Members of a local grassroots environmental group are urging officials in Arlington Heights to consider “green” solutions as part of the village’s estimated $41 million in upcoming stormwater management projects that aim to reduce flooding.
Mary Jo Warskow, a member of the Arlington Heights Cool Cities Coalition, said she planned to meet this week with Scott Shirley, the village’s director of public works, sharing the message that “green infrastructure is a viable option.”
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“We want the village to consider green infrastructure as a supplemental solution, but we realize that sewers are the primary way to handle stormwater,” said Warskow, who also serves as a member of the village’s plan commission.
“We also hope to connect the village with technical and financial resources from organizations that offer to help municipalities develop green infrastructure solutions,” Warskow said.
For example, Warskow said The Center for Neighborhood Technology, a nonprofit research and advocacy organization, could be a strong resource for village officials as they explore sustainable stormwater solutions, which could range from residents planting rain gardens in their yards to the village using permeable pavement to absorb run-off water in public areas.
While the village’s future stormwater management projects have yet to be decided, earlier this year officials said they are considering a new stormwater utility fee to help fund costly flood control projects.
A stormwater utility fee, which officials said is already being used as a funding tool for flood control projects in neighboring communities including Buffalo Grove, Des Plaines, Palatine and Rolling Meadows, would be billed to all property owners in the village, including homeowners and commercial property owners.
Towns vary in the manner in which the stormwater utility fee bill is calculated – for example, some towns bill homeowners a flat fee across the board, while others base the utility fee on a property’s impervious surfaces.
Still, village officials said the new funding mechanism would be preferable to raising property taxes to pay for an estimated $41 million in future flood control projects.
The stormwater utility fee is just one of several proposals being discussed by officials, who have also been reviewing the results of a trio of recent surveys targeting flooding in the village.
The surveys, which were conducted by two independent consultants hired by the village, estimated the cost for various capital projects aimed at reducing local flooding in several areas of town, including neighborhoods with combined and separate sewer systems.
Village Manager Randall Recklaus said that while the stormwater management discussions thus far have been preliminary, the village board could begin voting on specific proposals in the coming months, including the possible inception of a new stormwater utility fee.
“The consultant’s study was very high-level and generally focused on underground infrastructure,” Recklaus said. “But at this point, we’re open-minded and looking at all the options on the table.
“There are a number of different things we can do with green solutions, and some of them we’re already doing, like distributing free rain barrels to residents, and we’ve gotten hundreds of orders,” Recklaus added. “That’s an example of the type of program that in and of itself is not going to resolve every flooding issue, but it does help.”
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