HOMER GLEN
Infrastructure projects on tap
The Village Board recently voted to begin negotiations on an engineering contract that would jump-start plans for an extensive sewer line.
After delaying the motion earlier in July, the board voted 6-1 to negotiate a contract with McDonough Associates that begins phase one engineering, which looks at sewer alignment among other factors. Trustee George Yukich was the only no vote.
At the meeting, Homer Glen resident Marvin Pickering said he hopes flooding concerns and property values along the sewer line, which will run along 159th Street from Cedar to Gougar Roads, are taken into account.
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Trustee Laurel Ward said the engineering bid will evaluate flooding concerns and public input before the line is built.
In unrelated village news, 151st Street between Cedar and Gougar will be repaved in late September with $395,000 in funds the village received from the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act, according to Village Manager Paula Wallrich.
— Sheila Burt
PARK FOREST
Aqua Center redo will add classroom
The Aqua Center in Park Forest is targeted for a major renovation that includes plans for an indoor classroom for school groups to study the nearby Central Park Wetlands.
The bidding process is set to begin in August, according to John Joyce, director of the Recreation and Parks Department, and construction is scheduled to begin after the pool closes for the 2009 season on Labor Day.
The bath house, originally built in the 1950s, is the focus of the $800,000 project, he said. The reconfiguration of space will also include a more efficient design for employees and the public.
Funding will come from a $400,000 grant from the Department of Natural Resources and matching funds from village coffers, Village Manager Tom Mick said.
Village officials are particularly excited about plans for a classroom that will complement the Central Park Wetlands project. Since the development of the wetlands two years ago, about 2,000 students have visited and used it as “an environmental science classroom.” During the pool’s off season students and teachers made use of the pool lobby to gather and work.
All improvements should be complete so the renovated Aqua Center opens on time for the 2010 pool season, Joyce said.
— Barbara Dargis
HOMER GLEN
Will County begins tree restoration
The Will County Forest Preserve District has begun a $2.5 million tree and shrub restoration in the 625-acre Messenger Marsh in Homer Glen.
Plans call for planting 7,443 trees — mostly oak and hickory — and 2,841 shrubs native to Illinois in response to the destruction of trees during construction of Interstate Highway 355. The Illinois State Highway Toll Authority is paying for the project as part of a 1996 tree mitigation agreement.
Planting locations are marked by wooden posts and temporary fencing intended to protect the young trees and shrubs from deer. The large-scale restoration will take years to complete, but “will be a real gem when completed,” said district President Cory Singer.
Messenger Marsh, located on South Bell Road, began with the purchase of two acres in 1989. It is part of the Spring Creek Greenway.
— Dennis Sullivan