The Town of Cicero Agrees To Spend More Than $100k For Previous Local Festival
The Town of Cicero trustees during their bi-weekly board meeting on Tuesday, April 25, 2023. April Alonso for Cicero Independiente.
By Efraín Soriano
The Town of Cicero Board of Trustees and President Larry Dominick met twice in April to approve various ordinances and resolutions.
The approved items featured various applications for grant funding from the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) and the Illinois Environmental Protection Agency (IEPA), extending the hours of operation of Town Hall, invoices for entertainment services during the Cinco De Mayo festival, and much more.
You can find all the documents used for this recap by clicking the following links: April 11 and April 25. Check out our Facebook page to watch the live streams of the meeting on April 11 and April 25.
Here is a summary of the approved items:
The first order of business was extending the days of operation for the Town Collector's office. For the month of June, the Town Hall will be open on Saturdays from 9 a.m. to 1 p.m. to ensure all Cicero residents have an opportunity to renew their Vehicle Stickers set to expire June 30.
Event Spending
With the recent Cinco De Mayo Festival, the board approved a $65,000 quote from Altorfer Power Systems for four light towers used at town events and festivals and a $35,790 quote from O’Leary Contracting for two full-size matrix boards. The matrix boards helped direct traffic near the festival.
The board then approved an agreement with Vica JV, LLC for $33,500. Vica JV, LLC was responsible for providing and promoting the musical services for the festival. Talents at the festival include Los Cadetes De Linares, Grupo Yndio, and Los Rodarte.
Town Spending
An invoice from Lyons and Pinners Electric Company for $27,389.62 was approved for an emergency repair of a broken street light that was knocked down on 25th Street and Laramie Avenue.
The town offers various programs for people over 62 years and people with disabilities through their Department of Senior Services. These programs include transportation services, minor home repairs, and a lawn maintenance program.
The board approved an agreement for the department to continue using third-party contractors to offer the lawn maintenance program. The program is back in session as of May 1 and will continue for 26 weeks into October 2023. For more information on these services call (708) 656-3600.
According to the town, the chiller for the Bobby Hull Community Ice Rink is due for a replacement brine pump after 12 years of use. The town approved a quote for two new brine pump installations at $22,000.
In July 2022, the board announced the new Inclusion Park to be constructed on 19th Street and Laramie Avenue. In preparation for construction, the town is in need of environmental consulting services. The land on which the park is set to be built formerly housed an industrial building that manufactured commercial dishwashers.
According to Specialty Consulting’s analysis of a 2010 EPA report, Vinyl Chloride, Arsenic, and various other metals were found in various soil and groundwater samples taken at this site. The Town has approved Specialty Consulting to take the necessary precautions to retest the site’s soil and groundwater. These services will cost the town about $85,850.
Grant Applications and Funds
The Town of Cicero was approved for a $320,000 grant from the Illinois Attorney General to target retail theft by creating a Real Time Crime Center. The budget approved for this grant includes ten license plate readers for $70,000, a one-year contract to a Real Time Crime Center software for $150,000, and $100,000 set aside for overtime pay for police officers at $80 per hour.
A grant application to the Illinois Environmental Protection Agency’s lead service line inventory program was submitted by the board. The board is asking for $50,000 in grant funding to conduct an inventory of the 15,175 service connections present in Cicero’s water supply. This would provide the town and IEPA with information about the possible exposure of the water supply to lead and the types of materials our service lines are made of.
If approved, the town is prepared to match this grant funding with their own $50,000 to conduct this inventory.
The board also approved an application for $156,000 in grant funding from the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) to purchase carbon monoxide and smoke detectors as part of their efforts to reduce the risk the community faces.
Efrain Soriano is a contributing reporter for Cicero Independiente.
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