The village of Forest Park recently received word that a green infrastructure grant applied for in July 2019 will be awarded.
At the Dec. 14 village council meeting, Village Administrator Tim Gillian announced that the Metropolitan Water Reclamation District (MWRD) will provide funds for the village to construct a permeable paver parking lot at 510 Desplaines Ave., across from village hall, where the employee lot is located.
“I’m happy to say we got it,” Gillian said during the meeting. “It’s been approved, and there were more than 30 applicants. We were one of 10 villages who will receive money.”
When completed, said Gillian, the parking lot will retain as much as 40,000 gallons of rainwater during a storm.
Gillian also plans to make the project specifications available for future projects. “We’re hopeful that more and more developers will start moving this way” in terms of green infrastructure, he said.
The total budget for the project is $345,600, and the MWRD will pay $288,000 of that. The village will pay the remainder.
The description in the original application explained that this project will help prevent flooding during heavy rainfall.
“The proposed Permeable Paver Parking Lot Project will significantly decrease the volume of stormwater entering the village’s combined sewers … Permeable or green pavements allow 97% of rainwater to infiltrate into the ground,” reads the application.
