[0:02] call this meeting to order. In the
absence of of of Mayor Shapiro, uh would
[0:06] like to do roll call jury. Sure. Um
Mayor Shapiro is absent. Trustee Benton
[0:12] » here.
>> Trusty Berg
[0:13] » here.
>> Trusty Goldstone
[0:14] » here.
>> Trustee Greenberg
[0:18] » here.
>> Trusty Jacobe
[0:21] » here.
>> And Trusty Oppenheim
[0:22] » here. We have a quorum.
>> All right. Can I have a motion to
[0:25] nominate Trusty Goldstone as presiding
officer for the meeting? So move
[0:30] » second.
>> All those in favor say I.
[0:32] » I.
>> I.
[0:33] » Motion carries.
[0:49] Um. Okay. So, we should rise for the
pledge of allegiance. District 113 is
[0:53] here to lead us.
[1:04] I aliance to the flag of the United
States of America and to the republic
[1:10] for which it stands. One nation under
God, indivisible, with liberty and
[1:17] justice for all.
[1:22] » Thanks, guys. I think I think we have a
presentation from you guys in just a
[1:26] little bit after we appoint Daddy as the
fine arts committee chairman.
[1:31] » We'll welcome you back in just a second.
>> So now we have an appointment of Daddy
[1:38] Feedler. Is that right?
>> Yay.
[1:40] » And uh I understand the Fine Arts
Commission is here as well to support
[1:44] you in this appointment.
>> Thank you.
[1:47] » And I think I was told were you on the
commission for 27 years.
[1:51] » Oh my gosh.
>> From the beginning. Well, thank you.
[1:57] » Then I guess I'm looking for a motion.
>> Motion to approve.
[2:00] » To approve.
>> So moved.
[2:01] » Second.
>> Roll call, please.
[2:05] » Trusty Benton,
>> yes.
[2:07] » Trusty Berg,
>> yes.
[2:08] » Trustee Goldstone,
>> yes.
[2:11] » Trusty Greenberg,
>> yes.
[2:14] » Trusty Jacobe,
>> yes.
[2:16] » And Trustee Appenheim,
>> absolutely.
[2:18] » Motion passes.
>> Congratulations.
[2:20] » Thank you.
[2:23] Daddy, thank you for your continued
service. All the members of the finance
[2:26] commission, we thank you for all that
you do for us. We we got a chance to
[2:30] recognize Jeff a couple of meetings ago
and that was pretty awesome uh given
[2:34] what you do. But we're looking forward,
daddy, for another 27 years from you
[2:38] » as our chair.
>> Thank you.
[2:43] » Um and now we have a presentation from
District 113.
[2:54] Yeah. Uh, good evening everybody. Uh,
I'm Amita Reed. I'm a resident of
[3:00] Deerfield. I have two high schoolers.
Um,
[3:04] » hello. I'm Mary Beth Arzek. I'm a
co-president from Highland Park and my
[3:08] kids are out of the schools.
>> And we have Angie Bera, our executive
[3:13] director. and we are here representing
the District 113 Education Foundation
[3:18] today. Uh I'm going to go to the next
slide. Um this is our mission statement
[3:24] and basically our mission is to champion
excellence at Deerfield and Highland
[3:29] Park high schools by trying to fund
beyond the budget initiatives at the
[3:34] district and innovative oper uh
opportunities and initiatives to empower
[3:40] the students. Um I'm going to go to the
next slide. Uh we have been founded uh
[3:46] in 2007. Uh I think I'm going to read
from here. Um we are a 501c3 status. Um
[3:54] at the heart of everything we do is our
schools. So we we we have funded over
[4:01] 650,000 in grant requests since 2007.
And the way this works is the teachers
[4:08] um you know in the beginning of the
school year they they they come up with
[4:12] a grant request that's beyond their
funded initiatives and they submit to us
[4:18] and we have a rubric and we evaluate the
grant and the rubric includes like you
[4:22] cannot have any you know request food
items or transportations or there has to
[4:27] be innovation and what is the impact to
the students and you know like uh we
[4:33] only fund the for the first year and
after that they have to collect all the
[4:38] data points and then make a pitch to the
district to continue funding for then
[4:42] on. Um so um we are a 100% volunteer
organization. We have a board has all
[4:50] community members from uh we try to get
maximum participation from all our
[4:55] villages affiliated villages. We have a
students students form a big part of our
[5:01] board especially during the grant
review. they are the ones who bring
[5:05] their opinions and um u help us decide
on the impact of grants and we have the
[5:11] high school administrators and including
uh Dr. Shala Holland the district
[5:16] administrator on a board. Um the next
slide actually shows the breadth of our
[5:21] innovative projects that we have funded
but really it it goes across all the
[5:27] departments. So I'm just going to go to
the next slide. Um this there's too many
[5:31] words here but this this chart shows
that um in the past two years we have
[5:37] funded around 40,000 in grants and uh
it's not just the usual STEM. We go
[5:43] beyond the STEM. We go arts, culture,
sports, well-being, and we also do
[5:49] sponsorships for after proms, genocide
awareness day, uh the anti-drug uh
[5:55] community and the empower her. So, we
really try to look at the student
[6:00] holistic experience at the at the high
school and not just the usual STEM. So,
[6:06] innovation in our mission is not just
focused on STEM. it goes beyond in all
[6:11] walks of life. Um
so uh we just wanted to touch this slide
[6:17] for the impacts and benefits to the
students and the community. So basically
[6:21] after pulling these numbers from the
roster 77.5%
[6:25] of the Deerfield High School enrollment
is village of Deerfield students. That's
[6:29] around 1,084
um out of 1,399
[6:34] students. For reference, uh, village of
Riverwoods is around 10% of, uh, DHS
[6:40] students. An additional 2,721
students come from, uh, the elementary
[6:47] and middle school DPS 109 districts. And
our grants and everything we do is here
[6:53] to stay. So, it is not only benefiting
our current high school students, but
[6:57] also the new incoming DPS 101 students.
And the core outcomes of our uh
[7:04] foundation is we want to help the
students foster meaningful long-lasting
[7:08] connections and make sure that they have
uh this enhanced academic experience and
[7:15] build their resilience and well-being.
And the biggest thing is it's the
[7:20] diversity of grants is accessible to
everybody and not just a particular
[7:25] student group.
Um so in conclusion I have some numbers
[7:31] here that I didn't get chance to add to
the slide. According to the latest niche
[7:36] ranking district 113 is ranked fifth in
the nation and number third in best
[7:41] places to teach and best school
districts in Illinois.
[7:45] » And uh according to a 5-year projection
plan uh by the assistant superintendent
[7:51] for finance that is a sad $1.2 2 million
deficit anticipated in 2025 2026 school
[7:59] year with a projected deficit of nearly
3.6 million in the 2028 2029 school
[8:06] year. Given all these data points, we
believe our role is even more important
[8:12] than ever to continue to make sure this
district uh gives this highquality
[8:17] education
um despite all these uh budget cuts. Um
[8:22] so thank you um I know the mayor is not
here but thank you mayor and the board
[8:27] uh for your time uh today um and uh we
are requesting the village of
[8:32] Deerfield's uh partnership and
commitment to help us sustain and expand
[8:37] these programs. Um LA we started this um
effort this municipality outreach to
[8:44] request sponsorships
uh last year sometime around November
[8:49] and we're excited to report that village
of Riverwoods has committed to a $1,000
[8:55] sponsorship. Um so we are requesting the
village of Deerfield's partnership um in
[9:00] continuing this. Thank you so much for
your time today.
[9:04] » Thank you so much for the presentation.
>> There's Thank you. I also wanted to
[9:09] thank sorry um thank you on behalf of
the foundation for inviting us to the
[9:13] field of honor and that was mostly all
credit goes to NG puter for helping us
[9:19] uh bring these opportunities that we can
actually volunteer for the village um
[9:25] events. So we look forward to other such
volunteer opportunities in future. So
[9:30] thank you.
>> Thank you.
[9:31] » Anything you want to add Mar?
>> No thank you.
[9:34] » Thank you.
>> Great.
[9:36] » All right. Thank you very much. Amazing.
Thank you.
[9:38] » Look forward to working with you.
>> Thank you.
[9:43] » Okay. So, next on the agenda item is
public works and engineering department
[9:47] objectives reports. Bob Phillips.
[9:53] » Thank you, presiding officer Goldstone.
Uh and thank you all for your support uh
[9:58] over the last uh 12 months. Uh we've
done our best to provide
[10:04] uh this board uh and the mayor with the
best information that we can. Um and on
[10:10] the flip side, uh this board and the
mayor have done a great job uh providing
[10:15] us with what with the tools that we need
to get our jobs done and that's um much
[10:20] appreciated.
Um, first, uh, I'd also like to, uh,
[10:24] recognize my staff, uh, that has
prepared, uh, not only this report, um,
[10:30] but, uh, the team is amazing. Um, and
and they do, uh, so many different
[10:37] things. Uh, I'm not going to touch on
everything they do tonight. Um but
[10:41] there's a lot of metrics in the report
uh that if you have an interest in
[10:45] looking through it, you can see uh some
of the effort that these uh fine uh men
[10:51] and women are working on uh throughout
the year and it's really remarkable.
[10:56] Uh most of all, first of all too, I have
uh one announcement that for of
[11:02] retirement uh for a long-term uh
superintendent uh of public works, uh
[11:08] Dan Busher is planning to retire uh this
year. Uh and though I haven't received a
[11:14] date from him, it looks like it's going
to be sometime in the next couple
[11:17] months.
>> Um and it's it's a big loss for our
[11:20] department um and for the village. Um,
but he's, you know, he's put his time
[11:26] in. Um, and luckily for us, uh, we've
planned, uh, a succession plan and we
[11:32] have staff that's coming up behind him.
And so, we do have a good plan in place
[11:37] for, uh, filling that position, uh,
helping to fulfill his responsibilities
[11:43] in that position. So, rest assured that,
uh, we're we're planning for it. We're
[11:47] thinking, uh, for the future. Um though
I think there'll probably be some speed
[11:52] bumps along the way. Um but we'll get
there. Uh just some of the high points
[11:57] that I'm going to run through tonight uh
for 2025 and then talk a little bit
[12:01] about uh some of the things that we're
working on for 2026 and and there and
[12:06] and further on down the road. Um in
2025, as you're all aware, we had a
[12:11] pretty major capital project going on.
Uh Hazel Avenue uh reconstruction
[12:16] between Wilmont Road and Walkagan Road.
Um and that is that that was literally a
[12:21] full reconstruction of uh village
utilities water man uh almost almost
[12:26] 7,000 feet of water man uh and and storm
sewer as well about 3 4,000 ft of storm
[12:32] sewer. So it it it's a pretty it was a
pretty big job. Um it's not 100%
[12:36] complete but the project was um let's
say 95% complete by the end of the
[12:41] construction season. Uh we had hoped
that we would finish it um but we have a
[12:45] little bit this little bit uh kind of
still holding out. It's basically just
[12:49] resurfacing of uh of a section between
let's say uh Wayne and and Walkagan Road
[12:54] or Wayne and and the railroad track.
Just a small section uh that needs to
[12:58] have the surface course put on it as
well as striping and and signs and so
[13:02] forth that need to still go up. Um as
you know uh and Tyler was in front of
[13:06] the village board um earlier in 2025 uh
to talk a little bit about lead services
[13:13] and that's again on the agenda tonight.
Um but lead services uh you know came up
[13:17] lead water services that is came up as
part of the Hazel Avenue project. Uh we
[13:21] replaced say 15 or so of those in their
entirety. Uh and working with residents
[13:27] in each one of those homes. Uh we had to
go from the water man all the way inside
[13:31] the house including replacement of the
meter. So there's a lot of lifting that
[13:35] goes along with it. There are a lot of
different players involved. There's a
[13:38] plumber, there's an electrician, uh
there's a a tyler, there's uh there's a
[13:42] lot of different people that get
involved in that. So, it's a big effort
[13:45] and Tyler's going to talk a little bit
about that uh later on the agenda
[13:49] tonight. Uh sewer lining is also another
thing that we've worked on over the last
[13:55] uh many many years and and we did uh
work on lining the east side interceptor
[14:00] main which is the a large diameter sewer
that goes between uh the Warwick Road
[14:05] pumping station and the east side
pumping station. So, it's about 10,000
[14:08] linear feet of sanitary sewer. Uh we're
aligning the second half of that this
[14:12] year. Last year, we lined some of the
more challenging portions of it um and
[14:17] and did a um you know, had had a lot of
coordination with the with the city of
[14:21] Highland Park uh and their public works.
Uh they lined some some crossings that
[14:25] they had that go underneath the creek.
So, it was a really great uh team effort
[14:29] that we had with with City of Highland
Park u and and uh very grateful to have
[14:34] them as a neighbor and to be able to
work with them. Uh in early 2025, uh the
[14:39] WRF division finished the pump and hatch
replacement project. Uh and so that that
[14:44] that includes pumps and hatches. So the
pumps first of all uh for the uh the
[14:49] Deerfield and Warwick road pumping
stations and then also uh the hatches.
[14:53] And if you can imagine uh what these
hatches look like, it's it's a it's just
[14:57] a hatch on the floor, but when you lift
the hatch, it's very deep and and and
[15:02] it's pretty scary. If somebody were to
fall in that hatch, um we'd have some
[15:07] pretty serious problems, particularly if
they were by themselves, which is why we
[15:10] don't, you know, really like people to
come in and work on things by
[15:14] themselves. So, but these hatch the
hatch replacement project replaced the
[15:17] hatch and then the fall protection in
there. So, uh we're making making things
[15:21] safe and bringing them up to code. Uh
solar panel project, uh as you know, was
[15:25] underway in the latter part of 2025. Uh,
and over by the wastewater treatment
[15:29] plant where we have approximately two
acres of land. Uh, it's it's 99%
[15:34] complete. I was I was really hoping to
have really good news for for you guys
[15:38] tonight. Um, but the uh the startup did
not happen today. Uh, so we had a hiccup
[15:43] with Commonwealth Edison. So, we're
working on rescheduling that. But, uh,
[15:47] sometime in the next three or four
weeks, we should be started up on that.
[15:50] So, I'll keep you posted on that. Um, a
big effort that cart that that Tyler and
[15:57] uh the other staff have been working on
is the cardigraph implementation. Um,
[16:01] and Cardigraph is a a work order uh
slash uh forwardfacing uh software uh on
[16:08] the villages uh website uh where we can
we can do work orders, we can do asset
[16:13] management. Um and and there's there's a
a backend on that that that's that
[16:17] really takes a lot of work to implement.
Tyler and his and and the rest of our
[16:21] team have been very hard at work on
that. Uh it was, you know, planned to go
[16:25] live at the end of last week. Um but
probably will go live sometime in the
[16:30] next week or so. So, we're just trying
to get some of the bugs worked out on
[16:33] that. Uh we've also uh worked uh pretty
extensively on the implementation of uh
[16:38] of the native planting uh work that
we've been that we started many years
[16:42] ago. Uh native plantings along the east
side of the railroad tracks north of
[16:47] Tony Subs. Uh so some of that work has
been has been done obviously uh not
[16:53] taken root yet. Um but then also uh
there there's a section on the west side
[16:57] of the railroad tracks that uh that we
were in front of the village board with
[17:00] uh well maybe the last meeting or
meeting before uh and and uh so that
[17:05] that endeavor continues in that regard.
Uh we have a street rehab project coming
[17:10] up in 2026. Uh many streets that will be
either resurfaced or reconstructed as
[17:15] part of that project. The bid opening is
this coming Friday. Uh we had a pre-bid
[17:20] meeting today uh and had about a dozen a
dozen contractors show up. So there's
[17:24] good interest in the projects and we'll
see what the bids how the bids shake
[17:28] out, but that'll be at the next uh on
the next board agenda for you all to
[17:31] consider. Uh we'll close out Hazel
Avenue this year. Uh as I mentioned, we
[17:36] have sewer lining on the east side
interceptor main uh that will finish up
[17:40] and that's really just kind of checking
the box. It's one of these things that's
[17:43] been on the radar uh for a good 20 years
and and it's something that Kent and I
[17:47] have had extensive conversations about.
Um and we're really happy to get that
[17:51] complete. Uh Deerfield Road uh MCC
replacement, so master control center,
[17:56] and that's a Deerfield Road pumping
station. That's uh a million or so
[18:00] dollars that we're spending this year
that really people don't see. Um but it
[18:05] it does protect a lot of homes. Um and
if if you can picture the pumping
[18:09] station on Deerfield Road near uh the
West Fork. Uh so it's replacement of the
[18:14] electrical components inside there. Um
and then and then we're going to spruce
[18:18] up uh the generator. We've had a lot of
discussion about that generator in the
[18:21] past. Uh it's still a pretty good piece
of equipment. U but we're working on uh
[18:26] the exhaust and trying to fix some of
the exhaust issues that we're having
[18:29] with with that.
Um, in 2025, we also had uh some pretty
[18:34] some pretty significant impacts on our
rock salt uh purchasing. Uh, I think you
[18:39] know, you've all kind of been uh been in
the know on that and and uh the rock
[18:44] salt has started to flow back. Uh so
we're starting to get deliveries again,
[18:47] which of course it's it's too late, but
uh we've got it and uh we and as a
[18:53] result uh we've already have we already
have um Lake County DOT asking us for
[18:58] numbers uh for the 26 27 season. So uh I
I have put a number in uh for for them u
[19:05] and we're still waiting on ID dot which
just seems to go on and on forever. Uh
[19:09] but at some point in time we'll be we'll
be giving ID dot a number uh of what
[19:13] what our bulk volume would be that we
request from them. So we'll see how that
[19:17] goes. And of course I'll keep the board
posted on that. Um in 2025 we had 52
[19:22] main breaks. Uh and 52 main rates it
seems like a lot. Um if you look back 20
[19:29] years uh we used to have around 140
>> and and so that's a lot. Uh 52 is a
[19:36] manageable number. uh we've had less
than 52 um in recent years um but 52
[19:42] seems to be about where we're resting
and this is a part of the reason why we
[19:45] do uh so much system work and so adding
valves uh replacing water manes uh
[19:52] adding VFDs or uh variable frequency
drives and different pumps and things
[19:56] this is the reason why we do this work
and I and I think this board is well
[20:00] informed on that and you guys understand
that and you've supported us in that
[20:04] stuff and and that's that's how we're
that's how we're bringing that number
[20:07] down that metric down from 140 down to
52. So, it's really helpful. Uh, lead
[20:12] sampling is a major effort and and and
this year in 20 or I should say last
[20:17] year in 2025, uh, the EPA dropped a new
requirement on us to have 120 lead
[20:23] samples done um, every year. So, it's 60
in the first six months, 60 in the
[20:28] second six months. Uh, they're sending
us bottles. We're coordinating with the
[20:32] residents, the schools, everybody else
to try and have these people take
[20:37] samples inside their businesses or
inside their residents uh so that we can
[20:41] take those samples and send them to the
EPA for their testing. Uh so it's a
[20:45] major effort and uh the water department
is on it. Uh so the sewer division
[20:51] talking about metrics and you know the
sewer division does a lot of cleaning
[20:56] and so one might ask you know why is the
sewer division constantly cleaning
[21:00] sewers. Well, um the metrics that are
are in our report um are you should kind
[21:06] of talk about that a little bit to some
extent, but if you look back until 2001,
[21:12] uh we have in 2001 we had 440
450
[21:19] sewer blockage calls.
>> That means at night, weekends,
[21:22] rainstorms, uh people called us up and
said, "My basement's flooding. My front
[21:27] yard's flooding. This is flooding.
That's flooding." Okay. In 2005, we had
[21:33] eight.
>> Wow.
[21:35] » So, this is why we're lining. This is
why we're cleaning. This is why we're
[21:39] doing sewer repairs. And and obviously,
the numbers are are very telling. So, it
[21:44] so it really it really shows water man
breaks down, sewer blockage is down, and
[21:50] and and this is all a result of the of
the hard work that the public work folks
[21:54] are doing every day.
um in 2025 and in 2026 and we've had a
[22:01] lot of discussions about trucks and
equipment. Uh and so you know there's
[22:05] there's uh you know there's a lot of
balls in the air when it comes to trucks
[22:09] and equipment, but I'll just run down
and tell you kind of where we're at with
[22:12] some of these purchases that we've made
because you know the board approved
[22:16] purchases late last year and then even
the previous year. Some of these things
[22:20] we haven't received yet. Um, but in in
2025, we received one 5-tonon truck and
[22:26] we received our bread truck. So, so rest
assured, we have a bread truck now. And
[22:31] the and the bread truck is is great. Uh,
it it's new and and it's a nice piece of
[22:35] equipment. Um, but we all are also
waiting for four additional 5-tonon
[22:39] trucks,
four additional one-ton plow trucks, uh,
[22:44] and two leaf machines, which we had we
ordered two years ago, which we haven't
[22:47] received. Uh so we're hoping to get
those before uh sometime this summer and
[22:52] hopefully before we start to do leaf
collection again because we don't want
[22:56] to go through another leaf collection
season without new equipment. Uh we've
[23:00] also taken delivery of a skid steer, a
generator, and an air compressor. So
[23:03] there there's there's a lot going on
when it comes to tools and equipment uh
[23:07] and ordering and figuring out the specs
and and actually making the purchases
[23:11] and then you know obviously the village
board making making the okay on that
[23:14] one. So, it it's a it takes a whole team
to to pull together to kind of make
[23:19] those purchases happen. Uh, one last
thing is is special events that that you
[23:24] all know that that we manage and we get
heavily involved in and we do traffic
[23:28] control, setup, breakdown. Uh, and and
again, you know, public works folks are
[23:33] are working really hard to make all this
stuff happen. Uh we have you know we're
[23:38] involved in electronics, recycling, food
trucks, farmers market, public works
[23:42] open house, harvest fest, family days.
So so all of those are major efforts for
[23:47] us. Um and and we're happy to uh provide
uh you know the traffic control and the
[23:53] planning and everything else that we do
uh with respect to those events.
[23:57] » Cool. Okay.
>> I think that's a sign.
[24:02] » It's a light show. You guys also do
light shows.
[24:05] we can fix that. And and that's that's
really the end of the report. Um but but
[24:09] I I would like to say, you know, once
again, thank you all for for your
[24:12] support uh in in our ende with our
endeavors, you know, to help us move
[24:16] forward with things that we have that
make this village great. Um and I and it
[24:21] really does show and I and I think um
you all you can see that when when
[24:26] you're going when you're on your on your
way to work or you're walking, you're
[24:29] running, you know, you you see that the
the effect of what we're doing. And it
[24:33] it really is wonderful and thank you
very much.
[24:36] » Thank you.
>> Amazing. Thank you.
[24:38] » Yeah.
>> Two two quick questions or at least I
[24:40] hope they're quick. First of all, did
you get full cooperation from Metro for
[24:45] putting the h the pipes under the track
when you came down Hazel?
[24:50] » Yes. So, uh we do get a permit from from
Metro to do that work. Um and you know
[24:56] it does take quite some time. Uh it
takes a good say two to three years to
[25:00] try and get uh right of entry. But we
did, of course, we had right of entry,
[25:04] flagging, right? Everything that's
required for Metro to do that. Yes.
[25:07] » And the second was, do you have an
estimate at this point because people
[25:11] ask um when they're going to be doing
the work on the uh Deerfield uh bridge
[25:16] over the uh what? Over the East Fork uh
over by the power plant.
[25:21] » Middle fork.
>> North Fork.
[25:22] » Okay. So, in between us and Highland
Park. So, that'd be the the middle fork.
[25:26] Yes. So, that project is right now in uh
in phase one. Okay. So, they're they're
[25:32] just doing environmental study uh on
that. Uh have not started design work
[25:36] yet. Um but it looks like construction
in 2029,
[25:41] maybe 2028.
>> Okay.
[25:44] » And Bob, that's the responsibility of
Lake County Department of
[25:47] Transportation, right?
>> It is Lake Countyy's bridge and it is
[25:50] their responsibility. Yes. Right.
>> So, so remember, uh while we maintain
[25:54] Deerfield Road, we don't own Deerfield
Road. So, we fix potholes, they fix big
[25:59] stuff. And we were part that was part of
the conversation when we rebuilt
[26:04] Deerfield Road east of the underpass was
giving up that jurisdiction. We all
[26:08] talked about that at length and the
trade-offs for that. And the trade-off
[26:12] is we don't have to pay for the bridge.
They do. On the other hand, we want to
[26:16] make sure the bridge gets fixed before
something
[26:19] stops traffic over the bridge. Right? So
that's our effort is to keep on them to
[26:23] to to fix that before it gets critical.
And my understanding is that Deerfield,
[26:28] my understanding is Deerfield Highland
Park are working on what to do about
[26:32] things like trucks and fire fire trucks
and ambulances and heavier trucks that
[26:37] go over that and where they're going to
go while it's under construction.
[26:41] » The notifications are up and the bridge
is posted. So, uh, all the all the the
[26:46] proper, uh, agencies have been notified
on that and we were part of that and
[26:51] happy to, uh, you know, to notify people
and if anybody has questions, they can
[26:54] they can give us a call. But yeah, we
were lucky enough to h sorry, we were
[27:00] lucky enough to hand ownership of that
bridge off to Lake County uh, in 2020
[27:05] 2016 or 2017. Um, could we build it
quicker than they? Probably. Um, but
[27:10] then we'd have to pay for it.
>> Their bridge
[27:14] I had a comment, Bob. I was very pleased
to see the five-year statistics that you
[27:21] put in the report and you just talked
about the importance of ongoing
[27:26] maintenance and what a difference it
makes in terms of the quality and the
[27:31] condition of our infrastructure. Is
there some way we can communicate this
[27:36] to the residents of the village for them
to know we had, you know, eight
[27:44] overflow problems this year versus
hundreds in the past? When we hear
[27:49] complaints from people, we hear, "Oh,
this happens all the time. I get
[27:53] flooding."
>> Yeah.
[27:54] » Which is not true anymore.
>> No.
[27:57] » And it would be nice to let people know
how much better we're doing now. than
[28:03] perhaps we did in the far past and the
fact that we have been spending the time
[28:08] and the money and all the effort that
you guys go through to maintain our
[28:14] infrastructure. Do we send these
statistics out somehow to the public so
[28:20] they could see this how much better it
is for them now?
[28:24] » We don't. But I think maybe there's a
way to work with David's office and
[28:27] Bob's office to
>> to do to do like a timeline analysis
[28:31] because
>> you know to if we have 50 sewer backups
[28:34] in basements versus 450 sewer I mean if
you're one of those people which I was
[28:38] at one point
>> me too.
[28:40] » It's nice not to be that person anymore.
>> Bet.
[28:43] » It's pretty wild. It's a there's some
really good numbers.
[28:46] » So maybe we'll we'll work as a team to
figure out maybe how we can highlight
[28:49] some of those stats.
>> That would be great. as well as to
[28:52] reinforce the ongoing need to keep after
it, right? That that's why do you keep
[28:56] sewer lining? Why do we spend half a
million $400,000 half a million dollars
[29:00] a year on sewer lining to stop this
stuff,
[29:02] » right? Got to keep the pedal to the
metal.
[29:05] » Yeah. So, thank you. That that's a good
challenge for us and we ought to figure
[29:08] out how a way to communicate that
better.
[29:11] » Great. Thanks. Thank you.
>> Any other questions?
[29:14] » This is my favorite read. Every year I
tell you this. Every year
[29:19] » I find it exhausting all working just
reading it.
[29:22] » Well, if you need to fall asleep, you
know what to do. You can read it. Thank
[29:25] » No, I'm like,
>> thank you all very much.
[29:28] » Thank you.
>> We're into it.
[29:31] » Thanks, Bob. To all your people as well,
Tyler.
[29:34] » Okay. Minutes of the previous meeting.
>> Move approval.
[29:38] » Do we not have to discuss? Is there an
amendment or
[29:42] » uh just want to report we do have uh the
scribers error that we want to talk
[29:47] about related to the bond issue. Um just
to note that um basically a correction
[29:53] this isn't this isn't anything
substantial uh but to the extent that
[29:57] there was a change in the line item and
then there was a change in the uh
[30:01] narrative as well and this is at your
place. It looks like this
[30:06] um you can see it in red.
>> Yeah. So on page 18, a change on page 18
[30:11] on the total amount and then the
narrative which we deleted on page 21.
[30:15] That's that's the that's the substantive
change.
[30:18] » It doesn't change anything with with the
bond ordinance itself or the payment
[30:22] schedule. It just u our bond council is
belts and suspenders which is exactly
[30:27] what we pay them to do. So that's what
that's about. So
[30:30] » but the motion would be to approve the
minutes as amended
[30:33] » as acknowledging the scrier's error.
Yeah, I think
[30:36] » okay.
So, Mary, you're making that motion?
[30:39] » No. No. Bob made Bob made the motion.
>> I did.
[30:41] » I'm just nitpicking.
>> Yep. Thank you. I appreciate Thanks for
[30:44] catching.
>> I second.
[30:46] » Okay. Uh uh roll call.
>> All in favor?
[30:50] » I
>> I
[30:55] » Okay, then we're on to treasurer's
report. Eric,
[30:59] » thank you.
[31:04] Nobody's ever told me that the Treasures
Report is their favorite read.
[31:08] » You know, Eric, you're such a close
second.
[31:11] » Such a close second.
>> This is the January 2026 Treasures
[31:16] Report. It represents the first month of
the new year. There's not a whole lot of
[31:20] analysis we can do only one month in,
but I can give you just a few highlights
[31:24] of what's happened so far. Sales tax
continues to exceed the prior two years.
[31:30] That's good news. likely due to just the
increase in the cost of of things. Water
[31:35] and sewer billings reflect lower usage
months. Very typical this time of year.
[31:41] Hotel tax reflects payments from five
hotels. The sixth hotel paid shortly
[31:45] after month end. So we are are caught up
after this report. And state income tax
[31:51] increased from the same period of the
prior year. On the expenditure side,
[31:56] many of the cash payments made in
January relate back to 2025. So, we
[32:01] won't see them reflected as expenditures
in this report, but uh they did happen.
[32:06] Overall operating expenditures at this
point are below projection, which is
[32:11] expected due to the timing of seasonal
or once a year type expenditures. Uh
[32:16] general liability insurance gets paid
once for the whole year. memberships,
[32:21] um, special events happen later in the
year. So, uh, it does look like we're in
[32:26] a really good position, and we are, but,
some of that will even out as we move
[32:30] throughout the rest of the year. Uh,
just again early in the year, but off to
[32:34] a good start. We will start the audit
fieldwork for 2025, probably next month,
[32:41] and, uh, the auditors will be back to
the board midsummer with their final
[32:45] report, um, the independent report
there. So happy to answer any questions
[32:50] but still real early in the year.
>> Thank you.
[32:55] » Thank you.
>> Um bills and payroll
[32:58] » move approval.
>> Second.
[33:01] » Roll call vote please.
>> Trusty Berg.
[33:04] » Yes.
>> Trustee Goldstone.
[33:06] » Yes.
>> Trustee Greenberg.
[33:09] » Yes.
>> Trusty Jacobe.
[33:11] » Yes.
>> Trusty Oppenheim.
[33:13] » Yes.
>> Trusty Benton.
[33:15] » Yes.
>> Motion passed.
[33:17] So now we're at the part in our meeting
where we have uh the opportunity to have
[33:21] public comments. I don't see anybody in
the audience here that would like to
[33:25] make public comments.
>> Nothing signed up here
[33:27] » and nobody signed up. So we will move on
to reports. Uh 26-26
[33:33] consideration and action on the report
and recommendation regarding residential
[33:38] lead service line replacement cost share
program. Tyler,
[33:42] » good evening board. As Bob kind of
mentioned, here to talk to you about the
[33:45] recommendation we have for residential
lead service line replacement cost share
[33:49] program. As you all know, in 2021, the
governor signed the lead service line
[33:53] replacement and notification act. Uh
this act, among other things, requires
[33:57] all public water suppliers to start
proactively replacing lead service lines
[34:02] beginning in 2027.
Uh as part of the budget for this year,
[34:06] staff uh and the in the village board um
approved a $100,000 fiscal year 2026
[34:11] budget line item for this program. Uh
and a general approach approach to this
[34:16] program was presented at the committee
the whole meeting in spring of 2025.
[34:21] Over the last eight months, staff has
been refining this program um soliciting
[34:25] feedback from both internal and external
stakeholders and we present this to you
[34:29] tonight.
Uh so again, just a little background on
[34:33] it. Again, this started in 2021. The
IEPA and the and the governor's office
[34:37] signed the law um public act 1020613.
Um the lead service line replacement
[34:42] notification act. Um among other things,
it's a replacement. It's a notification
[34:46] and it's identification of lead service
lines within a public water supply. Uh
[34:52] per our municipal code, we have two
different parts of the lead service line
[34:55] or a water service. One is the public
portion, which is the main to the B box
[34:59] or the shut off usually around the
sidewalk. The second part is the private
[35:03] side which is then from the BB box into
the building. Um we this program um as
[35:09] we presented it last uh spring I just
want to kind of go over a few different
[35:13] highle guidelines that we will implement
um as part of this program. So
[35:17] eligibility is for all village residents
of single family residential structures
[35:21] or condo owners unit owners that have a
dedicated uh water service line to each
[35:26] building. Um this is not for the larger
apartment buildings where they have a
[35:30] large usually 3 4 inch ductal iron but
um one's I guess communal water service
[35:36] line. Um it is eligibility is strictly
for the full replacement unless it's
[35:43] been documented that um the public side
is copper. We will allow then just the
[35:48] partial replacement from the sidewalk
into the house. Um the cost sharing is
[35:54] about or it is 50% for a full water
service line replacement up to $6,000.
[35:59] So uh it's not factoring in whether it's
in the parkway, the water man where you
[36:03] need to dig or it's in the roadway. It's
um full uh $6,000 or up to $6,000 uh for
[36:10] each full lead service line replacement.
If it is only the private side, that 50%
[36:15] is capped at $2,500. Um the village
being rec that we in last spring we kind
[36:20] of recognized that we've already made an
expenditure for that replacement on a
[36:23] pre previous project.
Uh permit fees will be waved. Um bonds
[36:30] will be still taken just to make sure we
have our roads rebuilt correctly. Um the
[36:34] program reimbursements will be awarded
on a first come first- serve basis. So
[36:38] we have $100,000 for this calendar year.
Uh so we are going to be making this
[36:42] live to the public via our online portal
system uh likely hopefully in the next
[36:47] couple weeks and it'll be it is uh first
come first serve. So we'll be keeping
[36:51] track of those expenditures and making
sure we don't go um too far beyond the
[36:56] $100,000.
Uh the $100,000 is also budgeted for
[37:00] next year and as we're in a two-year
program we'll be looking at both numbers
[37:03] for the next couple years. Um it should
also be noted that recent legislation at
[37:09] this federal level um has changed our
overall time frame for completing these
[37:14] lead service line replacements from 15
years to 10 years. That starts November
[37:18] 1st, 2027. So give or take we have until
the end of 2037 to complete these. We
[37:24] have about 400 in in uh the village give
or take. There are still unknowns out
[37:28] there that we're still working to refine
our final numbers on. Um but that's a
[37:32] rough number that we're going with
today.
[37:35] Um staff recommends that in the best
interest of the village and its
[37:38] residents, financial incentives be
provided to owners of a single family
[37:42] homes and multi-unit properties with
dedicated water services in the form of
[37:46] a village facilitated residential lead
service line replacement cost sharing
[37:50] program. So happy to answer any
questions. There's a lot here. I know
[37:54] that
>> one I have one question. Have everybody
[37:56] who you've identified with this with
lead service been notified of the issue
[38:01] and of this program
>> the program? No. So, we we we were
[38:05] careful not to make this public until it
was approved at the B village board
[38:08] level. Um over the next two or three
weeks, this will become public. We'll
[38:11] give residents a little time to digest
it, get their homework in place, see if
[38:15] this is something they want to um you
know, facilitate or or look into, and
[38:19] then we'll be making it live maybe in
about a month. So, we want there to be
[38:23] enough time for residents to kind of
understand it. And then the other
[38:26] question that I get have gotten asked by
a few different people is because
[38:31] there's a long timeline of when this is
actually going to will there be more
[38:36] incentives if they hold out?
>> That's my question.
[38:40] » It's a great question. Um
>> it's it's tough. So the act is very
[38:45] silent and Ben can I know speak to this.
It's very silent on who pays for it. We
[38:49] have our responsibility but as far as
what's on the private side, it is very
[38:52] silent. There are some communities where
maybe they got state revolving funds um
[38:57] that require full reimburse or full um
cost sharing. So the village would be
[39:02] responsible for 100% if we had outside
funding mechanisms. Um because we're
[39:06] using local funds, we get to have that
50% um cost share. So it it's very
[39:11] difficult to know. Um you know I think
there's been sweeter deals other you
[39:14] know on Hazel we had a little bit of a
sweeter deal because we were very
[39:17] invested in getting those
>> 15 17 properties to to change out their
[39:21] lead service lines. Um, I could see that
taking place in the future with village
[39:25] board approval. However, for the ATL
large program, it's very hard to say.
[39:29] Um, it may take sweetening the pot to
get other folks and, you know, we may
[39:33] need to sweeten the pot just to keep up
with inflation as well.
[39:36] » You know, as as we're not alone. There's
700 to a million lead service lines in
[39:40] Illinois. I mean, it's like an 8 billion
liability right there. Um, so there's
[39:44] going to be a lot of money spent in the
next 10 years. That will drive up cost
[39:48] and our cost will likely need to reflect
that as well. Um and it could be part of
[39:53] that is sweeten the deal to entice some
of the others.
[39:57] » I will also say that that is up to the
village board year in year out to to
[40:01] establish budgeting. So,
you know, for somebody who may be
[40:06] watching this and if there's an
opportunity now, there's a chance that
[40:10] the village board could say next year or
two years from now or five years from
[40:14] now, we're not going to make funds
available. So, there's no guarantee. So,
[40:18] when you have a program, there's a
benefit to take advantage of when you
[40:22] can.
>> Um, it's unclear what the state and what
[40:25] the federal government will do in terms
of long-term incentives. Ultimately,
[40:29] it's it's such a big
>> cost whether it's in Illinois or
[40:34] federally that I would think it would be
difficult for either the state or the
[40:38] federal government to offer meaningful
subsidies um and to expect that just
[40:43] because just the catastrophic cost.
>> It's overwhelming. It's overwhelming.
[40:48] » Um, so you know, and obviously the best
thing that anybody can do is when
[40:54] they're doing other work if it happens
to present itself, whether obviously if
[40:58] they have a break in their service line,
>> you know, you can't do partial
[41:02] replacement anyway, but you know, if
they're redoing their driveway and it's
[41:06] right there and it's obvious and easy to
do, you know, that's the time to do it.
[41:10] But, uh, you know, there's no guarantees
about future funding. Should also be
[41:15] said that as we get further into our
10-year window budgeting, we'll we will
[41:20] likely um recommend additional funds to
to chase more um lead service lines just
[41:26] because we it went this time last year,
it was a 15-year window. Now, we're
[41:30] looking at a 10-year window. Just last
month, the Illinois uh Pollution Control
[41:34] Board approved the US EPA's
modifications um or their their their
[41:39] requirements. So, now we're at a 10-year
window, shrinking our availability to
[41:43] get this done.
So this program is spectacular. So proud
[41:48] of Deerfield, the city of Chicago, their
program is they'll wave the permitting
[41:53] fee. That's it. So this is absolutely
phenomenal.
[41:59] But we have a much smaller problem than
the city of scale. Scale matters, right?
[42:03] » So it's a question of scale. Um Tyler, I
had a question in the um description of
[42:08] the program. Um, we talked about
replacing either the lead service or
[42:15] galvanized service lines. Are we
encouraging people to replace galvanized
[42:18] service lines too
>> through through the letter of the law?
[42:21] Any galvanized services that's
downstream of lead and typically they do
[42:25] go hand in hand. Um, that is part of
this program as well.
[42:30] » So, typically lead would be coming out
of the main and then for a straight run
[42:33] they would use galvanized or maybe um
into the building. Um, but that being
[42:37] downstream of lead, it can hold on to
lead a lot longer. So even if you
[42:41] replace the lead, you've got lead
leeching out from that galvanized
[42:43] material.
>> Even if it's not still connected to a
[42:46] lead service line,
>> if it was ever downstream of a lead
[42:50] service line, any type of piping, that
is now uh classified basically as lead.
[42:57] And do we um
try to inform our re residents or
[43:03] comfort them in some way to assure them
that our drinking water is not
[43:10] contaminated with lead even if they do
have a lead service line?
[43:15] » Yes. I I've talked to 50 to 100
different residents. You know, there's
[43:18] there's a general playbook I follow
about first addressing that this is not
[43:23] something, you know, we don't have lead
in our system. It's safe. Um, these are
[43:26] typically just from private lines. Um,
there are a myriad ways of to filter out
[43:33] lead. You can go a $50 filter from Home
Depot with a six-month reoccurring
[43:38] subscription. You can go with a all the
way up to a full lead service line
[43:43] replacement at anywhere from 10 to, you
know, 15. So, and there's everything
[43:47] between. There's osmosis RO reverse
osmosis filters under the sink. There's
[43:51] whole house filters in the basement. So,
there's a lot of different ways. I
[43:55] always start let them know that you know
I have lead service I have a $50 filter
[43:59] I because in Chicago there's no
incentive so that's the route I go to
[44:04] each their own though people have their
own concerns with it obviously younger
[44:07] families versus you know some of the
elderly and it so it really depends on
[44:12] the resident try not to steer them to
any one direction just give them the
[44:15] options and let them go
>> but in that sense the village is still
[44:18] trying to help our residents
to make sure they do not have lead
[44:23] contamination in their Yep.
>> Whether or not they want to spend the
[44:26] money on, you know, the the replacement
at this time. We can still help them.
[44:31] » Yep.
>> So, they should still ask us.
[44:33] » They should. Yeah. I I again, I tell
them I can have a three-minute
[44:36] conversation or a 30-minute
conversation, whatever.
[44:39] » Testing, all kinds of stuff.
>> Yeah. Yeah. Like Bob said, 60 in the
[44:43] first six months and 60 again in the And
we're back into our another phase. So,
[44:47] we've got another 60 going out on the
street as soon as we get our information
[44:50] from the APA. Do you anticipate the work
being done block by block, street by
[44:55] street, oneoffs?
>> I I think at the start we're getting
[44:59] those that are the most concerned and
that that will utilize the financial
[45:02] incentive to replace these lead service
lines. So I vision this program more
[45:05] getting the the odds and ends throughout
different quadrants. I do think once
[45:09] this kind of subsides or at least the
interest subsides, I do think we'll
[45:12] start to have more of a targeted
approach. So, this subdivision that was
[45:17] built in the 20s, 30s, let's go, you
know, budget X for this year and we're
[45:22] going to go target that entire area and
try to get everybody to replace it in
[45:28] this area. Um,
>> I would assume it's more costefficient
[45:31] then to do it that way.
>> It would be. Yeah. And that would be
[45:34] more of a villageled initiative kind of
like what Hazel was. We went out got had
[45:38] competing bids from plumbers to do the
work. We got the best cost. We provided
[45:42] that to the residents. Um but for this
more of the at large the one-offs um
[45:47] this is just kind of how we're going to
you know look to start it. But I do see
[45:50] us pivoting whether it's in three years
or five years or two years um into that
[45:55] more targeted approach method.
>> And a couple things I would add Larry I
[45:59] think over the barbecue people are going
to have conversations. You're doing it
[46:01] this year. Yeah I'm going to do this
year. Why don't we get why don't we do
[46:04] that together because it's a good idea.
And I would also say to the extent that
[46:07] that $100,000 gets pushed because we've
got all these people. I'll come back to
[46:13] you guys and say, I've got another 20
that want to do it this year, guys. You
[46:17] know, I I think we need to be open to
that because we want to get it done.
[46:19] Right. Right.
>> But we also want to get it done in a
[46:22] reasonable way that these guys can
manage. So, um, don't I'd love to have
[46:26] that problem. And if I have that
problem, I'll come back to you later in
[46:29] the year and say I need another X to
support support it this year. Um, but I
[46:35] also applaud the group for coming up
with this program. And I think from your
[46:39] perspective, this is I I asked the team
earlier, this is kind of middle of the
[46:42] road with what our neighbors are doing.
>> This is not here. It's not here. It's
[46:47] kind of middle of the road. And I also
truly think there's real value in cost
[46:52] sharing from a lot of reasons.
>> One, when you have a cost sharing
[46:56] project, you want to get it done.
Elaine's going to stay at home and watch
[46:58] this thing get done, and she wants to
get it done, which is awesome for us as
[47:01] opposed to, oh, they're coming next
week. Oh, I'm out of town. Can't do it.
[47:05] I I think there's just a lot of good
value in a in a 50-50 cost share because
[47:10] those residents, their property values
also benefit from having this done,
[47:14] right?
>> Sure. I Does it make sense as you're
[47:17] getting applications in to reach out to
the neighbors on each side saying, "Hey,
[47:23] we're going to do this person's. They've
applied,
[47:27] » you know, at the start just to for scale
of economy. if you're going there for
[47:31] one house.
>> So, the $100,000 to Kensport only gets
[47:35] about 16 or 17. Um, so I I think that'll
go fairly quickly. Um, at least I hope I
[47:41] hope there's a lot of interest in it. I
hope we're able to kind of utilize these
[47:44] funds and and have that problem of, hey,
I've got another 20.
[47:47] » Be awesome.
>> Um, that'd be Yeah, it would be. Um, you
[47:50] know, I I think like the barbecue
situation, I think there's going to be a
[47:53] lot of talk, you know, and if if if we
know that there's a couple here, be
[47:57] like, "Hey, just so you know, your
neighbor's got one, too.
[48:00] team up with them, you can drive down
that cost for contract because a
[48:03] contractor can do two of these in a day.
So instead of for the contractor driving
[48:07] from wherever doing one a day, you're
paying their windshield time to and from
[48:11] and their eight hours, now you're only
paying the way there in four hours and
[48:15] your neighbors paying the other four
hours in the way home. Like you can
[48:17] really trim down the cost quite a bit.
So we'll we'll and that's what we did
[48:20] with Hazel. We were knocking out two a
day which was awesome. But if we only
[48:24] have in the neighborhood of 400 of these
that we know about, we don't have mass
[48:29] swaths of them, you know, in a
neighborhood. There'll be a few in a
[48:33] neighborhood,
>> you know, or there'll be five or six
[48:36] depending on the age of the
neighborhood. That's what dictates it.
[48:40] Older neighborhoods will have more.
Newer neighborhoods will have none,
[48:44] right?
>> And redeveloped houses with two and a
[48:46] half bathrooms have a new line anyway.
So folks that have
[48:49] » So it's going to be, you know,
scattershot.
[48:53] » There's there's areas that we'd like to
target. Yes. But you're right. You know,
[48:56] just cuz one neighbor has it does does
not mean either one.
[49:01] » Okay. Other questions?
Okay. Then I will look for a motion.
[49:08] » Move approval.
>> Second.
[49:10] » Roll call vote, please.
>> Trustee Goldstone.
[49:14] » Yes.
>> Trustee Greenberg.
[49:18] Yes.
>> Trusty Jacobe.
[49:20] » Yes.
>> Trusty Oppenheim.
[49:22] » Yes.
>> Trusty Benton.
[49:23] » Yes.
>> Trusty Berg.
[49:25] » Yes.
>> Motion passes.
[49:27] » Thank you.
>> Thank you.
[49:28] » Thanks, guys.
>> All right. There's nothing on the
[49:30] consent agenda or old business. So, now
we're on to new business. 26-25,
[49:35] ordinance amending the village of
Deerfield, Illinois wage and salary
[49:39] plan. Eric,
>> this item adjusts the wage and salary
[49:43] plan for the discussion we had at the
last meeting, which is adding the um
[49:48] building inspector/plan reviewer one
category. So, uh just making that
[49:54] finalized.
>> Okay. Do we have questions?
[49:59] » Then I would look for a motion.
>> Move approval.
[50:03] » Second.
>> Roll call, please.
[50:07] » Trusty Greenberg.
Yes.
[50:11] » Trustee Jacobe.
>> Yes.
[50:13] » Trusty Oppenheim.
>> Yes.
[50:15] » Trusty Benton.
>> Yes.
[50:17] » Trusty Berg.
>> Yes.
[50:18] » Trusty Goldstone.
>> Yes.
[50:20] » Motion passes.
>> And then uh items for discussion by
[50:25] presiding officer and board.
>> I don't have anything.
[50:29] » Trustees.
>> No.
[50:31] » I have nothing tonight, your honor.
>> Then we'll seek a motion to adjurnn.
[50:35] » So move.
>> Second. Roll call, please. Or all in
[50:40] favor?
>> I
[50:40] » I
>> I
[50:44] motion motion or uh meeting adjourned.
Awesome.