HILLCREST — At its monthly meeting Wednesday, the Hillcrest Village Board of Trustees discussed the bids it received for its priority 1A water main project that will take place this year.

Village Engineer Kaitlin Wright of Baxter & Woodman said Hillcrest received seven bids for the project, which plans to replace mains along the full length of Scott Avenue, parts of Errett Road and Erickson Road from Scott Avenue to Jeffrey Avenue, and parts of Jeffrey Avenue from Errett Road to Erickson Road. Those streets are in the southern and oldest part of the village.

Elliott & Wood, Inc. was the low bidder at $1.037 million. The project was estimated to cost $2.4 million. Hillcrest is eligible for an IEPA loan for the project and 50 percent loan forgiveness.

At its February meeting, the board will vote on awarding the project to Elliott & Wood, Inc., conditionally based on the receipt of the IEPA loan. Wright said the village's total construction budget on the project would be $1.2 million and debt service on the project would be $35,000 paid annually over 20 years. The project could break ground in mid-April.

The project has been on the village's radar for a number of years. A greater water main replacement project was considered in the past, but was trimmed down to the areas of greatest need.

Lead

Wright said the village has received a grant for $30,000 to help it pay for a state-required lead service line inventory that will take place in the coming months before its deadline of April 15. Baxter & Woodman will be doing the work.

Hillcrest must provide an inventory to the state on how many lead water service lines it has running into homes, if any. The work will involve sending surveys to residents who will be able to check their own water lines and provide information to the village.

If lead is found in Hillcrest, the village will be required to put together a replacement plan, send out notifications and replace the lines.

Enforcement

The village took no action on an agenda item regarding updates to its parking ordinance. The board has expressed a desire at recent meetings to "clean up" its parking ordinance after taking issue with vehicles parked in yards in Hillcrest.

Village President Rick Rhoads said he plans to meet with a local law enforcement officer in the coming weeks regarding the possibility of regular police patrols returning to Hillcrest in the future. The village does not have a police force and response to Hillcrest is handled by the Ogle County Sheriff's Office.

Village Trustee Tim Ball presented a quote to the board for cameras for village streets for $78,420. Ball has long been a proponent of cameras in the village to deter drivers from speeding and not stopping at stop signs. No action was taken on the quote and Ball said he'd be bringing more quotes for cameras in the future.

Solar

Village Building Inspector Casper Manheim again asked the board to soon consider the adoption of a solar ordinance to have a fee structure in place for residents and companies that install solar panels within village limits. Manheim previously gave the village a pre-made ordinance from another village that would see Hillcrest be able to charge permit fees for small residential solar operations all the way up to large solar fields.

Rhoads expressed the desire to vote on the solar ordinance at an upcoming meeting. A large solar farm is planned to locate within village limits in the future.