City of Watseka
201 Brianna Dr
PO Box 338
Watseka, IL. 60970
PUBLIC WORKS COMMITTEE MEETING
JANUARY 12, 2016
7:00 PM
PRESENT: Aldermen Purvis, Cahoe, Marcier, Allhands, Garfield, Dewitt, Elliott, Alderwoman
Ulfers, Mayor Harwood
GUESTS: Resident Ted Horner, Eric LaVoie with the Watseka Youth League, Public Works
Supervisor Marvin DeLahr
Alderman Purvis opened the meeting at 7:00pm. Resident Ted Horner was the first to speak. He
gave the committee a brief history of his experiences with the flooding in the City of Watseka.
Mr. Horner has talked to the City of Hoopeston about a Federal program that they have
relocating residents to higher ground. Mr. Horner gave Mayor Harwood information concerning
that program and he will look into it.
There was no one present from ERH. Mayor Harwood stated during the last flood the treatment
plant had no problems. There were some minor problems at the Mulberry St. lift station but the
repairs are being made. Mayor Harwood stated ERH will be fixing 3 hydrants on Thursday of
this week.
Eric Lavoie with the Watseka Youth League spoke next. Mr. Lavoie reported the league has
made the decision to switch from Little League to Pony League for the entire youth league. He
stated the league would like to have the City’s permission to move the mound back 4 feet and
move the bases back 10 feet and the grass on the infield might have to be adjusted also. The
league will do the work themselves and doesn’t want any money from the City. There was a
lengthy discussion that followed concerning other leagues using the diamond. Alderman
Allhands makes a motion to recommend to the Council to allow the league to make
the changes to the mound, bases and grass if necessary. Alderman Purvis seconded.
Roll call carried 8-1 with Alderman Dewitt voting no.
Public Works Supervisor Marvin DeLahr reported next on the following projects:
Flood Issues: Public Works employees did their part for the latest flood. Barricades were put
out starting December 29th. Sandbagging operations began on December 30th. Crews worked
the hours that were needed to say ahead of rising waters. They also ran 24 hours a day on the
west side of town to operate the end-loader for the police and fire departments. Water
elevations were taken periodically to track the changes in the rise or fall of the floodwater. Once
the water began receding streets were cleared of debris. Because of the drop in temperature
ice formed on the roads, public works was able to salt and clear the ice to open the roads. All of
the roads were open by Sunday, January 3rd. Dumpsters were ordered and Public Works began
picking up debris curbside January 6th. As of today they have filled 7-- 30 yard dumpsters.
Debris cleanup is scheduled to continue until January 22nd.
North Street Improvements: Mayor Harwood and Marvin met with Van Calombaris from
Robinson Engineering to discuss the details for the North St improvement project. This is the
project that has been discussed for the past couple of years. The project starts at the railroad
tracks and goes east to N 4th St. The total cost for the entire project which includes new curb
and gutter, storm sewer, sidewalk, parking for school buses, water main and engineering
amounts to $1,341,000. The engineering will need to be done this spring so the State has time
to review the plans, changes to be made are done, paperwork filed, money is allotted and plans
can make it out to the State’s bid letting later in the Spring. This preliminary work must be done
now if the project is to be done during the 2017 construction season. The City will need to pay
for the $142,500 engineering costs with either MFT money or money from the general fund. If
MFT money is used then the approval of that expenditure must be done immediately with an
Engineering Agreement and a resolution passed by the City Council. If the general fund is used
then just the Engineering Agreement will need to be approved. Mayor Harwood states he hopes
to have an overview of the budget ready for finance next week. He stated the City used
$128,000 in unbudgeted money for the July flood which is why he believes it is a good idea to
use MFT money for the project. Mayor Harwood stated he is good with moving forward with the
engineering part of the project at this time. Alderman Cahoe makes a motion to
recommend to the Council to move forward with the engineering for the North St
project using MFT funds and Alderman Marcier seconded. Roll call carried 9-0.
Parking Issue: There is an asphalt parking area located between the curb and the sidewalk on
the west side of S 2nd St. just north of Cherry St. This was originally installed to provide parking
for functions at the Watseka Union Depot. It is now being used daily for employee parking for a
local business. This has raised a safety issue because of sight restrictions for vehicle operators
heading east from the stop sign on Cherry St. With cars and especially trucks parked there
southbound traffic can’t be seen until it is almost at the intersection. There have been accidents
there. It has been suggested to eliminate the south 3 parking stalls to allow for better visibility.
After some discussion Alderman Purvis makes a motion to recommend to the Council
to eliminate the south 3 parking stalls on the west side of S 2nd St just north of
Cherry St . Alderman Cahoe seconded. Roll call carried 9-0;
New Truck: The new dump truck is still at Rahn Equipment in Danville getting the bed, plow,
lights, controls, hydraulics, spreader and spinner installed. Marvin was told it should be done in
about 2 weeks.
Tree Dump: A local resident has volunteered, free of charge, to man the tree dump a few
times a month to allow residents to dump there during the winter. Normally the dump is closed
all of January, all of February, and the first two weeks of March. This normally works out fine
but his concern was for items that floated into yards during the flood. However Public Works
has been picking up logs and brush during our flood debris pick up. There was some discussion
about if the dump is opened back up then the current employee should be allowed to work on
those weekends. It was decided not to open the dump up, just leave the hours as they are.
Alderman Purvis makes a motion to adjourn at 7:46 pm and Alderwoman Ulfers
seconded. Roll call carried 9-0.
________________________________Marvin Purvis, Chairman