The 2004 construction season is now
underway. As specific project start dates approach, residents
who live in areas most affected will receive a written alert,
including start times and estimated completion dates, and a
telephone number to call for the latest information. Parking
permit holders affected by construction will be notified prior
to work beginning so that temporary alternate parking
arrangements can be made. A special construction update
telephone line -- 358.5701 -- will provide regularly
updated recorded messages on the largest projects around the
clock. Residents who call during regular work hours of 7:30
a.m. to 4 p.m., Monday through Friday, also can reach an
operator for the latest information on any specific project. In
addition, information on traffic disruptions and alternate
travel routes will be posted on the Village's website, www.oak-park.us, and broadcast on
VOP-TV, Channel 6, the government access cable television
station. For more information, call 358.5720 or email publicworks@oak-park.us.
Daily at 6 a.m., 8 a.m., 10 a.m., 6 p.m.,
10 p.m.
• Oak
Park Walking Club
• Recycling
Public Service
Announcements
• Commitment
to Community
• New
Oak Park Shuttle
• I
Know We Can: Staying Drug Free
NASA Programming
Tuesday - Friday 3 - 5 p.m.Ê
Regular Board Meetings
Live at 7:30 p.m. first and third Mondays,
rebroadcast Wednesdays at 7:30 p.m, Thursdays and Saturdays at
11 a.m.
Report dead birds
Efforts to assess the presence of West Nile
Virus this season will again include counting dead crows and
blue jays. Starting May 1, anyone seeing a dead bird is urged
to report the location by calling 358.5694. For more
information or general questions about West Nile Virus call
358.5487 or email health@oak-park.us.
Renew animal licenses
May 1 is the deadline for all dogs and
outdoor cats to display their 2004 animal licenses. The license
fee is $7 for a neutered/spayed animal and $10 for any non-spayed/non-neutered
animal. Proof of a current rabies inoculation is required for
licensing. For more information call 358.5679 or email health@oak-park.us.
Mental health awareness program to air
To raise public awareness during Mental
Health Month, the program Insights
on Mental Health Crisis will air at
10 a.m. and 7 p.m. Tuesdays and Thursdays on VOP-TV, the
Village's government access television station available
to cable subscribers on channel 6. For more information on the
program or mental health issues, call 358.5480 or email health@oak-park.us.
The Village Board last month approved a
Barrie Park investment plan that includes loans and grants, as
well as a voluntary buyout option, which would have the Village
purchasing certain homes, remediating the yards and reselling
them on the open market. Barrie Park, a three-and-a-half acre
parcel on the Village's southeast side, was once the site
of a plant where coal was processed into gas for heating,
cooking and lighting. Although operations at the facility ended
around 1928, byproducts of the process exceeding environmental
standards were found in the park soil. One of hundreds of
former manufactured gas plants sites scattered across the
northeast and Midwest, the Barrie Park clean up was among the
most elaborate to date, and many of the residents whose
properties are adjacent to the site temporarily relocated after
roads were closed and access limited. The loans and grants of
up to $15,000 each are intended to help those individuals
closest to the park who may have deferred maintenance on their
properties during the lengthy construction project. The
voluntary buyout option will be available to owners of
properties where soil samples qualified them to be cleaned up
as well, but who do not want to go through the process.
Purchase prices will be based on independent appraisals. The
yards of any homes purchased by the Village will be cleaned up
to state environmental standards at the expense of the utility
companies responsible for the project prior to being resold.
For more information on the investment program or the
remediation project, call 358.5770 or email village@oak-park.us.