Niles briefs

The City of Des Plaines Seeks Fire/Paramedic Applicants

The City of Des Plaines is accepting applications for the position of Firefighter/Paramedic. Applications are online at iosolutions.com and must be submitted for consideration no later than 4:00 P.M. on Wednesday, September 18, 2019. Please view the job description to view the requirements, application, and testing information.  All additional questions should be directed to IOS Recruitment at [email protected] or 1.888.784.1290.

Petition for Unimproved Alleys

The City of Park Ridge has opened the Alley Petition Process for a pilot Green Alley Paving Program.  This program is for the construction of “green alleys” for those alleys that are currently gravel.  Green alleys have concrete edges and permeable brick pavers in the middle to promote infiltration and reduce the impact to the City’s sewer system.  Two alleys are budgeted this fiscal year for the pilot program.

The following is a summary of the alley paving process.  Please note that this process is done separately for each alley:

Alley petitions are available on the City’s website or at the Public Works Office at City Hall

Residents of the block are expected to organize circulation of the petition

If the petition is downloaded and circulated, it then must be filed with the City before 5:00 PM on Monday, September 30, 2019

If a majority of property owners along both sides of the alley sign the petition, the City will confirm the petitions and verify that the alley can be properly engineered.  Each property owner may only sign the petition one time

Once this list is finalized, a public lottery will be held to determine the order of priority

After the priority list is established by lottery, ballots will be sent to each resident abutting the first two alleys selected.  Estimated cost per property will be included in the ballot letter (Note: the City funds 50% of the total cost and the residents fund 50%)

If a majority of property owners vote “YES” on the ballot (over 50%), the City will move forward with establishing a Special Service Area for each alley

An Ordinance is passed proposing the establishment of a Special Service Area and a date for a Public Hearing is set.  A Public Hearing is held approximately 60 days after the proposing Ordinance is approved by the City Council

After the Public Hearing, there is a 60-day waiting period where registered voters and property owners may file an objection against the Special Service Area.  An objection petition must be signed by more than 51% of property owners and registered voters with the relevant area

If no objection is obtained, the City moves the project forward for design and construction

Once constructed, the property owner’s payment will appear on their property tax bill starting a year after construction and continues for five (5) years

Once the signed petition is filed and accepted, the process will continue as described above.

If you have any questions, please feel free to contact:

Public Works Department at (847) 318-5228

Morton Grove - Niles Water Commission receives the 2019 Outstanding Civil Engineering Achievement Award

The Morton Grove - Niles Water Commission received the 2019 Outstanding Civil Engineering Achievement Award for a project ranging from $35M to $100M from the Illinois Section of the American Society of Civil Engineers.

This prestigious honor  is awarded annually to an engineering Project which best exemplifies new or innovative application of technology, resourcefulness in solving complex problems, and environmental, social, and economic sustainability.

The Morton Grove- Niles Water Commission (“MGNWC”) was established in 2017 to provide Morton Grove and Niles with a long-term supply of top-quality Lake Michigan water at better and more stable prices than the rate charged by the City of Chicago. The MGNWC selected Evanston as its supplier because of the city’s 100 plus year track record of supplying safe high-quality Lake Michigan water to residents of Evanston, Arlington Heights, Buffalo Grove, Des Plaines, Palatine, Skokie, and Wheeling. The MGNWC negotiated a 50-year agreement with Evanston at an initial rate approximately 75% less than Chicago’s. Future rate increases were stabilized at approximately 2% a year. The MGNWC then  designed and built new water-mains, pump stations and a water standpipe to deliver the water to both communities. Outdated infrastructure was replaced or rebuilt , including over 9.5 miles of new water mains,  and over 10 miles of resurfaced streets in, Morton Grove, Niles and Skokie. The Project‘s $100 million cost were financed through low-interest loans from the Illinois Environmental Protection Agency and long-term bonds with a net interest rate of 2.8% payable over 30 years. General Village revenues will NOT be used to pay this debt. The loans will be paid by water customers as part of the water rate which is less than the Chicago rate.

West Nile Virus - North Shore Mosquito Abatement

The North Shore Mosquito Abatement District has found the first West Nile virus positive mosquitoes to occur in our traps in Lincolnwood and Morton Grove this year. Batches of mosquitoes, collected from NSMAD traps in Lincolnwood and Morton Grove, tested positive for West Nile virus in our lab on June 26, 2019.

With the WNV positive results from our Lincolnwood and Morton Grove traps, every community that we serve has had WNV positive batches of mosquitoes, including: Deerfield (Cook County) Evanston, Glencoe, Glenview, Golf, Kenilworth, Lincolnwood, Morton Grove, Niles, Northbrook, Northfield, Skokie, Wilmette and Winnetka. Please visit the NSMAD website to see the most current test results. Although the risk of being infected with West Nile virus is low at this time, the NSMAD recommends that residents take personal protection measures to minimize mosquito bites including: using insect repellent, wearing loose fitting clothing and avoiding peak mosquito feeding times during the hours around dawn and dusk.

Residents are urged to examine their property and eliminate any items that can hold water, particularly smaller items that may be easily overlooked.