Some of those calls came from residents who also had placed calls to the village during the July 23-24 flood, Andrianna Peterson, assistant village manager, said today.

In response to the outcry from residents, a list of flood resources was posted on the village's official website, Peterson said.

Of particular note is a data collection questionnaire that flood-affected residents can fill out and submit. The information obtained will be used by village and state officials to appeal to the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) for financial aid that can be used to reimburse residents for flood-related property damage and losses.

West Cook County is one of ten areas in Illinois that Gov. Pat Quinn declared as emergency disaster areas following the July 23-24 flooding.

Also of note is a staff recommendation that the village board will consider at its next regular meeting on Monday, Aug. 9, which if approved would result in a preliminary engineering study for a combined sewer drainage basin south of 47th St.

Click the image below to watch videos residents speaking out at the July 26 village board meeting about the recent flooding, and questioning the village's preparedness. Also included are responses from Village President Elizabeth Asperger and village staff, along with comments and questions to staff from individual trustees.

Village officials tally damage from weekend storms

La Grange public safety personnel and employees from the village's department of public works responded to 60 calls for assistance this past weekend as six inches of rain fell in a deluge that flooded several village streets and caused sewage to back up into residential basements, Village Manager Robert Pilipiszyn said Monday night at a regular meeting of the village board of trustees.

Public works crews were dispatched at 1 a.m. Saturday to barricade flooded streets and intersections, clean debris from storm drains, and help residents attend to flooded basements, Pilipiszyn said.

An additional 20 calls were received Monday from homeowners seeking help in the aftermath of the thunderstorms that tore through the area, he said.

An analysis of the calls received so far indicate that storm damage appeared to concentrate on several distinct areas in the village, Pilipiszyn said.

Those areas he identified as hardest hit by the storm were:

• The 700 block of Spring Ave, and the 600 and 700 blocks of Waiola and Stone Aves;
• The northwest quadrant of the village;
• Between the north campus of Lyons Township High School and its practice fields, and;
• The neighborhood east of La Grange Rd and south of 47th St.
  

The weekend's events took center stage at Monday night's meeting, even though there was no mention of it on the formal agenda, which had been published and distributed Friday morning before the storms rolled through.

Some two dozen residents were in attendance, several of whom created a storm of their own as they criticized village officials for inadequately preparing for a wrath of nature that savaged several communities in West Cook County, prompting Illinois Governor Pat Quinn to officially labor them a disaster area.

Click here to view video of residents remarks to village officials, and the responses they received.

Pilipiszyn said the 80 assistance calls received so far likely were "an under-reporting" of the total storm damage. He encouraged all affected homeowners to contact village officials.

"We are currently in the process of completing an initial assessment of the damage, a first step in qualifying for state and federal assistance for affected residents," Pilipiszyn said.

Ryan Gillingham, the village's director of public works, attempted to address residents' concerns about a perceived lack of preparation by presenting a brief overview of the village and regional sewer systems, as well as infrastructure improvement programs that already are underway.

Click here to read a transcript of Gillingham's remarks.

Countdown crosswalk signals make downtown debut

Work was completed today on the first installation of crosswalk countdown signals that soon should help make signalized intersections throughout the village of La Grange safer for pedestrians.

The signals, which consist of light-emitting diodes (LEDs), display a visual countdown from 10 or 15 seconds to zero, letting pedestrians know how much time remains before the traffic signal for motorists turns yellow, Ryan Gillingham, village public works director said.

New countdown signals are now in place on all four corners at the intersection of La Grange Rd and Harris Ave, next to Village Hall. It will take about two months to complete installation at all of the village's signalized intersections, including those where jurisidiction is shared with neighboring communities, Gillingham said.

In addition to the new crosswalk signals, work crews also are replacing the overhead, incandescent traffic signals for motorists with LED devices. The LED signals use less power and should be easier for motorists to recognize, Gillingham said.

The LED signals also eventually will have a battery backup system so that traffic lights will continue to operate even when electrical power is lost, he said.

The cost of the new system is $214,000, all but $47,000 of which will be paid by two grants from the State of Illinois, Gillingham said.

Village capital projects staff reports available online

The La Grange village board of trustees on Monday held a workshop to review and discuss capital projects for fiscal year 2008-2009.

In coming days we'll report on some specific projects. In the meantime, you can read the staff reports that were prepared for the workshop.

Link to the staff reports.

New water main along Gilbert Ave goes in this week

Construction of a new 12-inch water main along Gilbert Ave between 47th St and Elm Ave is scheduled to begin today, likely creating temporary traffic delays along that route.

Public works crews from the Village of La Grange will install about 2,088 lineal feet of pipe under the sidewalk on the east side of the thoroughfare.

When completed, the water main will improve delivery capacity and operating pressure to adjacent properties.

Anyone with questions about the project is invited to call the public works department at (708) 579-2328.

Public works director Ken Watkins to retire in June

Ken Watkins, director of public works director for La Grange, will retire June 30, Village President Elizabeth Asperger announced at Monday night's regular meeting of the Board of Trustees.

Watkins, who began his La Grange career in 1976 as a water operator, has been director of the department since 2000.

"I think everyone in this village knows what an outstanding job he has done," Asperger said. "If you see Ken as you are walking around in the Village, out and about, shake his hand and thank him for his many years of service."

Watkins said he wished that he could stay on the job "another four or five years" but is retiring on the advice of his doctors.

Watkins suffers from Crohn's disease, an inflammation of the digestive tract for which he has had surgery and takes prescribed steroids. The stress of his job, routine for a healthy man, is compounded by his weakened physical condition, he said.