Residents press council on contractor oversight as Highland Park awards sewer-rehab contracts

The City of Highland Park voted to authorize contract awards for a Clean Water State Revolving Fund sanitary-sewer rehabilitation program, dividing the project into phase A and phase B and selecting DVM Utilities for phase A and Lakeshore Global for phase B after bids initially exceeded available funds.

City staff described the work before council as primarily closed-circuit televising and pipe lining rather than large-scale excavation, and explained the project was re-scoped into two phases so it could be completed within the roughly $3 million state allocation. "This work is primarily happening in District 1… this is not like the water main work," a city presenter said, describing lining methods that minimize excavation.

Multiple residents and councilmembers raised concerns about contractor performance and neighborhood impacts. Joshua, a resident of 94 Rhode Island Street, told council his home flooded on March 7 after an excavation tied to a city-funded service-line replacement project was left open and underwater for months. He urged the council to confirm independent inspection protocols before extending new contracts funded by the same program and asked who signs off on restorations. "Before this council commits DVM utilities and Lakeshore Global to phase a and phase b… residents deserve to know what oversight exists to prevent what has already happened once this year," he said.

Joshua also alleged a potential conflict of interest, telling council the water department is directed by Damon Garrett, who he said “simultaneously serves as the president of Metro Consulting Associates, the firm that structures this department's $10,000,000 annual budget.” The council did not take testimony as a formal finding; staff agreed to provide additional details about inspection, oversight and contract terms.

City engineers and staff acknowledged concerns about restored excavation sites and work-site conditions and said they would review contract documents and enforcement provisions, including liquidated damages and inspection oversight, before awarding and starting work. The staff presenter said no preconstruction meeting had occurred and that contract language could still be reviewed to add stronger performance controls.

On the vote, the council approved the resolution authorizing the contract awards. Council members directed staff to return with a clear plan for oversight, inspector assignments, and a process to confirm sites are restored before contractors move to subsequent locations.