Niles officials say Evanston continues to be the lowest-cost option in the village’s ongoing quest for a cheaper water source.
The village board approved two measures at its last meeting in July signaling a continued commitment to pursuing a 40-year agreement to buy water from Evanston in partnership with Morton Grove. The two communities have been working together on the effort for the last two years. Park Ridge officials previously expressed interest in joining the effort, but the municipality has since dropped out of the project.
Niles trustees last week approved an additional $12,500 expenditure for consulting services from Chicago-based Stanley Consultants. Morton Grove will also pitch in an additional $12,500 for the work, according to village documents.
Last October, the board approved a roughly $22,000 expenditure for a study from the firm to figure out whether the municipalities could tap into Skokie’s water lines in their ultimate bid to purchase Lake Michigan water from Evanston rather than Chicago. The total $45,000 cost of the work was split with Morton Grove. Village coffers have been taxed by significant rate increases on Chicago water in recent years.
“We have concluded again that Evanston continues to be the lower-cost option,” said village manager Steve Vinezeano. He said Morton Grove and Niles officials have approached the Northwest Water Commission, Aqua Illinois, Glenview and Wilmette about buying water from those agencies and Evanston continues to be the cheaper option. Officials did not disclose any tentative quotes from the city in the documents provided to the public.
Vinezeano said Niles and Morton Grove representatives continue to meet with Skokie officials to figure out a way to use the village’s infrastructure to transport water from Evanston to Niles and Morton Grove. He said the goal is to reduce capital costs for Niles and Morton Grove by using existing water lines while also providing some benefit to Skokie.
The costs of the project have been split 50/50 between Niles and Morton Grove thus far, said Bill Balling, a consultant on the project. He said Niles officials will need to approve a cost-sharing formula with Morton Grove sometime in the near future because “as contract values get larger, it’s important we have a fair allocation of those costs.”
As the project moves forward, Vinezeano and Balling said the village will also need to go out to bid for what is estimated to be a $600,000 engineering and route study to determine how exactly water will be pumped from Evanston to Niles and Morton Grove and how much it will cost to construct the necessary infrastructure.
Trustee George Alpogianis expressed concern that the village would have to pay for the engineering study before inking a deal with Evanston.
More Top Picks Best Tablets
“My recommended approach would be to get that contract signed and back to you for a supply of water for a 40-year period before we entertain the contract on design and we think the timing will work on that,” Balling said in response to the trustee’s query.
Balling and Vinezeano also assured trustees that they had been meeting with Skokie officials on a regular basis and they are “optimistic” they’ll figure out the best way to transport water through the village to both Niles and Morton Grove.
“We are focusing on three different (route) alignments, two of which have been recommended by Skokie,” Balling said. “We are trying not to surprise Skokie in any way and maintain a dialogue with them.”
Alpogianis said the amount of money spent up to this point and the amount the village would likely spend in the future on the project made him “a little uneasy” given some outstanding uncertainty.
“I think we should have a little more substance before we take that dive – no pun intended,” he said.
Niles Mayor Andrew Przybylo said he had received assurances from staff that the multimillion-dollar project will eventually save the village money once water is flowing from Evanston to Niles.
Both Morton Grove and Niles staff – along with their consultants – are combing through the details and approaching every aspect of the project with a large degree of caution and thoughtfulness, Vinezeano said.
“This is all very complicated,” he said. “There are a lot of moving parts and it’s a legacy project so we need to make sure as we move forward it will be a project with long-term benefits to Niles and Morton Grove.”
Lee Gaines is a freelancer.