June 10, 2009 – Existing Conditions Public Open House
95th Street Library, Meeting Rooms A & B
3015 Cedar Glade Drive, Naperville. Illinois
5:30pm to 7:00pm
The purpose of this public meeting is to provide the public with the opportunity to review the existing conditions within the study area to verify that the information that has been collected is accurate prior to potential improvement options being developed. The meeting will be an open house format; a formal presentation will not be conducted.
The public meeting materials will be placed on the project webpage by Monday, June 8, 2009.
April 14 Meeting Addresses Flooding/Drainage Issues
In February, NWTHA member Rick Martinez telephoned Will County Board Member Chuck Maher (and several others) to inform them that he and other unincorporated neighbors were having serious flooding/drainage problems. Part of the problems have been created by runoff from The Paddocks development on Book Road (just south of 87th Street), and part is related to a variety of other factors, including yard waste and other debris, backyard fencing in swales, and damaged or blocked culverts and underground drainage systems.
In response to subsequent conversations with Martinez and others, Maher organized a meeting held April 14 to start looking for solutions to the drainage problems. Attending this meeting were nearly 100 area residents, as well as rep-resentatives from Will County, Wheatland Township and the City of Naperville.
The focus of the meeting was on the drainage and flooding problems being experienced by homeowners who live on the west side of Alago Road and
along the western leg of Douglas Road in Wheatland View, and on Perkins Court in Acorn Estates; and by others who live south of this area, where runoff water also is ending up. (NOTE: There also was some discussion of problems related to roadside drainage ditches during the April 14 meeting. However, this issue will be scrutinized much further at future meetings.)
During the April meeting, Martinez presented a slide show of pictures of the area taken after a February 2009 rain event (which prompted his initial call to Maher – showing where some of the standing water was occurring, as well as locations where water was being trapped due to obstacles in the drainage swales and easements). In addition, residents were given the opportunity to express their concerns about drainage and to suggest ideas for improving the situation in our unincorporated area.
A sign-up sheet was passed around at the meeting for those willing to participate in an effort to identify and clear any obstructions or debris that may be having a negative effect on drainage in the aforementioned areas. Contact Rick Martinez at 961-0825 for more information.
As a result of this meeting, where a spirit of cooperation was prevalent, Project Engineer Kim Grabow of the City of Naperville’s Transportation, Engineering and Development Business Group, has submitted the following action plan that indicates what steps will be taken at this time to try to resolve our area’s drainage problems:
• A “Best Management Practices for Drainage Maintenance” document will be created by Will County and the City of Naperville (and posted on our website and mailed to you by the NWTHA Board). Although we haven’t seen it yet, this document likely will include common sense tips such as being a good neighbor by keeping back- and side-yard swales and road-side drainage ditches free of grass clippings, dead leaves and other yard waste and following Will County ordinances and getting the appropriate building permits when putting up fences, storage buildings, and other
structures. (Such structures could be contributing to area drainage problems.)
• The County and City agreed to cooperate in evaluating the drainage concerns and developing a plan for improving drainage in this unincorporated area. The County and City have agreed to provide the staff resources necessary for the development of the plan at no cost.
• It is anticipated that drainage improvements will be implemented in phases, with the first phase being the Perkins Court area.
• A web page is being created by the City of Naperville and Will County to provide information about the status of this project. The webpage will be located at the City of Naperville website, www.naperville.il.us. At the lower right corner of the city’s home page is an icon that looks like an orange construction hat with the following text “ Construction Alerts and Current Projects”. Click on the icon and then click on the Current Projects link on the following page. The project will be called Will County Drainage Project. It is anticipated that the webpage will be functional by May 8. Also, when up and running, you will be able to access the project website directly by going to our NWTHA website – www.nwtha.com
• The County, Township and City are currently developing a schedule to evaluate drainage in the unincorporated areas. The survey schedule will be included in the project web page.
• In keeping with the spirit of cooperation that has marked this project so far, a City of Naperville technical team has already started doing this survey work and has been welcomed to the private property of the homeowners who are having drainage/runoff problems related to The Paddocks and other sources. The City staff members were scheduled to continue this work through May 8. However, that schedule was tentative and subject to change, depending upon weather conditions and staff workloads. So, be sure to visit our NWTHA website for updates and a link to the project web page.
• The first follow-up to the April 14 meeting will take place in mid-June. Although the exact time, place and date of this second meeting have not been determined as yet, this info will be posted on the project and NWTHA websites as soon as it’s available. The purpose of this second meeting will be to present the survey information collected by the County and City to the residents.
• Will County is following up with Nicor regarding resident concerns related to Nicor activities in the right-of-way and easements – e.g., their properties are not being restored properly after the work is completed.
The good news in all of this is that a cooperative effort is underway that will hopefully result in solutions to our drainage problems. The bad news is that this cannot be accomplished overnight. It is a long-term issue that’s going to require a lot of meetings and even more cooperation (and patience) among residents and the government entities over an extended period of time. We understand that many of these drainage problems have existed for too long already – especially in relation to roadside drainage ditches – but we do believe we finally see a flickering light a the end of the tunnel. That’s why the NWTHA Board voted unanimously at a special April 28 meeting to support this endeavor.
The meeting will be an open house format with brief presentations at 5:45pm and 6:30pm. A detailed summary of the meeting is provided below:
· 5:30pm to 7:00pm – Open House with Meeting Materials on Display – Residents will be able to review the information that has been collected and analyzed by the County and City and provide comments regarding the information.
· 5:45pm – Will County Board Member Chuck Maher will give a brief presentation regarding the status of the project to date.
· 6:30 – The 5:45pm presentation regarding the status of the project to date by Will County Board Member Chuck Maher will be given again in case residents were not at the 5:45pm presentation.
The meeting materials that will be presented at the public meeting will be available for viewing by 5:00pm on Monday, June 8, 2009 on the project webpage, www.naperville.il.us/willdrainage.aspx.
In case residents are unable to attend the public meeting, comments can be submitted through Friday, June 19, 2009 at 5:00pm to either:
Derek O’Sullivan Kim Grabow
The public meeting will be held on Wednesday, June 10, 2009 from 5:30pm to 7:00pm in Meeting Rooms A&B at the 95th Street Library, 3015 Cedar Glade Drive in Naperville, Illinois