The Village of Tinley Park’s Public Works Committee met on the evening of Aug. 29 to discuss viable options to replace the fountain at Zabrocki Plaza.
Back in April 2016, the fountain, located at the heart of downtown Tinley, was vandalized, and the damages made were irreparable.
Since the incident, Village staff and officials have sought to find a way and fill in that missing piece.
Stonewear Inc. – the fountain's original manufacturer that has merged with Tournesol Siteworks – recently presented staff with some ideas to consider.
If Village officials want a replica of the original fountain, the cost can amount to $47,153. Another alternative also considered – which appeared more favorable to staff – consists of a bottom bowl only with perimeter jets and geyser and is projected to cost $42,357.
“Option two is a little bit more vandal resistant,” Assistant Director of Public Works John Urbanski said. “We wouldn’t have the second and third-tiered fountain bowl. We’d just have the bottom bowl with perimeter jets that would spray inward with a geyser effect of the center.”
That structure, he added, could not be knocked over as easily.
The third proposal in the amount of approximately $85,000 includes a bottom bowl with a centerpiece designed specifically to match requests.
“If the Board felt the want to put possibly a guitar or a musical note or something to follow the [Village’s] branding,” Urbanski said. “This company can actually engineer and create something of that matter to be put in the center.”
The Village of Tinley Park plans to use $10,000 it obtained from the individual responsible for vandalizing the fountain, while the remainder of cost will be alleviated by the Public Works’ fund.
Committee member and Trustee William Brady said he thinks the idea of incorporating the Village’s branding into the centerpiece is a “great idea.”
With the new fountain, the Village also considers the possibilities that come with the arrival of new technology. The previous fountain had halogen-type lights, but the Village has the option to obtain LED lights.
Ultimately, the committee came to a consensus to recommend the second option to the Board of Trustees. This plan will be later discussed at the Sept. 5 regular Village Board meeting.
Approval of the contract with Stonewear Inc. will account for the purchase of the fountain only. Village staff will later enlist the services of a local contractor, which will be quoted separately.
A turn in the right direction
Also discussed at the meeting, committee members weighed in on conducting a turn lane study for the improvements project on 175th Street near Tinley Park High School.
Village staff wants to include a left-hand turn lane moving eastbound into the high school’s parking lot.
Tinley Park High School Principal Theresa Nolan shared having both right and left turn lanes would be a “win-win for both the Village for safety and for eventual traffic flow.”
Plans are in the works for the Village of Tinley Park to work with Cook County to introduce a new right turn lane and sidewalks in the area.
The proposed left turn lane would end at Highland Avenue, which falls short of 750 feet of meeting Tinley Park High School. As such, officials would need to form a new intergovernmental agreement with Cook County to account for the two projects, which do not overlap.
“To get the county to stretch the improvements of [the existing 175th Street reconstruction project], it’s beyond the limits of that,” Village Engineer Chris King said.
The process of moving forward with the left turn lane project will require 12-hour traffic counts for all movement, analysis of traffic data and accident history and documentation of warrants for the right turn lane.
Additionally, 17 feet of the property fronting Tinley Park High School would need to be dedicated to the county to allow them to proceed with construction.
King refuted the idea that a jurisdiction transfer is needed between the Village, Bremen High School District 228 and Cook County to proceed with the effort. He said the interests lie with acquiring large sections of the roadways.
“This [new proposed project] will be done easily next year,” King said.
Committee members are not asking the Board of Trustees to allot money at this time. They are seeking to do a study on the roadway to determine if a left turn lane is necessary. The construction, if approved, would cost approximately $100,000.
Round it up
A brief recap of Public Works Committee action and discussion from the Aug. 29 meeting:
The committee provided a positive recommendation to the Board of Trustees for installation of speed bumps on 171st Street on a trial basis.
The committee recommended that Tinley Park officials present a memorandum of understanding to Cook County to confirm whether or not they’ll contribute $240,000 to invest in the 84th Avenue resurfacing project. The Village had previously obtained a federal grant valued $1,287,000 to account for 80 percent of the effort.
The committee decided to advise the Board of Trustees to approve a contract in the amount of $283,065.96 to D Construction for municipal parking lot improvements.