Proposed infrastructure projects for the village of Forest Park for 2021 include just over $5M in improvements, according to a presentation by Jim Amelio of Christopher B. Burke Engineering, Ltd. (CBBEL), village engineer, at the council meeting on Feb. 8.
Most of the projects will be on the north side of town, though 2020 saw many improvements on the south side, including the Circle Avenue sewer separation and street resurfacing, a $4.4M project in itself, funded by a combination of grants and TIF money.
Amelio said during the meeting that priority for projects such as water main replacement or street resurfacing are done based on how badly repairs are needed. Five years ago, he said, CBBEL did a full village assessment, driving down all alleys and streets.
“We did a very simplistic reading: good, average, fair and poor,” Amelio said. “The ‘poor’ streets we tried to work into the five-year plan.” The same applied to water mains. “We worked with the water department, consulted with them, identified where their frequent breaks are … and came up with prioritizing certain streets to get water mains.”
And, over time, some projects got moved up or down in the order depending on need.
In 2021, the south side will see 14th Street resurfaced and the south water tower painted.
On the north side, projects include more water main and street work, demolition of the Altenheim buildings, construction of the Van Buren Street path, repaving of the parking lot across from village hall, resurfacing of Jackson Boulevard between Madison Street and Desplaines Ave., and painting of the north water tower.
The total $5,053,000 projected to be spent on these projects is broken down into the following funding sources: $755,500 from VIP; $530,000 from motor fuel tax; $770,000 from the water fund; $1,800,000 from TIF funding; and $1,197,500 from grants.
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