The regular monthly meeting of the Highway Committee of the DeKalb County Board met on Thursday, June 1, 2006 at 6:00pm in the Conference Room of the DeKalb County Highway Department, DeKalb, Illinois.  

Chair LaVigne called the meeting to order at 6:07pm.  Committee members present were, Mr. Anderson, Ms. Fauci, and Mr. Whelan.   Also present were County Engineer William Lorence, Wayne Davey, Highway Department Support Services Manager, Mr. Greg Millburg, Farm Bureau, Mr. Mike Becker, President, Village of Kirkland and Ms. Pamela Bublitz-Snider, Kirkland resident. 

APPROVAL OF MINUTES:

Motion made by Mr. Whelan and seconded by Ms. Fauci to approve the minutes of the regular April 6, 2006 meeting and the minutes of the special meeting of May 31, 2006.  The motion to approve both minutes carried unanimously.

APPROVAL OF AGENDA:

Motion made by Ms. Fauci to approve the agenda and Mr. Anderson seconded this motion.  The motion carried unanimously to approve the agenda as presented.    

PUBLIC COMMENT:

Mr. Mike Becker, President of the Village of Kirkland was present on behalf of the residents of Kirkland living on Kirkland Road between the railroad tracks and North Street. 

Committee member Mr. Anderson explained to the Committee the concerns of residents.  These concerns are a result of construction activities during the replacement of the Kirkland Road Bridge during the summer of 2005.  Mr. Anderson indicated that several of the DeKalb County Board members have visited the site in question.  The concerns of the residents were erosion, inlet problems (put in too low), and dirt and gravel getting into drain tile.  The Highway Department has and is continuing to work on these concerns.  The Department is waiting for favorable weather conditions to complete the soil conditioning and re-seeding.  Once the grass is growing the vegetation should control the erosion.  Once the erosion is controlled the drainage tiles will be cleaned out.  The drainage inlet has been raised up four inches.  Hopefully this will help this situation.  The water entering this inlet feeds into a 24-inch storm tile, not an eight-inch as Mr. Anderson previously had thought.  With the installation of this tile this will help the drainage.  The County will continue to work on these concerns. 

Mr. Becker stated the residents are voicing concerns over drainage problems that could arise during heavy periods of rain, especially on the west side of 6^th street, just north of North Street. 

The County Engineer stated this area was actually lower now than before the construction to allow for the water to drain better toward the Kishwaukee River.  The small berm that was removed was done to allow water to flow to the Kishwaukee and not into the yard at the corner.  The cross pipe was removed as well to keep the water from flowing into this yard and now it should flow into the Kishwaukee.  This property owner should be much better off.  Pictures provided by Mr. Thurlby taken during a rainstorm over the Memorial Day weekend actually showed the water draining as it should, and that is toward the Kishwaukee.  The new project with curb and gutter produces less water going into these yards than before.

Chair LaVigne stated that correspondence sent to the committee has been distributed to all members explaining the concerns of the residents and review of the photos taken by Mr. Thurlby over Memorial Day appear to show the water draining appropriately.

Ms. Bublitz-Snider addressed the committee.  Ms. Bublitz-Snider expressed concern over a rainstorm that occurred recently where the water came down a handicap ramp, over the sidewalk at the corner of 6^th and Beyers, under her pine tree and came straight toward her four-year old’s bedroom window.  The water came approximately one-third of the way to her house during this fifteen minute down pour.  Since she has moved to her present location in 1999 there has never been a time when water would cross the sidewalk and enter her yard even though it has rained much harder and longer than the recent storm.  If we ever have a torrential rainstorm Ms. Bublitz-Snider is very concerned she will have a flooded basement and she attributes this to the recent construction of the roadway on Kirkland Road.  The roadway has been raised and the slope of the shoulders, originally were left at 70-80 degrees.  Since raising her concerns the Highway Department has returned and added approximately six-inches of dirt and lessoning the angle somewhat.  The angle is still too steep to mow and her easement is full of rocks that will be picked up by any mower trying to mow this area causing a very dangerous situation for motorist and pedestrians alike.  Ms. Bublitz-Snider presented an e-mail from the residents at 212 N. 6^th Street, Kirkland, Illinois wherein they stated their concerns as being the removal of a small berm between the river and North Street, a culvert being removed at the corner of North and 6^th Street and relocated to the south side of North Street, and the gravel in the yard as a result of aggregate shoulders being placed on the edge of the road.  Ms. Bublitz-Snider stated she fell with her baby on May 3, 2006 while walking through her easement tripping on several large rocks that were left behind by the construction crew.  If her child were not properly restrained in his car seat he would have been seriously injured.  Ms. Bublitz-Snider further stated that she had severely twisted her right ankle as a result of this incident.  Pictures presented showing the initial stages of the landscaping in this are deceptive.  The angle is not fully captured in the pictures taken by the Highway Department.  Ms. Bublitz-Snider stated she was grateful for the recent work done concerning the landscaping but continues to have grave concerns about the drainage. 

Chair LaVigne stated that these things would take time, time for the dirt to be conditioned and time for the seed to grow. 

The County Engineer stated that the handicap ramps are required and the Department could not install curb and gutter without installing these ramps.  If the ramps were not there the water would have to be six inches or higher in order to get over the curb and on the sidewalk.  Previously, prior to construction all the water went that way.  Now the curb and gutter are picking it up. 

Mr. Anderson informed Ms. Bublitz-Snider that as the weather permits the Highway Department will be in there conditioning the soil and re-seeding the area that has not supported vegetation in the past.  Then the drains will be cleaned and hopefully drainage concerns will be reduced.

            Mr. Lorence stated that all the piping in this area was oversized to allow for better water flow in a worse case scenario.  Prior to construction all the water ran down the sidewalk.  All that was done during construction was to gather the water from the street and channel it to the curb and gutter.  This should improve the drainage in this area.  The quality of fill that was used on this project, at least for the easements that residents maintain and mow was unacceptable.

Ms. Bublitz-Snider stated she knows this is a process and this is the first step in bringing their concerns to the attention of the Board.  In speaking with other residents in the area they stated that they feel defeated.  They will continue to mow their yards but the County will do nothing to address their concerns.  She further stated she was distressed when she fell with her child and may have been a bit pointed when speaking with the County Engineer.  Ms. Bublitz-Snider stated she felt unsafe mowing her easement and did not appreciate comments concerning the County would mow the easement twice a year for her if she felt unsafe doing it.

Chair LaVigne thanked Mr. Becker and Ms. Bublitz-Snider for coming and sharing their concerns with the Committee.  Efforts will continue to try to address their concerns.

RESOLUTION FOR BID AWARD FOR SECTION 05-00209-CF-BR:

Mr. Lorence explained that bids were taken for the replacement of a box culvert located on Chicago Road just west of Sleepy Hollow Road.  This was a bridge that was engineered in house.  This will be a precast bridge and the contractor is only being given ten days to complete this project.  There is no easy way to detour traffic in this area other than sending traffic up Interstate 39 to US 30 and back down Shabbona Road.  Local traffic will find other routes but these will involve Road District Roads and if the road is closed for a long period of time those roads would be severally damaged.  D. R. Gilbert and Son from Rochelle submitted the low bid meeting specifications.  The bid was 25% over the engineer’s estimate and this appeared to be based on the price used for the removal of the existing structure.  Estimates received were very similar for this item and the County Engineer determined that the County underestimated that cost.  Mr. Lorence recommended to the Committee that the project be awarded to D. R. Gilbert.  A motion was made by Mr. Anderson and seconded by Mr. Whelan to forward the proposed resolution to the full County Board recommending approval of this award to D. R. Gilbert and Son.  The motion carried unanimously.

CHAIR’S COMMENTS:   Chair LaVigne shared information concerning the closing of the Glidden Road interchange of I-88.  She reminded everyone that the Peace Road exit would continue to be open.  

COUNTY ENGINEER’S COMMENTS:

Mr. Lorence provided his progress report to the Committee.  Those projects noted in red are the ones that have been updated since the Committee’s last report.  Our Malta Road project is still awaiting award and should be awarded in the near future. The Bethany Road extension is nearing completion.  Peace Road widening is still waiting to see if we will receive Federal funding for this project.  It may be ready for a July letting, but we will not know until the middle of June.  Glidden Road right-of-way project is almost complete.  The County may have reached an agreement with the final property owner.  The bridge on Suydam Road over Little Indian Creek is scheduled for this summer and is on track. 

ADDITIONAL COMMENTS:  None.

ADJOURNMENT:

Chair LaVigne inquired if there was anything else that needed to be brought before the Committee and hearing none asked for a motion to adjourn.  A motion was made by Mr. Anderson to adjourn and this motion was seconded by Ms. Fauci.  The motion passed unanimously and the June 1, 2006 meeting was adjourned at 6:55 p.m. 

Respectfully Submitted

Pat LaVigne

Chair