Meetings scheduled for next week:
- Monday, July 22:
- Board of Health meeting, 6 p.m. in Room 102
- Tuesday, July 23:
- Village Board meeting, 6:30 p.m. in Council Chambers
- Environment & Energy Commission, 7 p.m. in Room 101
- Wednesday, July 24:
- Disability Access Commission, 6 p.m. in Main Library - Conference Room
- Community Design Commission, 7 p.m. in Council Chambers
- Citizen Involvement Commission, 7 p.m. in Room 101
Strong storms pushed through the Chicagoland area on Monday evening and, like many communities, Oak Park found itself in the destructive path with multiple downed power lines and several significantly damaged trees. Much of the damage locally occurred in the section of the Village from Harrison St. to Madison St. between Austin Blvd. and Oak Park Ave. The Public Works Forestry Division led by Superintendent Grant Jones, Crew Chief Jason Sochacki and Technician BJ Farmer worked through the night Monday into Tuesday to begin clearing streets and mitigating potentially dangerous situations. In all, six Village crews and two additional contractors worked over the next several days to continue clearing streets and removing trees from private structures.
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As outlined in Section 8-41-5 of the Village code, Exemption A has been invoked regarding the use of gas-powered leaf blowers for use during the current emergency storm response. The exemption states, “at the direction of Police or Fire Department sworn personnel of the Village for the purpose of responding to an emergency, or in order to restore, preserve, protect or save lives or property from imminent danger of loss or harm.” The exemption remains in place until further notice as cleanup from this storm continues throughout Oak Park.
Two staff members from the Public Health Department - Emergency Preparedness Coordinator Lee Christenson and Public Health Nurse Kitty Monty – attended a Family Reunification Center Training at SeatGeek Stadium in Bridgeview. The two-day event, facilitated by the I Love U Guys Foundation, was also attended by representatives from District 97 and District 200. The purpose was to teach participants how to coordinate the safe reunification of children with their families following an incident requiring the evacuation of students from a school to an alternate location. This training is part of the ongoing coordination between the Village and our partners to prepare our community for emergencies. For additional information about the training, click here.
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The Oak Park Area Arts Council, celebrating its 50th year in 2024, held a ribbon cutting and reception on Thursday afternoon to celebrate the installation of new public art in the Pleasant District. The ribbon cutting, held in front of Oak Park Jewelers, featured comments from Rob Guenther on behalf of the Oak Park River Forest Chamber of Commerce, Village President Vicki Scaman and Camille Wilson White, Executive Director of the Oak Park Area Arts Council. Following the ceremony, attendees enjoyed a reception at Anfora Wine Merchants.
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Lindsey Roland Nieratka, a leader in developing and implementing climate-focused and sustainability programs, has been named Chief Sustainability Officer for the Village of Oak Park. Though an Illinois native, Roland Nieratka has spent much of her professional career in the state of Florida. She arrives in Oak Park after serving as the first-ever Sustainability Manager for the City of Boca Raton since 2018. There, she meticulously developed sustainability plans and strategies for the community that covers five miles of Atlantic coastline from the ground up. Similarly, Roland Nieratka was the first person to work as the Environmental Sustainability Coordinator in the City of Hollywood, a suburb of Miami. Roland Nieratka officially begins the role on July 29.
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After assisting the Village for a period as a temporary employee, Stephanie Webb began full-time with the Finance Department on Monday as Senior Accountant. With an extensive background in both sales and accounting, Webb is a Certified Public Accountant and holds a Master of Business Administration in Accounting/Finance, as well as a bachelor’s degree in Finance.
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The Vision Zero plan recommendations have been drafted after gathering feedback from residents, carefully analyzing crash data, hosting discussions with key stakeholders and studying safety challenges in Oak Park. Community members are invited to review the traffic safety recommendations and provide feedback during the Vision Zero Open House planned for 2 to 4 p.m. on Saturday, July 20 in the large activity room at the Park District of Oak Park's Ridgeland Commons Recreational Complex, 415 Lake St. Light refreshments, activities for kids and a chance to win a raffle prize will be part of the family-friendly event. Feedback gathered will help the team refine its recommendations for the final Vision Zero plan, which is expected to be completed this fall. For more information about the Vision Zero project, visit www.engageoakpark.com/visionzero.
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Another new Oak Park business has opened in the Village’s Southtown Business District. Moon’s Gifts, 832 S. Oak Park Avenue, immediately south of Carnival Grocery, opened this past week. Owner Summer Chen also owns the Luxury Nail Spa (831 S. Oak Park Avenue) across the street in the Southtown District. Moon’s Gifts is one of more than 55 newly-licensed businesses that have opened in Oak Park since the start of 2024 and almost 400 since the start of 2021. For a full list of new Oak Park Businesses, please visit pickoakpark.com. Pictured right is Chen (right) with Development Services Director Emily Egan (center) and Economic Vitality Administrator Cameron Davis (left).
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New business licenses in Oak Park since 2019
Village President Vicki Scaman joined Development Services staff and members of the Oak Park River Forest Chamber of Commerce for a ribbon cutting on Monday to officially open Egg Harbor Café at 1111 South Blvd. in the Pleasant Business District. A regional restaurant chain open daily from 7 a.m. until 2 p.m., Egg Harbor Café’s Oak Park location is their 24th. For more information on Egg Harbor Café, please visit www.eggharborcafe.com.
As of July 14th, 15,349 vehicle licenses had been sold in Oak Park, representing a decrease of 3,584 stickers compared to the total number purchased in 2023. A current vehicle license is needed to purchase an Oak Park parking permit. Rates vary by type of vehicle, with discounts for senior citizens, persons with disabilities and active-duty veterans. Click here to renew an active license or apply for a new license. For more information, call 708.358.7275, email parking@oak-park.us or visit www.oak-park.us/vehiclelicenseinfo.
The Plan Commission reviewed a planned development application for a supportive and affordable housing development proposed for 1106 Madison Street. The development proposal was submitted by Interfaith Housing Development Corporation, the same developer who previously constructed the Grove Apartment building at Grove Avenue and Madison Street. The new proposal is for a five-story, 36 unit residential building consisting of studio and one-bedroom apartments for individuals who earn less than 30 percent of the AMI (Area Median Income) and are in need of social services. The Plan Commission recommended unanimous support of this application with a 5-0 vote. It is anticipated it will be presented to the Village Board at their July 30, 2024 meeting.
The contractor is finalizing installation of permeable pavers, marking pavement and installing signage at Lot 10 over the next few days as it is scheduled to open on Thursday, July 25 at 7 a.m., weather permitting. Traffic in Lot 10 will be one-way westbound, entering from Forest Ave. and exiting on to Marion St. The next phase of the project, construction on North Blvd. from Forest Ave. to Marion St., begins July 25. Parking in the angled stalls will not be allowed on North Blvd. for the duration of this work, which is anticipated to take approximately six (6) weeks. Asphalt, pavement striping, and site cleanup is tentatively scheduled for the third week of August. Signs will be placed on trees and streetlight poles notifying of this closure. North Blvd. will be open to through-traffic outside of work hours, however there will be periodic closures for construction-related activities.
24-1 Water & Sewer Improvements – The water main improvements on South Blvd. are officially underway with this week’s activity consisting of tree protection and saw cutting. Detour signage is expected to be setup around the site this week, as well. The contractor planned to make the first water main connection at Kenilworth Ave. today. Water main installation will continue through to next week. Work at the second location for this project is expected to begin the week of July 29. The upcoming sewer improvement project will be located on Linden Ave. between Thomas St. and Augusta St. The estimated completion date for both locations is the end of October.
Madison Street Improvements – The contractor’s surveyor completed the construction layout along the north side of Madison St. for the remaining sidewalks and planter areas. This week, the contractor continued to pour sidewalks and fill the trenches crossing Madison St. Next week, work will start removing curb and gutter along the south side of Madison St. as well as the start of electrical work necessary for the new street lighting.
Sidewalks –The contractor will be addressing punch list items the week of July 22. The Village completed a total number of 1,727 sidewalk replacements and 391 angle cuts this year.
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