Welcome to the Southwest Branch!
2025/26 Executive Members
| President Jonathan Kjellman, P.E. HDR, Inc.  |
Vice President Sean Brady, P.E. True North Consultants  |
Treasurer Joe Nordman, P.E. City of Joliet  |
Secretary Ben Fox, P.E. HR Green, Inc.  |
Past President Owen Dean, P.E. City of Joliet  |
Next Meeting:
August 5, 2026APWA Southwest Branch Demo Days! |
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The event will be at the City of Joliet’s Eastside WWTP Admin Building, 815 Adler Street, Joliet. As in prior years this will be an outdoor event with the product fair and demos in the morning and a catered BBQ lunch. APWA Southwest Branch Demo & Product Fair Time: 8:00 AM – 1:00 PM August 5, 2026 Joliet WWTP Admin Building | 815 Adler Street, Joliet Demos/Vendors – Contact Owen Dean for more information: odean@joliet.gov |
Schedule of Topics for 2026
Monthly Meetings (1st Wednesday of the Month)
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January – No Meeting February 11th – Southwest Branch Awards Banquet March 20th – Public Works Social @ Flipside Brewing in Tinley Park April 1st – Environmental Assessments (True North Consultants) May 6th – Illinois Municipal Separate Storm Sewer Systems Educational Event @ Joliet WWTP (Baxter & Woodman) |
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June 3rd– Southwest Branch Golf Outing at Silver Lake Country Club July – No Meeting August – Demo and Product Fair at Joliet WWTP September 2nd – MWRD October 7th – (TBD) November 4th – Will County DOT Update (WCDOT) December – APWA Southwest Branch/SSWWA Holiday Party |
2026 Highlights:
June 2026 – Southwest Branch Golf Outing at Silver Lake Country Club:
Thank you to all who attended our 2026 SW Branch Golf Outing! The event was held on June 3 this year, and we had just over 140 attendees. With far warmer and sunnier weather than last year, we hope that everyone enjoyed the course and had opportunities to catch up and network with fellow APWA folks. Proceeds from the event went to scholarships for students in the SW Branch area interested in the public works and construction-related fields. The SW Branch hopes to see you at next year’s golf outing and wishes you a great summer ahead.
May 2026 – Illinois Municipal Separate Storm Sewer Systems (MS4) Permitting and Implementation:
Thank you to Dan Bounds, P.E., D. WRE with Baxter & Woodman, Inc. for informing on the recent requirements regarding the new Illinois MS4 permit. Dan discussed the requirements including items such as the requirement to update the Stormwater Management Program with new requirements and being implementation within 12 months. Additional points of discussion included public education, outreach, involvement & participation, illicit discharge detection & elimination, construction site storm water runoff control, post-construction stormwater management, pollution prevention for municipal operations, and additional tracking for the new annual reportion requirements.
April 2026 – Environmental Risk Management for Municipal Projects – From Acquisition to Construction:
Thank you to Brian Mihelich with True North Consultants, Inc. for providing perspective on the needs and considerations regarding environmental factors involved in municipal project design and planning. Brian took a practical look at environmental risk management from property acquisition through construction. Topics included PESA/PSI, Phase I and Phase II Environmental Site Assessments, Illinois EPA SRP and LUST programs, soil management options including CCDD and Subtitle D, and demolition and renovation requirements relating to asbestos, lead-based paint, and hazardous materials, and Brian reviewed real-world case studies involving these various topics.
March 2026 – Public Works Social at Flipside Brewing:
Thank you to those who joined us in March for an evening of networking and catching up to ring in the start of Spring. The SW Branch saw a couple new faces at this gathering, with engaging conversation and good appetizers. Flipside Brewing was a great space, and we encourage members passing through the I-80 area to stop by and check it out for themselves! Thanks to the SW Branch YP Committee for organizing the outing for the membership.
2026 Southwest Branch Awards
The 2026 Southwest Branch Awards Banquet took place on February 11, 2026. Congratulations again to all of our award winners for 2026! This year’s award recipients included the following:
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Cedar Road at Haven Avenue Roundabout Project (Transportation, less than $5M) Village of New Lenox |
East WWTP Phosphorous Removal Upgrades (Environment, less than $5M) Village of Crest Hill |
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Olympic Boulevard-Houbolt Road Improvements (Transportation, $5M to $25M) City of Joliet |
8th Street Ped Bridge (Historical-Preservation, less than $5M) City of Lockport
Well 15 VFD Design-Build (Structures, less than $5M) City of Lockport |
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Central Tri-State Tollway (I-294 Bridges Over 87th Street and Roberts Road) (Transportation, $25M to $75M) Illinois Tollway |
Harmony Square (Structures, $25M to $75M) Village of Tinley Park |
Congratulations to all the award winners!
2026 Southwest Branch Scholarship Application
The Southwest Branch Student Scholarship is open for all full-time college students within the SW Branch area in an applicable area of study to apply. The application for the Fall 2026 Semester is available until May 15th, 2026. The application for the Spring 2027 Semester is available until November 20th, 2026. Please find the scholarship information below, as well as in the Stipends & Scholarships section of the website.
Scholarship Information – 2026 APWA Southwest Branch Full-time Student Scholarship Flyer
Scholarship Application – 2026 APWA SW Branch Scholarship Application
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2025/2026 Southwest Branch Committee Chairs |
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| Committee | Chair / Co-Chairs | Contact |
| Awards | Alex Alejandro (Hancock) | aalejandro@ehancock.com |
| Scholarship | Eric Wesel (WCDOT) & Eric Neubauer (HDR) | ekwcepe1@att.net & eric.neubauer@hdrinc.com |
| Membership | Tim Juskiewicz (Burns and McDonnell) | tjuskiewicz@burnsmcd.com |
| Education | Abby McMann (Baxter and Woodman) | amcmann@baxterwoodman.com |
| Golf Outing | Don Cassier (SEECO) | cassier@seeco.com |
| Audit | “The Past Presidents” | odean@joliet.gov |
| Public Outreach | Arlan Schattke (Village of Plainfield) | aschattke@goplainfield.com |
| Young Professionals | Trevor Cannon (CBBEL) | tcannon@cbbel.com |
| Website | Trevor Cannon (CBBEL) | tcannon@cbbel.com |
| Demo Days | Owen Dean (City of Joliet) | odean@joliet.gov |
| Holiday Party | Mark Siefert (Baxter and Woodman) | msiefert@baxterwoodman.com |
| Officer – Past President | Owen Dean (City of Joliet) | odean@joliet.gov |
2025 Highlights
November 2025 – Will County DOT Update (WCDOT):
Thank you very much Eric Wesel, Phase II Project Manager for the Will County Division of Transportation, for sharing the multitude of upcoming design and construction projects for the county, including road resurfacing, reconstruction, grade separation, PEL locations, I.T.S. locations, and more for the 2026 year ahead. Both continuing on projects from this year and years past, as well as looking to new construction projects and design on the horizon, local engineers, public works staff, and construction folks have much to look forward to in the way of valuable and impactful public works projects for next summer and beyond.
October 2025 – Metra Update (Metra):
Thank you very much Scott Schiemann, Chief Engineering Officer with Metra for presenting on current and planned system enhancements, highlighting the ongoing efforts to modernize Chicagoland’s commuter rail network. Scott reviewed the $366 million 2025 Capital Program, which funds investments in rolling stock, infrastructure, signals and communications, facilities and equipment, stations and parking, and support activities. Additionally, Scott discussed Metra’s broader initiatives to improve reliability, safety, and the customer experience.
September 2025 – City of Joliet Bluff Street Lining (RJN Group, Inc.):
Thank you very much Patrick Hulsebosch and Luis Vasquez, Sr. Construction Manager with RJN Group, Inc. for presenting on issues encountered during construction and lessons learned for the City of Joliet’s Bluff Street Interceptor Rehabilitation project. Patrick discussed the design process and alternatives considered for the lining project. Luis reviewed conflicts encountered during construction, including IDOT right-of-way limitations, challenges in determination of active service connections, excavations within areas of shallow bedrock and high-water tables in close proximity to the Des Plaines River, the importance of construction oversight during all phases of construction, and the ways in which issues were resolved in timely and cost-effective fashion.
August 2025 – Demo and Product Fair:
Thank you to all who attended the Southwest Branch 12th Annual Demo and Product Fair at the Joliet Eastside WWTP on August 6th, 2025! Vendors showcased their products and provided public works staff with the opportunity to learn more about their products as well as how they could help their community.
June 2025 – Southwest Branch Golf Outing at Silver Lake Country Club:
Thank you to all who attended our 2025 SW Branch Golf Outing! With quite the rainy day in the forecast, we want to thank our members who showed up, be it to golf or to catch up with fellow APWA folks. We had 112 in attendance, with around 80 who toughed it out in the rain to play 1 to 9 holes! The SW Branch hopes to see you at next year’s golf outing and wishes you a great summer ahead.
May 2025 – Intelligent Transportation Systems Educational Event:
Thank you very much Tom Szabo with Atlas Technical Consultants for diving into Centralized Traffic Signal Management System (CTMS) design and Arterial Intelligent Transportation Systems (ITS) in the Will County area. Tom reviewed Will County Division of Transportation’s innovative program aimed at upgrading existing traffic signal systems, including advancements in centralized traffic signal management, modern communication technologies, new design requirements, and integration of advanced monitoring tools that are both practical and effective.
April 2025 – Issues During Construction (Gannett Fleming – Transystems):
Thank you very much Zachary Pucel with Gannett Fleming – TranSystems for presenting on issues encountered during construction and lessons learned. Zachary discussed a multitude of recent conflicts encountered on projects this past year, including right-of-way limitations, piles in soils where bedrock was significantly deeper than anticipated, and additional scenarios, and the ways in which these issues were resolved in timely and cost-effective fashion.
March 2025 – YP Public Works Brewery Takeover:
Thank you to all who attended the YP-organized happy hour, hosted at Werk Force Brewing in Plainfield. Around 30 attendees came to the event, and many folks were coming as new attendees or who had not attended recently. It was a great outing drawing from both the public sector and private sector membership bases, and folks introduced themselves to new faces or caught up with familiar ones.
February 2025 – Southwest Branch Awards:
The 2025 Southwest Branch Awards Banquet took place on February 19, 2025. Award winners include the following:
- Pfeiffer Road Extension (Transportation, less than $5M) Village of Frankfort
- 127th Street Bridge Over the DuPage River (Disaster or Emergency Construction/Repair, less than $5M) Village of Plainfield
- Transforming Joliet: The Path to Sewer System Excellence (Environment, $25M to $75M) City of Joliet
- Post 21 Potable Water Booster Pump Station (Environment, less than $5M) Village of Tinley Park
- Doug Kissel, Wastewater Superintendent (Samuel A. Greely Award) Village of Plainfield
January 2025 – Sidewalk Litigation:
Thank you very much Hannah Lamore with Mahoney, Silverman & Cross, LLC for presenting on tools for municipalities in cases of civil litigation regarding sidewalks. Hannah discussed the various aspects of litigation in cases of sidewalk trip-and-fall injuries, and the tools available to local governments to manage such cases, as well as applicable case history on municipal liability.
Thank you for visiting this web page!
Please contact Jonathan Kjellman at Jonathan.kjellman@hdrinc.com if you have any comments/questions.