News Flash

What to expect at the upcoming Park Forest board meeting on April 7

Village of Park Forest - Administration News Posted on April 04, 2025

The Village of Park Forest will hold its first Rules and Special Regular Meeting of the month this coming Monday at 7 p.m. at Village Hall.

During the meeting, the Park Forest Board of Trustees is expected to approve a motion for Option #2, including a partial renovation of the Park Forest Aqua Center and adding a splash pad. The project's total cost will not exceed $3.5 million, and the expenses will be submitted for Village Board approval per the Village's purchasing policy.

In addition to the motion regarding the Park Forest Aqua Center, village staff will present six items on the agenda to the Board. The first item comes from the Finance Department. In a memo sent to the Board, Finance Director Mark Pries explained that one of the basic requirements of the Distinguished Budget Award program is that the budget must include fiscal policies.

These policies provide guidance to management staff in preparing their budgets and are based, in part, on the tax levy adopted the previous December and its underlying assumptions. Economic conditions that have impacted revenues and expenditures since the tax levy adoption were also considered.

In Pries' memo, he outlined the items he would like the Board to consider adopting via a resolution:

  •  A 2% increase in departmental expenditures.
  •  A 3.5% salary increase for all personnel, consistent with negotiated union contracts.
  •  Water rates will increase by 5% from the FY 24/25 amount of $20.91 per 1,000 gallons to $21.95 per 1,000 gallons in FY 25/26, based on the revised rate ordinance adopted in December 2021.
  • Sewer rates will increase by 5% from the FY 24/25 amount of $3.82 per 1,000 gallons to $4.02 per 1,000 gallons in FY 25/26, based on the revised rate ordinance adopted in Dec. 2021.
  • Refuse rates will remain at $27.65 for all of calendar 2025 and will increase to $28.57 on Jan. 1, 2026. Calendar 2022 marked the first year of the renewed contract, which lasts until the end of calendar 2033.

One of the remaining agenda items comes from the Recreation, Parks, and Community Health Department. Director Kevin Adams will request the Board's approval for a renewal of a lawn maintenance contract covering Areas 12 through 18. This contract covers vacant lots and various unoccupied commercial properties that are mowed less frequently.

In his memo to the Board, Adams noted that Dutch Valley Landscape Contractors from Beecher services the contract for Areas 12 through 18 and seeks renewal. The biweekly cost of the contract is $3,052.00, with an anticipated total cost for 16 mowings of $48,832.00.

The other items on the agenda are from the Public Works Department. Director Roderick Ysaguirre will recommend that the Board award the Patching Program Contract to Advantage Paving Solutions in Frankfort. After sending out bids via various methods, Ysaguirre noted that Advantage Paving Solutions submitted the lowest bid of $103,545, below the engineer's estimate of $121,020.

Ysaguirre is recommending that the Board award the Fiscal 2026 Asphalt Patching Program contract to Advantage Paving Solutions and authorize Village Manager Tom Mick to enter into a contract for $103,545.00, with a contingency for additional work as determined by the Village engineer for a total cost not to exceed $175,000. Funding for this work is available in the General, MFT, Sewer, and Water Funds of the Fiscal 2026 Budget.

Ysaguirre will also request the Board to renew the Asphalt Patching Program contract with J & J Newell Concrete Company, including a 3.0% increase for the Fiscal 2024 Curb and Sidewalk Restoration Program Contract. He will additionally seek authorization for the Village Manager to enter into a contract for $191,360.13, with a 10% contingency for any extra work as determined by the Village Engineer, for a total cost not to exceed $210,496.00. Funds for this work will also be found in the General, MFT, Sewer, and Water Funds of the Fiscal 2026 Budget.

The last two items on the agenda involve Ysaguirre's request that the Board award contracts for water treatment chemicals used by the Park Forest Water Department and approve a construction engineering services agreement for the reconstruction of Forest/Norwood Boulevard from Indianwood Boulevard to Westwood Drive.

Click here to read the complete agenda. The Rules and Special Regular Meeting will be held on Monday, April 7, at 7 p.m. at Village Hall, 350 Victory Drive.