Council authorizes engineering proposals for water and street projects, OKs lead service-line engineering

The City of Highwood City Council voted Sept. 16 to authorize three proposals from Christopher Burke Engineering for local infrastructure work. The council approved a $117,370 proposal to design a water-main replacement for Prairie Avenue, a $40,060 proposal to engineer lead-service-line replacements for 60 properties, and a $95,603 proposal for water-plant improvements. City staff said the Washington Avenue project was completed this year with FAU funding and that the city expects to receive 80% funding for Prairie Avenue and Sheridan Road in 2027 and 2028. Staff also said the Walker Avenue project currently underway is an FAU project. Councilmembers and staff discussed the scope of the engineering work and confirmed these votes were standard authorizations to proceed with design and engineering services. On the lead-service-line item, staff said the city has many pure lead pipes and that the current authorization is to commission engineers to design replacements for an initial set of 60 properties; staff said about another 200 service lines are part-lead and part-galvanized steel. A council member clarified that the September vote was the legal approval to contract for engineering and that the technical and construction phases had been discussed in a pre-session meeting. Each proposal passed on roll call. The Prairie Avenue design, lead-service-line engineering and water-plant improvement proposals were approved in separate motions and recorded as passed during the Sept. 16 council meeting.