tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7537128404819173382011-05-26T09:17:58.794-05:00The purpose of this blog is to update citizens of the city of LaSalle about projects and other news related to public works issues.pbroviakhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17821408663879058660noreply@blogger.comBlogger141100tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-753712840481917338.post-67244097920130590542009-04-08T05:45:00.004-05:002009-04-08T06:57:55.227-05:00

Beginning May 4th, I will officially be removed from my position as city engineer/director of public works for the city by the new mayor Jeff Grove. So I thought I would post at least one more time to say thank you to everyone for the opportunity to serve them and for allowing me the chance to try to help make LaSalle a great place to live.Looking back, I have been amazed that we were able to do

pbroviakhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17821408663879058660noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-753712840481917338.post-8769831383750308902009-03-16T16:00:00.004-05:002009-03-16T16:09:40.262-05:00

With all this talk about transparency about the ARRA (stimulus money act), I thought I would do may part to make our participation as transparent as possible. So here is the low-down on our road money status:Last Mon., March 9, 2009, the city council approved using the stimulus money allocated to the city of LaSalle to repair the following road sections:Creve Coeur: Third to EighthFirst street at

pbroviakhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17821408663879058660noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-753712840481917338.post-24975578975701610882009-03-12T17:38:00.005-05:002009-03-12T17:47:21.208-05:00

Normally the city presents an update of progress in the city at the end of each year. But in December of 2008 we were so busy trying to deal with flood-related issues and submittals of stimulus project information that we were prevented from being able to find the time to create this presentation.Each Spring, the mayor also provides this update to Rotary so we finally made time to put it all

pbroviakhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17821408663879058660noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-753712840481917338.post-69439657043936220322009-03-03T09:57:00.006-06:002009-03-03T10:31:34.066-06:00

Over the last few months, we have tried to keep track of what was happening with the stimulus package so that we can maximize our chance to get money for our city. So far it looks like IDOT has released a document indicating we will share roughly $700,000 with Peru and Oglesby. We expect that this amount will be split between the cities based on population.This road money can only be spent on

pbroviakhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17821408663879058660noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-753712840481917338.post-38200802336602745412009-02-16T13:51:00.017-06:002009-03-16T16:42:15.143-05:00

Occasionally, I hear people wonder what we are doing when we are not out ripping up roads and fixing streets. So I thought I would try to share with you some of the tasks that we try to work on over the winter months:PROPERTY:The city has over 300 parcels of land that need to be monitored, inventoried, and managed. When I first started working for the city back in 1993, there was no listing or

pbroviakhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17821408663879058660noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-753712840481917338.post-57477912879548721392009-01-23T10:21:00.006-06:002009-01-23T10:47:39.084-06:00

As the temperatures continue to remain low, the city has received several reports of frozen meters and water lines. Your water meter could freeze if it is located in a basement or crawlspace that is not heated or might be exposed to very cold winds or temperatures. This can be avoided by making sure the area around the water meter is heated or by placing heat tape on the water line near or around

pbroviakhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17821408663879058660noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-753712840481917338.post-39699650740396536512008-12-18T08:01:00.004-06:002008-12-18T10:01:07.448-06:00

The National Weather Service has issued a winter storm warning for our area involving snow and ice accumulations that may cause treacherous conditions. On Wednesday, the city of LaSalle staff and Red Cross officials held an emergency planning meeting to discuss the city's approach to handling this storm. Although the city has taken precautions, it is difficult at this time to predict exactly what

pbroviakhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17821408663879058660noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-753712840481917338.post-63854879015269413632008-11-04T04:05:00.000-06:002008-11-04T04:41:54.249-06:00

About 15 years ago, Illinois Cement, one of LaSalle's major industries, committed to donating their quarry to the city for a park. At the time, a diorama was created showing a lake and paths, and I think some wondered if this would ever actually become reality. Well, it seems that day is now approaching. Thanks to Illinois Cement following through on their original commitment, the deed to

pbroviakhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17821408663879058660noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-753712840481917338.post-15617568303089364662008-10-20T10:09:00.000-05:002008-10-20T10:16:45.047-05:00

Today, I was notified by an engineer at Chamlin and Associates that his firm will be conducting traffic counts next week in LaSalle on the following roads:Canal St.Marquette St.Fourth St.This means you will probably see small black squares taped down to the pavement in these areas. The squares count the number of vehicles that travel down that road and keep track of the time each vehicle went

pbroviakhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17821408663879058660noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-753712840481917338.post-87252350569831850142008-09-19T12:05:00.000-05:002008-09-19T12:17:39.267-05:00

Today we started working in earnest on recovering our wastewater plant site. Here is a copy of our updated plan: 2008 Wastewater Plant Recovery Plan.With all the rain, the city has also been receiving numerous calls from people who have experienced groundwater in their basements. Some residents have sump pumps and are able to pump this water out; however, many people are still calling with

pbroviakhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17821408663879058660noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-753712840481917338.post-39652618472423689972008-09-17T11:31:00.000-05:002008-09-17T11:54:22.440-05:00

Yesterday, Sept. 16, 2008, the Illinois River had a record-setting flood crest at 33.79 feet at LaSalle (from NOAA Web site). This resulted in extensive flooding in the area lying within the city of LaSalle corporate boundaries adjacent to the Illinois Michigan Canal and Little Vermilion River. The city's wastewater plant is currenty submerged under approximately ten feet of flood waters. The

pbroviakhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17821408663879058660noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-753712840481917338.post-22073667779404205292008-09-08T11:09:00.001-05:002008-09-08T11:20:07.430-05:00

I am writing to inform our citizens about an online petition that Illinois residents can sign to let our governor know that we do not agree with his most recent decision to close many of our state parks.http://www.gopetition.com/online/21603.htmlAs most of you know who live in our area, the state parks are one of the best features we have. Their closing will cause us to not only lose one of the

pbroviakhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17821408663879058660noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-753712840481917338.post-33741426210839744422008-08-06T16:09:00.000-05:002008-08-06T16:15:10.130-05:00

Last month we were hit with a major storm - the largest our area has seen in terms of rainfall intensity for some time. Many people's homes and properties experienced flooding. Because of this, I thought some people might be interested in looking at FLOODSIM - a Web site that has been set up to educate people about flooding. It is based on the UK but many of the principles are similar; the site

pbroviakhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17821408663879058660noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-753712840481917338.post-25508396113183371522008-08-03T09:44:00.000-05:002008-08-03T10:07:57.397-05:00

Here is a quick update on a few projects/issues happening around town:Lights on the bridge over the canal and lights downtown:After a truck damaged two lights on the bridge and after waiting over a year to go through the insurance and ordering of new lights, the city hired JB Contracting to put up the new lights and fix the wiring last month. So everything on the bridge should be operational.

pbroviakhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17821408663879058660noreply@blogger.com0