Get Full Government Meeting Transcripts, Videos, & Alerts Forever!
Get email alerts on the Infrastructure Roads Water topic
No spam. Unsubscribe anytime.
Riverwoods officials order water‑main engineering as Saunders Road rebuild proceeds; trustees approve $18,496 tree change order
Summary
Village director says a deep cast‑iron water main split prompted a directive to engineer a replacement section timed with Saunders Road reconstruction; trustees approved Change Order COR001 to Clean‑cut Tree Service for $18,496 to close out tree‑removal work tied to the project.
Village staff told trustees they found and repaired a split in an aging cast‑iron water main in the center of Saunders Road and have directed GHA to engineer a replacement of the affected section timed to the Saunders Road resurfacing project.
Director Witt reported crews located the leak about 8 to 10 feet down near the road center. That pipe already bore a previous repair of an 18‑inch section, and the newly discovered failure was a split on the pipe's side. Witt said he instructed GHA to prepare engineering to replace the main from the east side of the street to the valve vault and to replace the valve vault itself, because GHA reported it was difficult to shut the water off at that point. Witt said replacing the water main now would prevent redoing Saunders Road only to have another leak soon after and noted the village did not want to invest in a full road rebuild only to repeat repairs.
Witt also provided updates on the Saunders Road project timeline: he said the Illinois Department of Transportation scheduled the project letting for June 13 and that Lake County started patching in the Riverwoods Road corridor (between Illinois Route 22 and Deerfield Road) with expected traffic delays.
On a related construction closeout item, trustees approved change order COR001 to Clean‑cut Tree Service in the amount of $18,496 to finish tree removal tied to Saunders Road work. Witt explained the original tree removal scope was based on a 2021 tree survey by Gewald Hamilton that targeted trees 3 inches diameter or larger; since that survey many smaller trees had grown to exceed 3 inches or had been missed in the original count. GHA reviewed the change order and recommended approval, Witt said.
Trustee discussion clarified the change order's per‑tree accounting: Trustee Jamerson noted the change order lists 544 additional trees and the computed cost equates to about $34 per tree. Trustee Smith asked whether the change order used the original contract unit prices; Witt said the bid had been a lump sum for the project and that there was no pre‑established unit price for additional trees, adding that Clean‑cut had bid significantly below other contractors when the contract was awarded.
Why it matters: Witt framed engineering the pipe replacement now as prudent to avoid repeating costly roadwork. The board approved closure of the tree‑removal contract and did not authorize additional road reconstruction costs at the meeting.
