Lake County Gazette

The village of Mettawa Public Works Committee met Aug. 10 to review bids for Old School Road resurfacing.

Here are the meeting's minutes, as provided by the village:

PW Committee Meeting August 10, 2016 Minutes 1

MINUTES OF THE PUBLIC WORKS COMMITTEE OF THE VILLAGE OF

METTAWA, ILLINOIS, HELD AT THE HOUR OF 6:00 P.M. ON

WEDNESDAY, AUGUST 10, 2016, IN THE MAPLE BOARDROOM OF THE

HILTON GARDEN INN HOTEL, 26225 N. RIVERWOODS BOULEVARD,

METTAWA, ILLINOIS

A. CALL TO ORDER

Chairman Armstrong called the meeting to order at approximately 6:04 pm.

B. ROLL CALL

Upon a call of the roll, the following persons were:

Present: Chairman Armstrong, Members Pink and Sheldon (6:07pm).

Absent: None

Chairman Armstrong declared a quorum present.

Also in attendance: Village Trustee Towne; Bob Irvin, Village Administrator; Scott Anderson,

Village Engineer; Residents Adam Lyons, Tom Heinz, Patricia Cork (6:17pm); and Colleen

Liberacki, Deputy Village Clerk.

Chairman Armstrong declared a quorum present.

C. APPROVAL OF MINUTES FROM JULY 13, 2016 MEETING

Meeting minutes from July 13, 2016 were reviewed and it was moved by Member Pink and

seconded by Chairman Armstrong that the meeting minutes were approved. The motion was

carried.

D. REVIEW AND RECOMMENDATION OF OLD SCHOOL ROAD RESURFACING

BIDS

Scott Anderson presented the bid tabulation, noting one issue. He changed the specs on the

bidding documents to include recycled material allowed on the first layer of blacktop, but he

forgot to take out some conflicting text in line item #5, which might have caused some

confusion on the RFP. As a result of the public notice and six potential contractors notified,

only two bidders responded: Johnson Paving for $532,714.43 and Peter Baker for $522,817.00.

He noted that Johnson Paving did a nice job on Little St. Mary’s Road and Curran no longer

does work in the area. Anderson further noted that line item #14, the storm sewer work had a

wide variation between bidders, Johnson at $55,250 and Baker at $131,511 and suggested that

the Village hire another contractor to do that work at non-prevailing wage (possibly at $20K –

$30K) and pursue the Baker bid.

Member Pink inquired if the Johnson bid was affected by the mistake in the specs of the bid

that was publicly noticed and Chairman Armstrong inquired how much of a difference it would

have made. Anderson thought the difference was $10K. Member Pink inquired why item #10

(traffic control and protection) was so high for Johnson, $35,900 vs. $16,886 for Baker.

Anderson could not say for sure how the vendor structured their prices; possibly they might

have expected a price increase in materials. Member Pink was not comfortable with the bid

PW Committee Meeting August 10, 2016 Minutes 2

results due to the wide variation and Chairman Armstrong attempted to explain the reason for

this.

Scott Anderson noted the timeframe that the work must be done and contracts approved no

later than next month, as then the work would need to commence 10 days thereafter. Bob Irvin

suggested that they give notice to proceed after 10/15/16 if approved at next Village Board

meeting, so that the sewer work could be done prior to the paving work. Member Pink

inquired if Johnson or Baker would be bidding on line item #14, the sewer work, to which

Anderson replied not, as they were already subcontracting that work out.

Chairman Armstrong noted that Peter Baker’s bid would be $86K cheaper in comparison to the

Johnson Paving bid if line item #14 were removed from both contractors’ bids. Trustee Towne

suggested that Forest Builders might do the sewer work. Both Members Pink and Sheldon

were firm that they did not want the sewer work done after the paving work. It was agreed that

they would accept the Baker bid minus line item #14, storm sewer work and Baker could not

start until the sewer work was completed.

It was moved by Member Sheldon, and seconded by Member Pink, to recommend to the

Village Board that they accept the Peter Baker proposal for $391,306, minus line item

#14 (storm sewer work), subject to quantities noted in the specifications for the paving of

Old School Road. The motion was carried.

Bob Irvin noted that the committee could only approve items on the agenda, but a request was

made that Forest Builders storm sewer work proposal be on the Village Board agenda for next

week and waive the sealed bid process.

E. REVIEW AND RECOMMENDATION OF THE SNOW PLOWING AGREEMENT

WITH FOREST BUILDERS

Chairman Armstrong noted that there was a 4% price increase in the contract for each year in

duration (2016 – 2022). Bob Irvin also noted a 6.9% increase in the retainer, noting that the

new contract asked for $24,195 and the current retainer was $22,631. Scott Anderson thought

he was just rounding up the figures, but whatever Village Board of Mettawa decides would be

agreeable to him. Member Sheldon thought the price was very high and questioned why the

work did not go out to bid if it has not been bid in six years. Anderson replied that his price

six years ago was still lower than the next lowest bidder. Tim Towne noted that some years

are less work (like last year) and some years are heavier in labor, due to the snowfall, so the

cost evens out. Chairman Armstrong thought that they could place this item on the Village

Board agenda for their meeting next week and the trustees could decide to accept this proposal

and waive competitive bidding, or go out for bids.

F. ANY OTHER ITEMS THAT MAY APPEAR BEFORE THE COMMITTEE FOR

DISCUSSION AND POSSIBLE RECOMMENDATION TO THE VILLAGE BOARD

Chairman Armstrong noted that there were drainage issues close to John Maier’s house and in the

winter water collects in his driveway is iced over as a result. Scott Anderson stated that anyone who

builds a driveway should put in a culvert to prevent that from happening and he was not sure if this was

a homeowner or Village burden to solve. Trustee Towne suggested a culvert and a swale to alleviate

the issue. Chairman Armstrong suggested looking at the site and coming up with a proper solution, as a

minor adjustment would just send the problem down the road to the next neighbor. Adam Lyons noted

PW Committee Meeting August 10, 2016 Minutes 3

that the flowing drain ditch on the other side of the road was active. Member Sheldon inquired how

many properties had culverts, to which Anderson replied that those on the south side of the road had

culverts, and those on the north side of the road did not have culverts. He further explained that they

would be dealing with the county right-of-way and suggested a culvert under the Klassman property

and would have to work out with the county to regrade the ditch. Adam Lyons wondered if it was cost

effective to tie into the low point at the west corner of the property, which would act as a catch basin

and alleviate problems. Scott Anderson was not in favor of that solution, as it created more problems;

water running down the pavement was not desirable and it was not a good practice. Chairman

Armstrong suggested that this item be put on the agenda for the committee meeting next month.

Member Sheldon inquired if this was a Village problem not a homeowner problem, to which Chairman

Armstrong replied, yes. Scott Anderson promised to have a preliminary plan ready for the 9/14/16

committee meeting.

Bob Irvin noted that SSA15 was in place and tracer wire has to be approved by the county. He stated

the only open issue was a change order, moving the auger pits in two different locations which reduced

the cost, but did involve removing landscaping on some properties: Urlacher and Greenburg. Member

Sheldon suggested the restorative landscaping be comprised of pines and native seeding. Bob Irvin

stated the original contractor was contacted, but not interested, to which Member Sheldon suggested

that her vendor could perform the service for $1800 - $2000 to replace the buckthorn screening.

Member Pink noted that this was previously a blind spot, and it was better to replace with less

vegetation.

Bob Irvin stated he was in contact with the mayor of Green Oaks about a cost estimate and map of the

water main extension for the few Green Oaks residents who wanted water access, and the mayor was

unaware that there were residents who were interested in adding on to the Mettawa water access. They

said that they would discuss this topic in their village meeting in a couple of weeks. Member Sheldon

wanted to make a motion for the expenditure of the restorative landscaping not to exceed $4K,

however, Irvin stated that it was not necessary, as it was already included in the cost of the project.

Bob Irvin stated he was approached through Anderson Engineering about the SSA in the business park,

noting that the homeowners association at Oasis Park has handled the maintenance work and now

asked that the Village of Mettawa take over the administration of the SSA. Irvin looked into the SSA,

which also stated that the Village should take care of it.

G. ADJOURNMENT

It was moved by Member Pink to adjourn the meeting 6:54 pm, seconded by Member Sheldon.

The motion was carried.

_____________________________________________________

Colleen Liberacki, Deputy Village Clerk

This document is subject to correction as noted on next meeting’s minutes.