Prospect Hts. hires firm for flooding study

Christopher B. Burke Engineering will recommend ways to improve drainage and reduce flooding in Prospect Heights, the city council decided Monday night.

The Rosemont firm will receive just under $45,000 from a $15 million bond issue voted last fall for street improvements. Terms of the vote permit a drainage study, said Anne Marrin, city administrator. But it is not known if there will be funds left to achieve drainage improvements recommended.

Burke was chosen over Burns & McDonnell, a Kansas City firm with offices in Chicago and Downers Grove.

Proposals from those two firms were much better that those from three others who vied for the business, said Marrin. Burns is doing a drainage study for Mount Prospect, and Burke, which has previously worked for Prospect Heights, is doing one for the Metropolitan Water Reclamation District and Des Plaines.

The council selected Burke on the recommendation of Steve Skiber, director of building and zoning.

The report will identify problem areas and give recommendations for relieving flooding in each area, said Erik L. Gil, head of the water resources section for Burke.

Of areas the city has already identified, Gil said he knows from previous work with the city that at least one can be fixed by public works staff, and he hopes relatively inexpensive solutions can be found for others.

Alderman Luis Mendez, whose First Ward has closed storm sewers, wanted video examinations of those pipes to start as soon as possible.

While the July rains were well above normal, some areas of town have drainage issues when there is an inch or more of rain, said Marrin.

The council agreed to study the feasibility of extending water service to an area of approximately 300 homes east of Elmhurst Road, south of Palatine Road and north of Camp McDonald Road.

To pay for this study, up to $7,500 will be advanced to the city by Richard Tibbits, a resident of the area. Tibbits, who is also city treasurer, will get the funds back in five years or less. He has said he will form a special service area to bring water to the area.

This agreement is similar to one worked out with another resident in 2005, officials said.