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Lake Forest staff seek design approval for Awana–Poplar storm sewer; Mackie Consultants recommended
Summary
City engineering staff asked the council to approve design work for the Awana/Poplar storm sewer, emphasizing required coordination with IDOT’s adjacent viaduct drainage work; the city estimates construction of its portion at about $1.7 million and recommended Mackie Consultants for design services.
Superintendent of Engineering Byron Cootes presented the proposed Unwencia/Awana–Poplar Storm Sewer Improvement project and asked the council to approve design engineering services for the work.
Cootes explained the project scope would extend Poplar from Awana to Basswood and described the need to coordinate with an IDOT project that proposes a new 48-inch storm sewer on the viaduct between Wesley and Route 41. "IDOT is basically requiring us to prove that we're not negatively impacting and improvements that they plan on doing," Cootes said, describing the need for system modeling and documentation so an eventual letter of intent or intergovernmental agreement (IGA) will allow the city to connect to the existing 30-inch system.
Staff said the design is being split into two years: the first year would complete modeling and construct a storm-sewer stub at the IDOT intersection to minimize repeated intersection impacts; year two would complete upstream design. Construction was shown as likely in either 2028–29 or 2029–30 depending on IDOT’s schedule and easement timelines.
Cootes gave a conceptual construction estimate for the city’s portion of roughly $1.7 million and explained the RFP resulted in four proposals; Mackie Consultants LLC — which worked on earlier phase one work — was the recommended firm and the lowest-cost proposer for the design contract.
Council asked about grant opportunities to offset local costs. Staff said the city had previously pursued DCEO/SMC grants and used ARPA funds for some projects; FEMA programs were identified as a potential new source and staff has discussed options with a consultant (the Ferguson Group).
The design services item (listed on the omnibus) included a recommended contract to Mackie Consultants LLC for $146,400 plus a 5% contingency ($7,320) for a total of $153,720; that omnibus item was approved by roll call later in the meeting.
Next steps described by staff include refining cost estimates between May and October for budget submittal and completing modeling needed to support any IGA with IDOT.
