Village of Westmont
Date Issued: Sept. 28, 2017
The Westmont Public Works Department will host a facilities tour on Saturday, October 14. From 9 to 11 a.m., the first part of the tour will be at their Water Division facility at 39 E. Burlington Avenue. Then from 11 a.m. to 1 p.m., guests will be invited to visit the Street Division location at 328 S. Wilmette for the rest of the presentation.
“Our goal is to illustrate the importance of our Public Works Department, but at the same time let the public see firsthand the condition of our facilities,” said Public Works Director Mike Ramsey. “Due to the struggling economy in the 2000’s, upgrades to our Public Works buildings were put on hold, but at this point, we feel we need to plan for the future immediately. Since this was one of the identified goals in our Strategic Plan, we want to make sure the public has the opportunity to learn about this concern as we plan our next steps.”
At each location, staff will give public tours of the facility as well as provide specific information about various Public Works projects including road repairs, upcoming construction projects, stormwater management updates, tree maintenance, and more.
“Our staff takes pride in their work,” added Ramsey. “We are a well-respected Public Works Department throughout the Chicagoland area. Our staff has been recognized by our peers, we’ve been innovative with technology advancements, and we just celebrated our 21st year as a Tree City USA recipient. Unfortunately, our buildings don’t match the excellence of our staff.”
Some of the concerns with the Public Works facilities include:
* The Streets Division building was built on the old city dump and the property is in need of remediation
* Westmont has the oldest municipal gas pumps in the County
* There are significant roof leaks at both buildings
* The salt dome does not comply with NPDES County standards and must be totally enclosed
* The original plans for a Public Works upgrade are 13 years old and were outlined by Earthtech Corp. in 2004
* There are areas in which the Street Division foundation is crumbling
* Westmont Public Works is one of the oldest and unremodeled facilities in the County
The Village Board and staff have been reviewing various Public Works facility options over the last year. There are several concepts being considered ranging up to $24 million.
To pay for this important investment, the Village Board has reviewed a variety of options including: cost savings, taxes, use of stormwater revenues to provide additional stormwater storage as part of the construction process, increase in water rates, and more.
“This is an important topic for our community and we strongly urge our citizens to come out to this facility tour to take a firsthand look at our concerns,” said Mayor Ron Gunter.
For additional information, contact Public Works Director Mike Ramsey at mramsey@westmont.il.gov.
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