Below is a step-by-step timeline of important project milestones and meetings, beginning with the most current activity by the Village.

For weekly updates on the status of construction, please visit https://www.wsnsp.com/

January 12, 2021 – The Village Board approved a contract with Christopher B. Burke Engineering, Ltd. (CBBEL) for design services associated with Phase 3 of the Neighborhood Storage Project at Thornwood Park. Click here to view the meeting agenda.

December 22, 2020 – The Village Board approved a contract with V3 Construction Group, Ltd. for construction of Phase 2 of the Neighborhood Storage Project at Hibbard Park. Click to view the meeting agenda and the meeting minutes.

July 28, 2020 – Staff provided an update to the Village Board on Phases 1A, 1 and 2 of the Neighborhood Storage Project. Click to view the meeting agenda and meeting minutes.

March 10, 2020 – The Village Board approved the Phase 1 construction contract with Berger Excavating and construction engineering contract with Christopher B. Burke Engineering, Ltd. (CBBEL) for Community Playfield, as well as Intergovernmental Agreements with School District 39 and the Wilmette Park District. Click to view the meeting agenda and meeting minutes.

August 27, 2019 – The Village Board approved Resolution approving a Memorandum of Understanding with the Park District for the Neighborhood Storage Project. Click to view the meeting agenda and meeting minutes.

February 4, 2019 – The Village Board held a special meeting during which the Board approved optimizing the Neighborhood Storage Project to improve protection for vulnerable structures during a ten-year storm event from 71% to 98%. Click to view the meeting agenda and meeting minutes.

April 17, 2018 – The Village Board held a special meeting during which the Board voted to move forward with the Neighborhood Storage Project, and directed Village staff to issue a request for proposal for preliminary engineering design services. Click to view the meeting agenda and meeting minutes.

November 27, 2017 – Meeting of the Village Board. On Monday, November 27, the Village Board will continue discussions on stormwater west of Ridge Road. The meeting will be held at Village Hall and will begin at 7:00 PM. At this meeting, the Village Board will continue discussing project alternatives, including financing options. For further details about the project, please visit the Village’s Stormwater Improvements website. If you are unable to attend the meeting, you may watch it live on WCTV Channel 6 or stream it via the website at www.wilmette.com. The meeting will also be archived on the Village website and can be viewed at any time. Residents are encouraged to email comments on this project to sewers@wilmette.com.

September 25, 2017 – The Village Board met as a Committee-of-the-Whole to review Stantec’s presentation of the supplemental storm sewer analysis. The feasible project alternatives range in cost from $48 – $95 million (in 2017 dollars) and provide varying levels of flood protection. The full presentation can be viewed here.

July 25, 2017 – The Village Board approved a contract with Stantec in the amount of $49,385 for supplemental analyses of the separate storm sewer system study to explore all possible options to reduce the depth and duration of overland flooding west of Ridge Road.

June 26, 2017 – The Village Board met as a Committee-of-the-Whole to review the Stantec value engineering study. Stantec concurred with the conclusions of the Burke study regarding the effectiveness of the project, while also noting that the project could cost as much as $95 million (in 2017 dollars). The Village Board directed Stantec to complete Phase 5 of the study to identify potential cost savings through value engineering and to complete a supplemental analysis to ensure that all possible alternatives and lower cost options are considered.

January 24, 2017 – The Village Board approved a contract in the amount of $114,933 with MWH-Stantec for the value engineering review of the separate storm sewer system study. The study will review the original Burke analysis to confirm the alternatives presented and the associated costs were accurate and reliable. A series of public meetings will be held to review the value engineering report in late spring/early summer of 2017.

October 20, 2016 – The Village Board met as a Committee-of-the-Whole to continue discussions regarding the Christopher Burke separate storm sewer system study. At this meeting, the Village Board unanimously agreed to direct Village Staff to issue an RFP to initiate a value engineering study. The PowerPoint for this meeting can be found by clicking on this link.

September 19, 2016 – The Village Board met as a Committee-of-the-Whole to hear a presentation from Christopher Burke Engineering regarding the conclusions of their study. The study found that the current proposed alternative, which is the installation of 8 miles of new storm sewers at a cost of $77 million, is the most cost-effective option to reduce flooding west of Ridge Road. The Village Board also reviewed the financial impact of the proposed project. The PowerPoint for this meeting can be found by clicking on this link.

April 4, 2016 – The Municipal Services Committee (MSC) of the Village Board met to review an update on the separate storm sewer study, including implementation schedule, cost/benefit review, and analysis of funding options. The MSC concurred that Alternative 1, building a relief storm sewer system ($77 million), was the most logical of the alternatives and asked staff to include it as a place holder in the Capital Improvements Program for further discussion. There was consensus that funding a project of this magnitude would be a challenge. The MSC suggested that sewer rates should be increased on an incremental basis over time and the first increase could happen during the planning and design period so that the project fund could build early.

September 24, 2015 – Christopher Burke Engineering gave a presentation to the Municipal Services Committee on the various alternatives aimed at eliminating street flooding for a 10-year storm event (a storm that has a 10% change of occurring in any given year). The MSC asked Village Staff to prepare a detailed schedule and implementation plan for Alternatives 1 and 2, including a detailed financial analysis including review of a stormwater utility fee, and a detailed analysis of project cost per structure protected.

April 14, 2015 – The Village Board approved a contract amendment no. 1 in the amount of $56,300 with Christopher Burke Engineering for services associated with the separate storm sewer study. The contract included a refinement of alternatives developed in the stormwater report to allow ponding in the right-of-way for the 10-year storm event, investigation of potential surface storage at Community Playfield, and coordination and preliminary design for drainage improvements for Lockerbie Lane and LeClaire Avenue (Glenview stormwater connection).

March 25, 2015 – The Municipal Services Committee of the Village Board reviewed a proposal from Christopher Burke Engineering to refine the original separate storm sewer study and recommended that the Village Board formally approve contract amendment no. 1.

January 28, 2015 – The Municipal Services Committee of the Village Board met to hear a presentation from Christopher Burke Engineering regarding the results of the separate storm sewer study. Three project alternatives were identified to relieve flooding in West Wilmette.

August 25, 2014 – The Municipal Services Committee of the Village Board met to hear an update from Christopher Burke Engineering regarding the separate storm sewer study.

January 21, 2014 – The Village Board approved a contract in the amount of $264,938 with Christopher Burke Engineering for professional engineering services associated with the separate storm sewer system and hydraulic modeling. The scope of work for the project included data collection (Location, elevation, and pipe diameter of storm system west of Ridge Road) for purposes of developing GIS framework, gathering existing manhole conditions, flow monitoring storm sewers, building a hydraulic model, determining system capacity and bottlenecks, develop alternatives to reduce surcharging and overland flooding, evaluate impact of FEMA’s flood hazard zone on Kenilworth Gardens subdivision, prioritize recommendations for a short term and long term plan, provide an itemized cost estimate for each proposed improvement including engineering, permitting and construction, recommend ordinance amendments, operational improvements and storm water management programs, identify opportunities for green infrastructure, and attend public meetings.

July 15, 2013 – At a Committee-of-the-Whole meeting of the Village Board, Village Staff recommended that the Village fund a separate storm sewer study to map out critical areas of overland flooding in West Wilmette.

July 9, 2013 – The Municipal Services Committee of the Village Board  met to discuss modeling and analysis of the separate storm sewer system to help understand the hydraulics of the of the sewer system and the problems encountered during storm events.