South Cook News

City of Palos Heights Municipal Grounds and Property Committee met Jan. 28

Here are the minutes provided by the committee:

CALL TO ORDER

Chairman Begley called the Municipal Grounds and Property Committee meeting to order at 7:09 p.m. at City Hall. In attendance were Chairman Begley, Alderman Brennan, Alderman Clifford, Public Works Director Adam Jasinski, recording secretary Morgan Pukula and 2 members of the Public Arts Commission.

APPROVAL OF MINUTES

Chairman Begley moved to approve the minutes of the Municipal Ground and Property Committee meeting held on November 26, 2024, seconded by Alderman Clifford. On a voice vote, the motion passed unanimously.

PUBLIC COMMENT

Darlene and Tara from the Public Arts Commission brought the idea of moving the storybook walk from Lake Katherine to a location where it will be utilized more by children. There are 8 storyboards currently that can be easily moved that are 4x4 spike posts. The recommendation was to install them at Palmer Park in the spring/summer because of the amount of kids who play there.

Chairman Begley stated they should tell the Recreation Department because it will be on Recreation property. It was agreed to table this until next meeting for better location details before installation.

DIRECTOR’S REPORT

Public Works Director Adam Jasinski presented the following report:

• Motor Vehicle Maintenance Update: The pistons on the truck bed of one of the plow trucks started to leak, so we can no longer keep salt in this truck but it is still able to plow. The repair cannot be done in house, so it will be sent out to Standard Equipment.

• Energy Aggregation: Every 1-3 years, we try to aggregate the purchase of electricity from the lowest electricity provider. We typically select NEMEC to go out to bid for us and because the energy costs are volatile, the decision needs to be made quickly. We will not be limiting our broker to NEMEC this year; the search for other brokers will begin with finding how other agencies purchase their energy. The bid would be going out in March.

Chairman Begley motioned to approve for the Mayor to enter into a contract for the purchase of electricity from the lowest cost electricity provider through the energy aggregation process, seconded by Alderman Brennan. On a voice vote, the motion passed unanimously.

• Lake Katherine: We installed a backup pump in the waterfall that failed, and recently found out that the original pump is beyond repair. The installation will take place in April because it was just delivered in December.

Chairman Begley motioned to approve payment for the new Lake Katherine waterfall pump and accessories from Flow-Technics, Inc. in the amount of $19,110.00, seconded by Alderman Clifford. On a voice vote, the motion passed unanimously. 

• Lights in the Heights: Chairman Begley motioned to approve Artistic Holiday Designs to install, service and remove owned product and leased twinkle lights on trees and bushes at Community Park in the amount of $5,645.00, seconded by Alderman Brennan. On a voice vote, the motion passed unanimously.

• Ordinance approval to declare equipment as surplus: Chairman Begley motioned to approve the 1996 Ford 345D tractor loader (serial no. A423155) and the 1998 New Holland 675E combination excavator (serial no. 031014086) as surplus to be sold on iBid, seconded by Alderman Brennan. On a voice vote, the motion passed unanimously.

PROFESSIONAL SERVICES

Chairman Begley motioned to approve professional engineering services to Christopher B. Burke Engineering Ltd. For the Sal-Sag Trail at Lake Katherine, Phase III project in the amount of $21,362.19, seconded by Alderman Clifford. On a voice vote, the motion passed unanimously.

OLD BUSINESS

We received proposals from Christopher B. Burke on the bike path at Lake Katherine. We narrowed it down to 2 options and we requested the pros and cons of both. We will also discuss funding options once the final decision is made.

NEW BUSINESS

Chairman Begley invited the aldermen to two events at Lake Katherine. One is a celebration/opening ceremony for the new parking lot on March 25th at noon. There is also a volunteer event at Lake Katherine on February 20th for those interested.

ADJOURNMENT

There being no further business, Chairman Begley moved to adjourn, seconded by Alderman Brennan. All in favor. Meeting adjourned at 7:34 p.m.

https://palosheights.org/AgendaCenter/ViewFile/Agenda/_02252025-1138