What does the Engineering Division do?
What are easements?
What is the right-of-way?
How are construction projects funded?
What is MFT?
What is the difference between a retention pond and a detention pond?
What are floodplains and how do they affect me?
Where are there trails that I can walk on or ride my bike?
What is erosion control and why do I need it?
Why should I be concerned with drainage on my lot?
What are Geographic Information Systems?
What does the Engineering Division do?
The Engineering Division oversees the construction of the Village’s public infrastructure, reviews new development, maintains village records, financial guarantees and maps, administers grants and annually updates and implements the Village’s Capital Improvement Program. The division prepares proposals, specifications and construction contracts for Village Board Approval. The Division inspects all public and many private infrastructure improvements including drainage, streets, water and sewers. The Division commonly contracts for the design and construction of new infrastructure or reviews the installation of capital facilities paid for by private parties.
The Engineering Division prepares plans for and oversees the construction of Village funded capital improvements. Engineering capital improvements are large scale, high cost, physical assets such as streets, drainage facilities, water lines and sewer lines. Each year the Engineering Division prepares a Capital Improvements Program (CIP) that presents a proposed 5 year schedule of future capital projects in order of priority together with cost estimates and anticipated means of financing. Some capital projects may be new while others may be a maintenance item such as periodic road resurfacing or sewer replacement. The Engineering Division reviews and comments on all new large scale development in the Village. In addition the Division seeks to find engineering solutions to past problems such as localized flooding, inadequate utilities or transportation congestion and safety
What are easements?
An easement is a legal provision that is part of your property that allows utility companies or the Village of Gurnee to enter onto your property to install or service public utility service lines. Almost every property located in the Village of Gurnee has some type of an easement located on it. You should check your Plat of Survey to determine the locations of easements on your lot. There is typically a restriction placed upon the easement areas limiting the ability to build over the areas.
What is the right-of-way?
Right-of-Way is the government-owned property that roadways and public sidewalks are built upon. Typically, right-of-way widths in Gurnee range between sixty feet (60’) along residential streets to one hundred twenty feet (120’) along County and State Highways. Right-of-Ways are typically wider than the streets because of the need to convey utilities or ditches. Permits are required for all activities that take place in County, State or Village Right-of-Ways.
How are construction projects funded?
There are several different methods for funding construction projects in Gurnee.
- The first method is through the Village’s Capital Improvement Fund. The monies in this fund are from previous years’ general fund surpluses. Additional funds are also available from impact fees and the Village’s fee-in-lieu program. This fund usually pays for sidewalk and pedestrian facilities, street lighting projects, storm water management projects and engineering studies.
- The second method is through the water and sewer surplus fund. The source of this money is from the collection of frontage fees from new water and sewer connections as well as any surpluses of revenue from water and sewer billing from previous years. This fund typically pays for water and sewer main construction and replacement, water tower construction and maintenance and water and sewer related engineering studies.
- The third method is through the State’s Motor Fuel Tax (MFT) Program. These monies are restricted to transportation related projects. The State of Illinois provides the Village with an annual disbursement based upon the Village population. Gurnee uses these monies to fund our Street Resurfacing Program. MFT dollars can also be used as matching funds for larger federal grant projects.
- The fourth method is through obtaining federal or state grants. The Village has been very fortunate to obtain federal and state grant money over the past few years to help fund several recent projects including the First Blackstone Greenleaf project, Kilbourne Road, Washington Street Bikepath project, and the upcoming Cemetery Road project. In order to receive grant money, significant reports and additional engineering is required, prior to the start of construction.
What is MFT?
MFT stands for Motor Fuel Tax. Each time that you purchase gasoline in Illinois, a portion of the sales tax goes to the State of Illinois for distribution into the MFT program. The state divides these tax dollars based upon population of each County, Village or Township. Each unit of local government receives these tax dollars to provide improvements or maintenance to the roadways under their jurisdiction. In 2002, the State of Illinois provided Gurnee with $869,531 through the MFT program.
What is the difference between a retention pond and a detention pond?
- A detention pond is a man-made structure for the temporary storage of stormwater runoff with controlled release during or immediately following a storm.
- A retention pond is a facility designed to completely retain a specified amount of stormwater runoff without release except by means of evaporation, infiltration or pumping.
What are floodplains and how do they affect me?
Floodplains are determined by a combination of engineering principles and statistical analysis. A 100-year floodplain is defined as the ground surface area that has a one percent (1%) chance per year of being inundated by flood waters. The floodway has a similar definition; however, areas in the floodway also are in danger of being subject to strong currents. Flood insurance is based upon the 100-year floodplain elevation provided by the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA). These elevations are shown on Flood Insurance Rate Maps (FIRM), which are available for inspection at the Village of Gurnee Engineering Department Office. Since flood insurance is subsidized by FEMA, FEMA requires additional restrictions be placed upon all development that is planned or exists within the 100-year floodplain.
Where are there trails that I can walk on or ride my bike?
Access points in Gurnee for the Des Plaines River Trail are on Kilbourne Road near the Mother Rudd Home and across from the Public Works Department. Vehicle parking is available. Residents are encouraged to use this trail for recreational, educational, and alternative transportation needs. Several other bicycle facilities are available in Lake and Cook Counties. Residents should contact the Lake County Division of Transportation and the Lake County Forest Preserve concerning these facilities. Other trails are available throughout Gurnee. Please reference the Bicycle and Pedestrian Facilities page on the Engineering Division's web site, and view the Engineering Division's Trail Map (PDF, 1 page, 1.1.MB).
What is erosion control and why do I need it?
Erosion is defined as the process whereby soil is removed by flowing water or wave action. In 1992, Lake County passed the Watershed Development Ordinance, which required all development, which disturbs greater than 5000 square feet, to obtain a Watershed Development Permit. The requirements of the permit include protection from erosion through the establishment of silt control fencing, straw bale ditch checks or other means. The purpose behind these requirements is to limit the amount of soil that washes off of construction projects and settles in our streams and lakes.
Why should I be concerned with drainage on my lot?
The topography, or grading, of a residential lot has a great impact on the potential for flooding of the property. All residential and commercial development is required to provide the Village with grading plans and an as-built topographical survey of the lot. The Engineering Department scrutinizes these plans to ensure that the individual grading plan complies with the regional grading plan of the subdivision. Extreme caution should be exercised by property owners when landscaping or doing work in drainage easements. Restricting drainage as it flows through side or rear yards can have severe impacts on your home or adjacent upstream parcels during major rain events. When doing landscaping work in a drainage easement, always call the Village Engineering Department to discuss your project.
What are Geographic Information Systems?
A Geographic Information System (GIS) is one of the best tools currently available for managing geographic information. It is estimated that about 85% of the information managed by cities and counties is geographically referenced (i.e. located on the Earth) in some way, such as the location of a building shown on a map. Examples of geographic information are addresses, parcels, school district boundaries, a road network, land use patterns, buildings, and utility locations.
The definition of GIS varies depending on specific applications, but generally it is described as a computer-based system with the ability to store, retrieve, modify, analyze, and represent geographic data as useful information. A GIS links map information (spatial data) with tabular information (stored in a relational database) about particular features on the map. A GIS, using the information stored in the relational database, can tell you how many feet of water main, the number of hydrants, and a breakdown of size (diameter) and material of water main. This information can be used to create a map of water mains color-coded based on size stored in the database or a report can be printed.
A GIS can be useful for relating mapped features and their attributes (non-graphic information associated with features) in two ways. First, the actual feature from a map, a sewer manhole for example, displayed on a computer screen may be pointed at electronically and used to access and display all of the attributes contained in the computer's database regarding that feature - the year it was installed, its material, diameter and capacity, etc. Second, the database itself can be queried to display only those features selected in a way that may give it meaning. An example of this is choosing all parcels of land selling for between fifty to sixty thousand dollars in the last year, delineating the areas where the highest rate of real estate transactions occurred in that price range.
Many government agencies, including the Village of Gurnee, are utilizing GIS because it offers a way of understanding and dealing with complex spatial problems by organizing the data, viewing their spatial associations, performing multiple analyses, and synthesizing results into maps and reports.
GIS technology is very useful, allowing many Village departments (and the public) access to the same basemaps and database. This means that each department does not have to keep separate versions of other department's maps and data in order to use them for their own agency's needs. Features or attributes need to be modified and updated on only one basemap and database and then be shared by everyone. Departments can portray mapped information at whatever scale they require, using the colors or symbols they want and accompany the maps with text and reports tailored to meet their needs.
