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Westmont board approves alley reconstruction bid, water and engineering contracts; appoints village manager and aligns fiscal year
Summary
At its March 6 meeting the Westmont Village Board approved a package of construction contracts, engineering agreements, fuel contract extension, code updates, the calendar-year fiscal change and appointed James Gunther as village manager effective June 2, 2025.
The Westmont Village Board on March 6 approved multiple contracts and ordinances including a low bid for alley reconstruction, engineering agreements for construction and water-system projects, an exercise of an option year for fuel supply, several code text amendments, a change to the village fiscal year and the appointment of James Gunther as village manager effective June 2, 2025.
Key votes and actions taken at the meeting included:
- Awarded the Residential Alley 10 North reconstruction contract to Everlast Blacktop Inc., low bid $761,486.78. The work includes asphalt pavement, concrete edge restraints, storm sewer and restoration. The board was told bids were closely clustered and the second-low bid was $790,185.
- Approved a Phase 3 construction engineering agreement with Thomas Engineering Group LLC for the Residential Alley 10 North project, contract amount $124,990, to provide construction administration, field inspection and pay estimate preparation.
- Authorized a design engineering agreement with Baxter & Woodman Inc. for phase 2 design of the Park, Chicago and Willard water main improvements, contract amount $107,000. The project covers Park Street (Naperville to Ogden), Chicago Avenue (Grant to village limits) and Willard Place (Park to Washington) and is planned for construction in 2026.
- Approved an engineering agreement for phased water treatment plant rehabilitation. Staff described the project as replacing obsolete PLCs and other end-of-life equipment, moving away from chlorine gas disinfection to an industrial bleach system, adding variable-frequency drives for pumps, and installing an emergency generator; construction is expected in 2026–2027. The transcript did not specify the engineering contract amount for this item.
- Exercised the second option year of the gasoline and diesel contract with Al Warren Oil Company Inc., not to exceed $300,000 for the term April 1, 2025, through March 31, 2026. Staff noted the village participated in a joint DuPage County bid that realized significant savings.
- Approved housekeeping code updates including an indemnification text amendment to reflect current practice of defending employees in lawsuits arising from their official duties, and building and fire code text amendments intended to balance economic development and firefighter/public safety concerns.
- Approved an ordinance to move the village fiscal year to the calendar year (January 1–December 31) to better align with property tax collection and to potentially improve bidding timing for construction projects.
- Confirmed the appointment of James Gunther as village manager, effective June 2, 2025; the ordinance authorizing an employment agreement was adopted by roll call.
Consent-agenda items approved without separate discussion included approval of board minutes from Feb. 20, 2025; Finance Ordinance No. 5 in the amount of $1,496,221.46; and two purchase orders called out in the ordinance: EMS Management and Consultants ($72,000) for EMS billing charges and DuPage DUGIS (DuPage Integrated Justice Information System) annual fee ($405,842.01). The finance ordinance covered the total payments.
Most motions were approved by roll call during the meeting; staff described the alley reconstruction and water projects as driven largely by drainage and system-reliability needs, and said some work will require substantial storm-sewer ties and long-lead electrical equipment.
