Corporate Authorities Of the Town of Cicero Approve Residential Flood Control Program For $2,000 Each Eligible Applicant
The Town of Cicero trustees during their bi-weekly board meeting on Tuesday, July 25th, 2023. April Alonso/Cicero Independiente.
By Luis Velazquez
The Town of Cicero Board of Trustees and President Larry Dominick met in July 2023 two times to approve various ordinances and resolutions.
The approved items include a McDonalds art installation on Cicero Avenue, a few block parties in Cicero and President Dominick declaring the July 2 storm of this year as a disaster for the town due to its negative impact on the community and much more.
You can find all the documents used for this recap by clicking the following links: July 11 and July 25. Check out our Facebook page to watch the live streams of the July 11 or July 25 meeting.
Here is a summary of the approved items:
PERMITS
The board approved a permit for a McDonalds Art Installation at 2827 S Cicero Ave. The art installation is supported by the Ritmo y Color McDonald’s program, which is dedicated to celebrate the Latino culture and work of local artists. You can check out the video of the piece here.
The Salvation Army has requested approval from the town for their annual Red Kettle Campaign. This campaign runs from November 1 to December 24 and aims to collect funds in front of private property owners' establishments to support children's needs nationwide. Look for them at various businesses with red donation buckets later this year. The board approved this permit.
The board approved six block party permits. A few of them include on August 26 at 5200 S 23rd St, September 3 at 3200 S. 53rd Ave.
RESOLUTIONS
Following the July 2 storm, which brought 8.47 inches of rainfall to Cicero, there were extensive floods and damage to homes, public and private property, streets and utility systems. Due to these circumstances, President Larry Dominick declared “a disaster occurred in the Town on July 2, 2023, the effects of which are estimated to continue for an unforeseeable number of days into the future.”
With the help of Illinois Gov. J.B. Pritzker, the governor's declaration enables Cicero to request assistance from FEMA for affected families.
You can currently request help through FEMA using this link provided.
TOWN SPENDING
The board passed to amend their Residential Flood Control Program due to the recent flooding in July. The program used to offer up to $1,500 for home improvements due to the flooding. Now with the change, they are offering up to $2,000. The program is available on a first come first serve basis, according to the agenda.
The upper deck of the Town's Municipal Complex parking garage suffered a collapse. The town board approved a project costing $29,800, based on an estimate from Walker Consultants, a full-service firm in planning, engineering, architecture, forensics, restoration, and building envelopes. This project covers engineering services for preparing project documents and site inspections aimed at recovering and improving the parking garage.
An annual action plan was approved to comply with the requirements of the community development block grant program offered through the United States Department of Housing and Urban development. The purpose of the program is to improve community housing and a better suitable living environment. The town will receive $1,677,486 according to the agenda.
The town is required to create a material inventory of lead service lines for all water users by April 15, 2024, in compliance with the IPA Lead Service Line Replacement and Notification Act. To streamline this process, the water department will integrate water service material inspections into their routine residential visits for inspections or meter reading. The resolution highlights that the IEPA permits the use of predictive modeling software to facilitate data collection.
As a result, an engineering agreement was discussed and approved. Novotny Engineering and BlueConduit will assist Cicero in collecting, organizing, and reviewing data for the service line material inventory. The town will make a lump sum payment of approximately $40,000 for the preparation of the predictive modeling report and the Lead Service Line inventory conducted by BlueConduit.
After the recent flooding, many homes had to dispose of furniture and large household items. To help with this, Cicero has enlisted Veteran Transportation Services. The town will pay $25,000 for their services, billed at a rate of $125 per hour.
APPOINTMENTS TO COMMITTEES AND COMMISSIONS
The town board approved 18 individuals with new positions. However, three spots were left empty.
Click here to see the new appointed positions.
SETTLEMENTS OF LITIGATION
The first case was Robert Derwin v. Town of Cicero, which regarded Derwin experiencing injuries on his neck and arms due to lifting equipment on February 17 in 2021. The parties agreed to settle and Alvarado is set to receive $104,582.60 from the suit.
Luis Velazquez is the editor for Cicero Independiente. He was a previous student at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign where he earned a B.S. and M.S. in Journalism.
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