Acting Mayor and Members of Council,

Levee 37 Update:

City Manager Michael Bartholomew spoke with the Village Manager of Mount Prospect and both have agreed to work through the blocking of the gap issue cooperatively.  Mount Prospect Village Manager has agreed to start removing the wall on Monday.  The Managers and Engineers from both towns will work to have a meeting which will be facilitated by the IDNR in order to receive some guidance and arrive at a solution.

National Weather Service (NWS) Update:

The NWS has updated the flood projection as of 2:45 pm on Sunday April 21, 2013.  On April 19^th at 2pm, the water level reached record flood stage at 10.92’.  The current stage as of 3:45 pm is 10.01'.  The projection of water levels receding below 8’ is currently at early Tuesday morning. 

Shelter Update:

The Shelter at Prairie Lakes Community Center, 515 E. Thacker Street, has been closed.  A Shelter, established by the Red Cross, is available at the Wheeling Park District, 333 E. Dundee Road. 

Police Update:

Police continues to monitor the situation and is in the process of increasing manning for the Monday morning rush hour.  Additionally, PD is setting up Detour Message boards at the following locations:

1.       River/Touhy

2.       Oakton/Wolf

3.       Northwest Highway/Mount Prospect Road

4.       Oakton/Lee

5.       Golf/Rand

6.       Rand/Wolf

7.       Golf/Wolf

8.       Algonquin/Lee

9.       Touhy/Wolf

10.   Oakton/Mount Prospect Road

11.   Rand/Dempster

Fire Update:

The water at Fire Station 1 is receding.  While still not passable, cleanup efforts have begun.  The department continues to respond to emergencies in the City. 

Public Works Update:

Public Works continues to inspect streets for debris and possible clean up locations.  Emergency garbage collection operations will begin on Monday, April 22^nd.  

For the open and closed street locations, a picture with the open streets highlighted in yellow is attached to this message.  The closed streets are marked in red.

The following street locations have been closed: 

·         Eastbound/Westbound Northwest Highway is Open

·         Oakton Street between River Road and Lee Street

·         Big Bend Drive

·         2000 Block Fargo Avenue

·         Golf Road between River Road and East River Road

·         Lee Street between River Road and Elk Boulevard

·         River Road between Golf Road and Perry Street

·         River Road between Miner Street & Touhy Avenue

·         Central Road between East River Road & River Road

·         Algonquin Road between River Road & Lee Street

·         Maple from Oakton Street to Riverview Avenue

·         Busse Highway at Miner Street to Mason Lane

·         Elk Boulevard from Lee Street to Rand Road

·         Ballard Road from Rand Road to East River Road

·         Rand Road from Golf Road to Dempster Street

·         Northbound River Road at Central Road

·         Graceland Avenue from Jefferson Street to Rand Road

·         Westbound Oakton from Riverside Closed (in Park Ridge)

·         Westbound Algonquin from Oakton Street Closed (in Park Ridge)

The EOC continues to be open on a 24 hour basis and residents can call 847-391-5396.   

Michael G. Bartholomew, City Manager

Dorothy Wisniewski, Finance Director

City of Des Plaines

1420 Miner Street

Des Plaines, IL 60016

To folks in the Des Plaines FEMA buy-out area:

State Representative Marty Moylan wil be holding a town-hall meeting---

                               March 28
                            7 PM
                  Des Plaines City Hall

It would be worthwhile for those of us affected by the FEMA buy-out to attend and express our feelings about the inequity of this program. Just so you are aware:  even though the city sent out more letters after the original forty, there has been no more money added to the buy-out fund. So those of us who were not among the first to be offered a chance to have our property purchased will end up in a neighborhood punctuated by empty lots. Try to explain that situation when you attempt to sell your house.

Despite the fact that Moylan is not directly involved in the process, he is our most logical and immediate connection to the state and federal agencies that will over-see this program. Thus, we need to convince him of the urgency of the situation.  Hopefully, a good representation of people from the affected area will be persuasive. We are, after-all,  tax payers and voters.

Please let me know your thoughts about further actions, i.e., should we also contact our Federal Representatives and Senators.

I also would like to hear if anyone has had any contact from the city or state regarding further steps in the buy-out process. Additionally, would it be worthwhile for us to hold a meeting (with or without city representation) to discuss further action.

Bill Burrows

IN MEMORY OF MIKE ELLIOTT

Michael J. Elliott, Esq., much loved by his family and friends, died on Wednesday, Sept. 12 after a long bout with cancer. He is survived by his mother and sister, Carmen and Trish Elliott (respectively); three children, Steve Elliott, Laurie Elliott and Victory Lonnquist; and two grandchildren, Briana and Leila Nuñez. Memorial services will be held at Friedrichs Funeral Home in Mt. Prospect, 320 W. Central Rd., on Sunday, Sept. 16. Visitation 11 a.m. to 1 p.m. Service at 1 p.m. For info (847) 255-7800 or www.FriedrichsFH.com

CRITICAL MEETING DES PLAINES FLOOD ACTION GROUP

                   

   CRITICALMEETING

   DES PLAINES FLOOD ACTION GROUP

       WHEN:  JANUARY 18, 2012

       TIME:  7:00  P.M.

       WHERE:  City Council Chambers

    SPEAKER:  TIM OAKLEY  Chief Engineer Des Plaines

        -  IS HERITAGE PARK A MYTH, AND WILL IT HURT OR HELP BIG BEND?

        -JUST HOW FAR WILL THE RAISING OF RIVER ROAD GO, AND WHO WILL IT HELP......AND HURT???

       -WILL DES PLAINES ABSORB THE FLOOD WATERS FROM LEVY 37 IN A FLOOD EVENT?

       -NEW CONSIDERATIONS FOR BIG BEND PROJECTS...

       -WHAT IS THE STATUS OF THE REBUILDING OF THE STORMWATER SYSTEM?????

                                

WE NEED A BIG BIG TURNOUT

BRING YOUR NEIGHBORS!!

Please also nominate candidates for the Board.  You may nominate yourself.  Elections will be in March.

 

Please note that the City thinks our group is dead.  A huge turnout will prove the contrary.  We want to be strong going into this election cycle!!!!

ComEd Power Outage discussion at City Hall

Alderman Mark Walsten passed this on to 6th Ward residents and  I wanted to share it with others.   

ComEd will be available on Thursday, October 27th at 7 pm at City Hall to discuss issues related to outages.  Please pass it along to interested residents in your wards. 
 
The City will also be publicizing this meeting as well through their Media Services Office.

Glenn

Illinois Green Infrastructure Grant Program for Stormwater Management (IGIG)

Thanks to our Riverside Residents for Flood Prevention friends for sending this to me. 

 

The following is a news release from the Illinois EPA regarding a grant program available in our area for stormwater management:

Illinois Green Infrastructure Grant Program for Stormwater Management (IGIG)

In the last few months, communities throughout northeastern Illinois have seen devastating rainfalls and damaging floods. Between streets, parking lots, and other impervious surfaces, a lot of that water had nowhere to go. Flooding and combined sewer overflows damage property, drain government budgets, and are environmental threats.

Fortunately, the State of Illinois can help you and your community reduce the effects of stormwater runoff. The Ill. Environmental Protection Agency (IEPA) is once again accepting applications for the Illinois Green Infrastructure Grants Program for Stormwater Management (IGIG). This year’s deadline is Dec. 15, 2011. Grants will be awarded for a range of project sizes and types, such as installation of permeable paving, bioinfiltration systems, and downspout disconnection programs.

The Metropolitan Planning Council is hosting two public workshops for prospective applicants and other interested parties to learn more about this exciting new program.

IEPA staff will be on hand to explain the details of the grant program, and project managers of some of last year’s successful applications will describe their proposals. Attendees also will have the opportunity to network and brainstorm about project ideas with design and engineering firms, planners, landscape architects and other experts in the field of green infrastructure.

Register now for Monday, Oct. 17, 3 to 4:30 p.m.
Metropolitan Planning Council
140 S. Dearborn St., Suite 1400
Chicago, Ill. (See this location on Google Maps)

OR

Register now for Tuesday, Oct. 18, 10 to 11:30a.m.

The Centre in Elgin, North Banquet Facility

100 Symphony Way

Elgin, Ill.  (See this location on Google Maps)

These workshops are free. Prospective applicants include units of government, watershed planning groups, non-profit organizations, private businesses, and individuals. You are welcome to attend more than one workshop, but the content will be comparable. Seating is limited, so you must register in advance.

For more information, please contact Josh Ellis at jellis@metroplanning.org or (312) 863-6045.

Home Generator Reimbursement Plan in the Works

City Officials likely to approve rebate program for residents affected by storms, power outages

Des Plaines residents will likely be able to get a city rebate for their purchase of home generators within the next month.

Read full story by Janet Nester at the Des Plaines Patch

Let us hope this plan goes through and does not get lost as the 2010 version did.
Glenn