Oak Park council approves water‑main contract, vendor invoices and permit extension; adopts special-assessment rolls

Oak Park City Council approved a series of administrative and capital actions during its meeting, including a major water‑main contract, legal invoices and a permit extension for fiber infrastructure.

Key votes at the meeting (roll-call results as recorded in the meeting):

Votes at a glance

- Award of bid for 2026 water main replacement project M785 to Eminent Excavating Local LLC (Dearborn, MI) for $1,876,760 — approved by roll call (recorded as unanimous yes votes from present council members). Funding was noted as available in the water and sewer fund.

- Approval of legal-services payments: Schiffman Fornier retainer ($20,000) and Garen Luk Miller PC invoice ($15,874.76) — motions carried on roll-call votes.

- Metro Act right-of-way permit extension for Verizon (requesting a five-year extension to April 4, 2031) — city attorney and municipal services staff recommended approval after review of updated route maps and insurance; council approved the extension by roll call.

- FOIA matters: Council upheld a $29.50 processing fee assessed for a FOIA request and separately upheld a public-records determination in an appeal by Joshua Hunter; both motions passed by roll call.

- Special-assessment rolls: Council authorized preparation and adoption of special-assessment rolls to recover unpaid charges and penalties for delinquent utilities, false alarms, concrete repairs and property-blight costs (roles totaling $495,494.65 as described in the agenda) and scheduled a public hearing on the rolls; motions carried.

Council members and staff framed these votes as routine city business and affirmed that legal and administrative reviews (insurance certificates, funding availability, municipal-services checks) had been completed before approval. The city attorney read recommendations into the record when actions involved legal or regulatory requirements.

What’s next: Staff will proceed with contract execution and administrative follow-ups, including submitting the assessment rolls and scheduling the assessment hearing, and will handle any required filings related to the Metro Act permit extension.