Allocating $2 million for lead service line replacement headed the list of the five-year capital improvement plan unveiled at the River Forest Village Board meeting Feb. 12.
In his presentation, Matt Walsh, village administrator, said capital expenditures are estimated to be $34.4 million over the next five years, $8.1 million of which is expected to be spent in the first year, Fiscal Year 2025, which begins May 1.
The majority of funding for FY2025, $3.2 million, will come from the water and sewer fund, which includes the $2 million for lead service line replacement. Other major funding sources include capital equipment replacement fund, $1.3 million; motor fuel tax fund, $1.1 million; and capital improvement fund, $1 million.
At the beginning of 2022, a new Illinois law – the Lead Service Line Replacement and Notification Act — went into effect, mandating that owners of any water supply must create an inventory of all lead service lines by 2023 and submit a preliminary plan in 2024 to the IEPA to replace all of them. The final replacement plan isn’t due to the state until 2027 and municipalities will have an additional 20 years to get all of those lead service lines replaced.
As is common in municipalities throughout Illinois, water service lines leading to buildings in River Forest constructed before 1986 are likely to include lead. Because no safe blood level for lead has been identified for young children, all sources of lead exposure for children should be controlled or eliminated, according to the U.S. Centers for Disease Control. The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency has set the maximum contaminant level goal for lead in drinking water at zero because lead can be harmful to human health even at low exposure levels.
Unveiling the capital improvement plan is the first step of the budget process. Officials said the plan is generally amended during the budget process as determinations are made for items to be moved forward or to be deferred based on current information.
In April, a budget will be prepared and recommended to the village board, which will take input from residents, if there is any, at a public hearing. The final step in the process will be adoption of the budget, which also is expected in April.
“It takes a lot of work” to create the capital improvement plan, Walsh said, thanking all staff members especially Seth Jansen, management analyst; Rosemary McAdams, finance director; and Keke Boyer, assistant finance director.
He acknowledged “some challenges” in funding all the village’s needs but said staff members are seeking grant funding and trying to extend the life of vehicles and equipment.
Village President Cathy Adduci thanked Walsh and the staff for their “great job” in preparing the capital improvement plan.
Trustee Respicio Vazquez commended Walsh and staff members for their efforts to obtain grant funding.
Other water and sewer improvements include water main replacement, $450,000; stormwater master plan, $250,000; and sewer lining, $140,000.
Also, in the capital improvement plan is $1 million for public works vehicles, including $305,000 for a street sweeper and $490,000 for two dump trucks, and $235,417 for an ambulance.