In response to a resident complaint that work crews completing a water main replacement project in the Hollywood section of Brookfield were seriously damaging trees, village officials have mandated new rules to prevent further damage.

At the village’s Board of Trustees meeting Monday night, Village Manager Riccardo Ginex said that, effective immediately, any further work on the 2006 water main replacement project-which is taking place throughout the village-must include steps to safeguard trees.

“There were some pretty blatant things out there,” said Ginex of a visit to the Hollywood area last week along with Village Engineer Derek Treichel, Public Works Director William Brandt and Village Forester Scott DeRoss. “In one case there was a front-end loader parked on the parkway. Putting a large piece of equipment on the parkway not only damages the parkway, but the compression of the ground damages the root systems of the trees.”

Ginex also said he saw construction materials piled against trees and, in one case, saw a small trailer chained to a tree.

“There should be an area around the tree that’s free from any debris,” Ginex said.

Since mid-summer DiPaolo Construction has been performing water main replacement at 15 different locations in the village. While a good portion of that work has already been completed, there are sections still under construction. It is those areas that are being targeted by village hall for added care on the part of DiPaolo Construction.

Formerly, Brookfield’s water mains ran under the streets. However, the village is now installing water mains underneath the sidewalks in order to comply with Illinois Environmental Protection Agency requirements calling for a 10-foot separation between water lines and the combined sewer system.

Hollywood resident Michael Kayse appeared before the village board on Aug. 28 to register alarm at the damage being done to parkway trees as heavy equipment tore up sidewalks and dug trenches for the new pipes. Following his appearance, village officials visited the area, resulting in the new safeguards for trees.

Among the measures Ginex has ordered, DiPaolo must wrap all trees where water main installation is still taking place or scheduled to take place. According to Ginex, tree trunks will be wrapped by two-by-six boards to avoid heavy equipment from gouging the bark.

Ginex estimated that 100 trees will be wrapped in areas where construction is still occurring, at a cost of $75 per tree or a total of $7,500. The village will pay the added cost. The total 2006 water main replacement contract amounted to $1.7 million.

In addition, all construction equipment, including heavy machinery and materials such as wood boards, must be taken off the parkway.

Ginex also stated that he would have the village engineer investigate the possibility and additional cost of directional boring for the water main, if the new water main would come too close to a tree and might cause tree damage.

Finally, when parkways are restored, Ginex is requiring the contractor to place a three-foot woodchip circle around the base of each tree where new sod will be placed.

Those steps are considered just the initial response to protect trees during construction projects, said Ginex. Going forward, Ginex said he would present a tree protection ordinance, setting standards for contractors who work on both public infrastructure projects and large-scale private construction projects.

Brookfield Ave. water main added

Also on Monday night, Ginex recommended the village board waive competitive bidding and grant DiPaolo Construction a contract adding a project to the 2006 water main replacement program. In addition to the work already being completed, Ginex said a new main needs to be installed on Brookfield Avenue from Forest Avenue to the east side of Salt Creek.

The existing 6-inch water main has suffered several failures in recent years. The project calls for abandoning the 6-inch main, which runs along the north side of Brookfield Avenue and under Salt Creek, and making cross connections between the existing 12-inch main on the south side of the street and the existing water mains on Forest Avenue and on Brookfield Avenue east of Salt Creek.

Treichel recommended that the village take advantage of DiPaolo’s estimate of $82,742 since it was 10 percent below his own estimate and would likely be lower than any bid coming in from an outside company seeking a small one-time job.

“It’s a small project and the contractor is adding it at his unit price. This being 10 percent lower than we estimated seems very competitive to us,” Treichel said.

However, Wil Brennan, a former village trustee, blasted the idea during the public comment portion of the meeting, calling the elimination of competitive bidding on the Brookfield Avenue project “dangerous.”

“There’s a darn good chance we’d get a lower estimate from a contractor looking to get more work,” he said.

The village board is expected to vote on a resolution approving the addition of the Brookfield Avenue project at its Sept. 25 meeting.