Community Consolidated Elementary Dist. 181 Board
Among other business Monday, board members:
• heard a report on the packaging of bids for the estimated $20.7 million in construction projects related to the district’s implementation of full-day kindergarten in the 2025-26 school year. Facilities director Mike Duggan said Oak School was bid separately due to the $5.8 million in work required, while Elm School and The Lane were bid together as smaller projects with a $3.5 million combined cost estimate, as were Madison and Monroe schools with a $5.5 combined cost estimate. Roughly half of the work is anticipated to be done in this summer, with the remaining work completed during the 2024-25 school year and following summer. Bids were scheduled to be opened today, Jan. 25.
• authorized a contract with Turner & Townsend Heery to serve as owner’s representative for the district for full-day kindergarten construction work in an amount not to exceed $418,759. Mindy Bradford, assistant superintendent of finance and operations, told board members that the firm was recommended over another firm that submitted a lower cost proposal in part because Turner has significant K-12 education facility experience and a track record of identifying cost savings that typically save their clients between four to eight times their fee.
• approved the 2024-25 school fees. Student registration fees are projected to generate $1.43 million in revenue in the coming school years. For the current year the district billed $1.28 million and has so far collected $1.20 million. Officials said historically about 10 percent is not collected but that efforts are being made to reduce that shortfall. Among the optional fees, the milk fee will increase from $52 to $88 to reflect the actual cost after several years of no increases, according to Bradford.
Hinsdale Village Board
Among other business at Tuesday’s meeting, trustees
• agreed to approve grants and property tax rebates as preservation incentives for the owners of 217 W. Hickory St., 515 S. Lincoln St. and 605 E. Third St. The item will be on the consent agenda at the board’s Feb. 1 board meeting.
• listened as Sara Barclay demanded the village conduct a traffic study at the intersection of Chicago Avenue and Lincoln Street, saying employees of Fuller’s Car Wash continue to drive and park vehicles on the sidewalk. Village President Tom Cauley said the village will issue citations if necessary.
“We are going to do everything we can to make sure the cars do not park on the sidewalk and we’ll take action,” he said.
• agreed to spend $84,131 to buy new police vehicles from Thomas Dodge Chrysler in Highland, Ind. The new vehicles will replace a 2020 Ford Explorer Police Interceptor with 82,000 miles that is part of the patrol fleet and a 2011 Ford Explorer with 70,000 miles that is assigned to the deputy chief. The item will be on the consent agenda Feb. 1.
• referred to the plan commission an ordinance amending the Hinsdale Zoning Code to address buffer and landscape regulations for development projects adjacent to residential properties. The new language would increase the height of screening from 6 to 10 feet within a 5-foot-wide buffer and require an 8-foot tall solid fence along side or rear lot lines.
