Mokena OKs Amendment To Wastewater Treatment Project Contract

By Jon DePaolis, the Richard Free Press:

MOKENA, Ill . – The Village of Mokena Board of Trustees have approved a contract amendment for its wastewater treatment plant improvement project in hopes of garnering grant funding.

The Village Board voted 6-0 Monday, May 10, to spend an additional $85,000 on the project. According to Village documents, staff has been actively pursuing grant funding for the wastewater treatment plant improvement project in an amount up to $750,000.

“The Village has been very aggressive in pursuing grant funding that was originally earmarked by former State Rep. Margo McDermed,” Village Administrator John Tomasoski said during the discussion. “Through that process with the grant criteria from the Department of Commerce and Economic Opportunity, we’ve learned recently that we needed a submission of a Business Enterprise Program (BEP) utilization plan.”

As part of that plan, the Village would need to account for 25% of total grant funds for which 20% would be spent on minority-owned subcontractors and 5% on female-owned subcontractors.

“In order to meet that grant criteria from the bid that goes back to last year, we worked with the low bidder and it can be done,” Tomasoski said.

To do so, however, it will cost an extra $75,000 added to the contract with Williams Brothers Construction of Peoria and approximately $10,000 in engineering costs. An additional 75 days also is being added to the contract completion date for Williams Brothers to account for the company finding subcontractors and any extra time needed for ComEd to approve and schedule the relocation work on the site.

Later in the meeting, the Village Board members also voted 6-0 to approve a contract with H and H Electric for the annual traffic signal maintenance program.

“This program consists of routine maintenance of the 12 signal locations throughout the Village,” Assistant Public Works Director Dan Peloquin said. “The work includes replacement of lamps, lenses and batteries; head alignment and connections checks; and timing detector and controller checks. Extra work not included in the contract such as emergency callouts or an act of God is paid for on a time and material basis.”

Peloquin said there were three bids received for the project, with H and H Electric being the lowest bidder at $13,944.

“H and H is the current contractor that we have now and has done the work admirably for us,” he said.

Peloquin said the work is paid for out of the Village’s Motor Fuel Tax fund and the bid was below the budgeted amount. The contract is for a two-year period with a mutual option to renew for a third year.

The signals that are part of the maintenance program are located at:

• 195th Street and Wolf Road

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