June 23, 2008
Sewage Treatment Facility--BOT’s latest foray on Veeck Park
Monday June 23rd at 7:30 pm the Zoning and Public Safety (ZPS) Committee will address a number of hot-button issues before they go to the full Board in a few short weeks. Of most immediate concern for ALL Hinsdale property owners is the proposed Sanitary Treatment Facility to be located in the Northeast corner of Veeck Park. Hinsdale would be the first and only community in Illinois to have a sanitary treatment facility operating in a residential neighborhood. Pursuant to negotiations with the Flagg Creek Water Reclamation District, local attorney and paid consultant Bill Seith has arrived at a settlement that puts the Village of Hinsdale in the sewage treatment business. Neighbors have expressed their concern about the storage of chlorine and the sewage treatment process itself. Questions linger about safety, odor, noise, and possible ongoing litigation. The implication is that if this settlement is not reached soon, large development projects currently in the pipeline, e.g. the Hinsdale Club, will not be permitted to hook up to the sewer system.
Originally described as a “Wet Weather Facility”, where storm sewer overflow resulting from heavy rain would be held, the project is now described on the ZPS agenda as “Sanitary Treatment Facilities”. Originally, the proposal included the construction of two smaller buildings--one a chlorine storage building, and the other containing the pump, at the northwest and northeast corners of the Park. After residents expressed their worry about having large amounts of chlorine literally in their backyards, the engineering firm of Clark Deitz agreed to house the entire facility in one 1,242 square foot building at the northeast corner of the park. The building will contain three separate rooms: the first will house a chlorine storage tank and a pump to infuse the chlorine into the sanitary sewer; a second to house the mechanical equipment; and a third that will contain the “screening room” where the waste discharged from the sewers will be collected. When a critical amount of solid waste has accumulated, it will be loaded onto trucks and transported out via a new access road along the east side of the park.
RESIDENTS WHO ARE CONCERNED ABOUT THE EFFECT THAT THIS PROJECT WILL HAVE ON THEIR PROPERTY VALUES AND THEIR QUALITY OF LIFE ARE ENCOURAGED TO ATTEND MONDAY NIGHT’S MEETING.