Park Forest, IL-(ENEWSPF)- In his report to the Village Board Monday night, Manager Tom Mick touched on the lifting of the mandatory boil order, the next “up-and-coming” for Main Street Nights, the Glow Walk, Saturday Rules Meetings, the postponement of the Great American Campout, and the Recycle Fest slated for July 27.
Details follow.
Village Manager Tom Mick’s Report to the Village Board
CodeRED
We have peppered Mr. Mick’s report with links to CodeRED, the Village of Park Forest’s Emergency Notification System. It is strictly an “opt-in” service: no one is automatically signed up. You must “opt-in,” or sign up, to receive notifications as people did during the recent boil order. Police have also used CodeRED notifications when there has been activity in specific neighborhoods that warrant the public’s concern or caution.
It’s a good thing.
In addition to stopping by Village Hall for help signing up, staff at the Park Forest Public Library will be happy to assist anyone who wishes to sign up for the service.
It is “free,” i.e. paid for with your tax dollars, and it’s a good use of such funds. Residents can choose to receive alert phone calls, emails, text messages, or all of the above.
Mandatory Boil Order Lifted
The Village wants Park Forest residents to know that the mandatory water boiling order was lifted as of 2 PM this afternoon. As such, residents can resume normal water usage.
With this recent boil order, it came about after a contaminated water sample was discovered. The Village’s water department routinely tests the local water system. This includes taking water samples at numerous locations throughout the community each month to ensure the highest water quality is being distributed to residents.
With last week’s sampling, one of the sites failed. When this happens, the Village has to have the sampling tested again to ensure it failed. Once this happened, the Village began its efforts to alert the community.
These efforts included posting on the Village’s website and Facebook/Twitter pages in addition to using the Code Red emergency notification system, Orchard Drive LED reader board and the local cable access channels. Also, the Village issued a press release that resulted in the boil order being covered as part of the news on Channel 2, 5 and 7 in addition to coverage by the Daily Southtown and eNews Park Forest.
A comprehensive rundown on what took place with the boil order can be found at the home page of the Village website.
Moving forward, the Village’s Management Staff will debrief the various aspects involved with this incident and we hope to further refine our efforts in water sampling and handling in addition to public notice and outreach. A critical component with getting the emergency information out to our residents is the use of the CodeRED alert system. Literally thousands of home phone numbers, cell phone numbers and email addresses have been entered into CodeRED for residents to be alerted. For residents who have not registered for CodeRED, it is easy to do by clicking on the “Emergency Notifications” icon at the bottom of the home page at the Village’s website.
Once a person clicks on this link, a phone number or email address can be registered in as little as 5 minutes.
Residents with questions about getting registered for Code Red can give me a call at Village Hall at 748-1129.
Main Street Nights
The Main Street Nights Concert Series for 2019 continues this coming Wednesday night. Programming will include Circus Boy at 6:30 PM followed by the Rad Trads at 7:30 PM. Residents can find details on all of the upcoming Main Street Nights programming by visiting the Village web site at www.villageofparkforest.com.
Glow Walk
The Recreation & Parks Department is coordinating an interesting event this coming Friday evening with a Glow Walk. The base location for this event will be Village Hall with proceedings beginning at 7 PM.
Relaxed Summer Meeting Schedule
The Village Board will conduct its meetings on a relaxed summer schedule during the months of July and August when it convenes on the 2nd and 3rd Mondays of these months. After tonight’s Board Meeting, the summer meeting schedule will continue as follows:
- Monday, July 15th – Regular Meeting
- Monday, August 12th – Rules Meeting
- Monday, August 19th – Regular Meeting
Saturday Morning Rules Meeting
On another meeting note . . . .The next Saturday Morning Rules Meeting is scheduled for Saturday, August 3rd beginning at 10 AM in the Board Conference Room. The meeting is open to the public and residents are invited to attend.
Campout at Central Park
Due to rainy conditions, the 4th Annual Great American Campout in Central Park has been rescheduled for Friday night, July 26th. Details can be found at the Village website or by contacting the Recreation & Parks Department at 748-2005.
Recycle Fest
The Village’s 4th Annual Going Green Recycle Fest is scheduled for Saturday morning, July 27th from 8 AM to Noon in Downtown Park Forest. Any number of recyclables will be collected including televisions, electronics, eyeglasses, used books/clothing and shoes, bicycles and prescription drugs. For full details on what can be recycled at Recycle Fest and what restrictions might be in place, visit the Village website.
