Northfield committee reviews $4.1 million capital plan, prioritizing water-main work and lead-service-line replacements

Village staff presented a proposed FY27 capital plan that would concentrate near-term spending on water and sewer work, equipment replacement and targeted roadway and sidewalk projects.

Patrick, the staff presenter, told the Committee of the Whole the plan treats capital as items generally costing $5,000 or more with a useful life of five years or more and is structured into infrastructure, equipment and vehicle replacement categories. "It's a capital improvement plan for things, like what we call infrastructure, water mains, resurfacing projects, new sewers or lining of sewers," he said.

Why it matters: staff said the village faces multiple near-term water projects, some tied to state requirements on lead service lines that must be removed by 2042. The plan includes roughly $2,800,000 in water and sewer projects and about $4,100,000 across all highlighted items in the coming year.

Key water and meter items

Patrick said recent operational work found more than a dozen broken water valves in a short span; the village has shifted more valve replacement from contractors to in-house crews and budgeted $30,000 to accelerate valve replacements. He also proposed budgeting $18,000 per year to hire a contractor to sandblast, prime and paint hydrants over a five-year effort to extend their service life.

On meters, Patrick warned that many automatic meter-reading (AMR) units are nearing battery end-of-life because the single receiver site (on a Glencoe tower) forces devices to use higher power. He proposed adding an AMR receiver site at the public-works facility to lower device power demands and extend battery life; staff are awaiting contractor quotes.

Lead service-line program and policy change

Patrick said about 10–12 homes on a candidate Hap Road project likely have lead service lines that would need full replacement if the main is replaced. The village currently operates a 50/50 homeowner cost-share program capped at $10,000 per home; Patrick said the plan includes $100,000 per year to defray those costs.

"The state of Illinois does not allow us to put a new water main in, put a new copper service line to the b-box near the sidewalk, and then reconnect the lead," Patrick said, explaining why full replacement is required when mains are disturbed. He added that the state mandate aims for removal of all lead service lines by 2042.

Patrick also proposed a policy change: when the village replaces a main, it would install and own the segment from the water main to the b-box (near the sidewalk), leaving the resident responsible from the b-box to the home. He said he will bring a formal discussion and documentation to the board in the summer; the change would apply only when the village performs the main replacement.

Roadway, sidewalks and other projects

Staff identified $380,000 in motor-fuel-tax/Rebuild-Illinois funds that must be programmed and proposed targeted resurfacing work to bring the worst streets up to better condition. Patrick also listed sidewalk projects including an $81,000 Wagner Road extension (pending IDOT permits), $40,000 for a rapid-flashing beacon on North Hap Road, $25,000 for Parkway median/tree work, and planning funds for a library expansion and Orchard parking redesign that could include up to four EV charging spaces.

Fiscal context and procurement approach

Patrick said he avoids inflating contingency line items because mention of a large contingency in a bid can lead contractors to build it into prices; instead, he prefers to wrap predictable contingencies into bid scopes and to schedule large bids in off-peak months (December–January) to obtain better pricing.

Trustees asked about valve-exercise programs, hydrant counts (Patrick estimated roughly 540), and whether moving valve work in-house would realize savings; staff estimated roughly $5,000–$8,000 saved per valve by doing more work in-house. Trustees also pressed on how to prioritize the $100,000 annual 50/50 lead-replacement fund if more homeowners request assistance than the budget allows.

What happens next

Staff will return with refined cost estimates and a deeper policy discussion this summer on the village taking ownership of main-to-b-box segments when the village undertakes a main replacement project. Several trustees thanked staff for long-term planning and said they expect to see more detailed numbers when the budget cycle resumes.