Two single-family homes owned by the Village of Westmont will be demolished to help alleviate flooding.
Village trustees voted to pay KLF Enterprises $27,025] for the demolition of 505 N. Grant and 224 Willard Place. Village officials said the home on Willard is unfinished and has had code enforcement issues for several years.
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The village has purchased numerous other homes, including two that were demolished by KLF last year at 415 and 417 N. Warwick. Village Manager Steve May said in an email that stormwater mitigation projects still are under discussion for the sites.
“Only parcels useful for stormwater management were considered, however there are no immediate plans for any constructive improvement (just planning),” May wrote “We are only starting FY17 budgets now. We do not necessarily own enough contiguous properties to begin next phase. (Many of) these parcels are in different locations.”
May said neighbors of these properties should not become nervous that the village is forcing people to sell.
“I reiterate, we have only been dealing with willing sellers,” he said. “We are not interested in displacing any residents.”
The properties the village has purchased over the years include five properties on N. Warwick Ave., two of which have been razed, one on W. Traube Ave., also razed, and the latest two.
After rain inundated the town in April 2013, a 14-member stormwater management committee identified a variety of “green” flood-control options, new retention areas and infrastructure improvements. Larry McIntyre, project manager on the committee, told trustees that it will cost about $30 million to correct the flooding problems.
A 2009 study found that projects in the flood-prone Northeast Acres neighborhood alone could cost $6 million. In April, Westmont residents voted for a new half-percent sales tax to help pay for stormwater projects. The tax will generate up to $1 million annually.
Joseph Ruzich is a freelance reporter for the baiduhai.
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