Public Works Department
John Hogan, Superintendent of
Public Works, (847) 872-5275
Branch
Pickup | Sewer Flooding | Employment Opportunities |
The Winthrop Harbor Public Works Department
manages the maintenance of the critical infrastructure of our
Village. From larger projects (i.e.: road construction, resurfacing,
etc.) to smaller, but equally as important, issues (i.e.: leaf
pick-ups, snow plowing, etc.), our Public Works staff does an
excellent job in providing top-notch, professional services.
The Public Works Department also manages
the Village's water supply and sewer system. (Click this link
for the most recent Annual Drinking Water Quality Report.) The
report is also available in print at the Winthrop Harbor Village
Hall.
Superintendent of Public Works, John Hogan, can be reached
at 847-872-5275 if you have questions or concerns about Public
Works Dept. services.
Check the on-line
Community
Calendar for listings
of seasonal services provided by the Public Works department!
Branch
Pickup Program -
July 2, 2011 IMPORTANT
MESSAGE: Due to
the significant storm damage sustained on June 30th, with hundreds
of trees damaged or destroyed throughout the Village, Public
Works crews will be picking up branches and debris every day
until the storm clean-up effort is completed. Residents are reminded
to please leave branches as large as possible and stack evenly
along the roadway with cut ends facing the roadway. Patience
as this monumental clean-up effort progresses is appreciated.
Please continue reading below for further details on the regular
branch pick-up program. Note
that the requirement to notify Public Works of your branch pickup
request is waived until the storm clean-up effort is completed.
Crews will be working on all streets in the Village, and again,
your patience is appreciated. Thank
you.
July 23, 2011 IMPORTANT
MESSAGE: Fifty
volunteers from the Southern Baptist Disaster Relief (SBDR) organization
will be in the Winthrop Harbor and Zion communities beginning
July 25th to help residents who are in dire need of assistance
with clean-up efforts from the recent storms. Winthrop Harbor
residents seeking help from SBDR should go to Village Hall and
complete a SBDR request form. The volunteer organization will
deploy an assessment team to your location to determine what
assistance can be provided. The SBDR volunteers help cut up fallen
trees and debris to a manageable size and place them at the roadside
for Village pick-up. There is no charge for the SBDR's volunteer
services.
August 2, 2011 UPDATE:
The Public Works
Dept. has been using all resources for branch pickups since July
1st, and has hired a contractor to assist with an additional
loader. Staff is averaging 25 to 30 dump truck loads of branches
being removed per day. Public Works Superintendent John Hogan
estimates that the first round through the entire village will
be completed by Friday, August 12th. Following this date they
will begin another round through the village, as branches that
were damaged in the trees continue to fall, and residents continue
their own efforts of cutting up trees that were down on their
properties. The second round will begin East of Sheridan Road
and will move West from there. Roll-off dumpsters will be used
at locations where large volumes of branches exist, to help speed
up the process. Thank you for your patience as this process continues.
(following is the normal Branch Pick-up
Program)
The Public Works branch pickup program
for 2011 begins with pickups every Monday in April. For May through
September there will be pickups on two Mondays each month, then
every Monday in October (except Halloween). Following are the
dates for the 2011 season branch pickups:
- April 4, 11, 18 & 25
- May 9 & 23
- June 6 & 20
- July 11 & 25
- August 8 & 22
- September 12 & 26
- October 3, 10, 17 & 24
Residents are asked to notify Public
Works of their request for branch pickup. Requests must be called
in or e-mailed no later than the Friday prior to the desired
Monday pickup date. Call (847) 872-5275 or send a message to
jhogan@winthropharbor.com
to make your request.
Residents are reminded that Public Works
will only be collecting trimmed branches. Branches that are left
from entire tree removals will not be picked up. In addition,
Public Works will not pick up lawn refuse, leaves, grass clippings,
tree trunks and/or logs, etcetera.
To facilitate timely pick-ups, the length
of the limbs and branches should be left as long as possible.
Whole limbs chip up much better than small, cut up pieces. Please
spread out evenly along the parkway, with cut ends of branches
and limbs facing the street. Tangled piles of limbs or branches
placed haphazardly will not be picked up.
If a tree trimming service or lawn service
takes down, trims or prunes your tree, please have the service
company provide removal of the debris. The Public Works Department will not remove debris
or branches left by tree trimming companies or lawn service contractors.
Please note that small amounts of branches
or twigs that can fit into lawn refuse bags should be placed
into bags instead of in the parkway. These smaller piles of twigs
do
not go through the chipper well.
Sewer
Flooding -
In the past when there have been heavy
rains in the area, some residents may have experienced interior
flooding. Part of our sanitary sewer collection system have been
overloaded due to infiltration of storm waters. While some infiltration
is due to direct inflow from manholes, we believe much of the
overload was due to the illegal discharge of sump-pump water
into the residential sanitary service lines.
Public Works is working to correct inflow
through manholes with the installation of "chimney seals".
We are also performing camera inspections of the sanitary sewer
system to attempt to locate sump-pump discharge into the sanitary
sewer system.
If your sump-pump discharges into your
sanitary sewer, it must be re-routed to discharge into the drainage
ditch or storm sewer. For questions, please contact the Public
Works department.
Drainage Ditches -
With heavy rains associated with Spring
and early Summer, drainage of storm water becomes a concern for
many residents and Public Works. Please keep in mind that all
drainage ditches must be maintained by the property owner and
must be kept free from any refuse, and all plant material must
be cut to a maximum of 6" in height. It is also unlawful
for anyone to install culvert, drain, pipe, stone or other material
into any drainage ditch within the right-of-way without written
application and approval from the Superintendent of Public Works.
Mailbox Replacement Program
-
From time to time it is possible that a
mailbox becomes damaged by a snow plow. The Village provides
a mailbox replacement program, subject to certain limitations,
to assist residents under these circumstances.
When a mailbox is damaged, a representative
from the Public Works department will inspect the mailbox site.
The Superintendent of Public Works or his designee will determine
what course of action to follow, and will advise the property
owner.
The Public Works department will replace
damaged and non-repairable parts only:
- if the mailbox was located according to
U.S. Post Office specifications; or
- if the snow plow jumped a curb and/or
plowed beyond the road shoulder and physically struck the box
or post.
Any damage caused by thrown snow will not
be repaired or replaced under this program.
If a replacement of the mailbox is necessary
and approved, a standard rural type mailbox, approved by the
U.S. Postal Service, will be used.
If replacement of only the post is necessary,
a treated or cedar 4x4 wood post will be used.
If the property owner desires a non-standard
mailbox or post, the Village will reimburse for materials only,
to a maximum amount of $35.00. Reimbursement will only be made
after proof of purchase and installation by the property owner.
If the mailbox was not originally installed
according to Post Office specifications (i.e.: too close to the
curb, hanging over the curb, etc.), the Public Works Dept. will
only attempt to repair the damaged pieces. Any necessary replacement
will be the responsibility of the property owner.
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