Savanna To Seek Grant for New Water Meters

By Michael Miller For The Prairie Advocate News

SAVANNA – The Savanna City Council officially applied for a CDAP Public Infrastructure Grant from the Illinois DCEO, in it’s quest to purchase and install new water meters for the City, at the February 8th meeting of that body in Savanna.

The meeting was attended by Council members Robert David, Lois Hunsaker, Jeff Griswold, Bill Grummitt, Peg Haffey, Merle Long and Bill Robinson, with Rosalie Hansen absent. Also attending were Mayor Larry Stebbins, City Clerk Paul Hartman, City Attorney Phil Jensen, Comptroller/Treasurer Sheryl Sipe, Police Chief Michael Moon, Fire Chief Shawn Picolotti and Public Works Superintendent John Lindeman.

The meeting was kicked off with a Public Hearing for the CDAP Grant Application, presented by Sharon Pepin of Community Funding and Planning Services, Stockton, Illinois. Ms. Pepin gave a brief presentation detailing the application procedures, necessary qualifications and other information. She explained that the City is funded by the Federal Housing and Community Development Act of 1974, and qualifying communities must meet at least one of the following objectives; benefiting low-to-moderate income persons; aiding in the prevention or elimination of slums and blight; or meeting other community development needs that pose a serious and immediate threat to the health and welfare of the community. She also detailed the amount of funds potentially available through this grant, which in Savanna’s case would be a Public Infrastructure Grant. The total amount of funds available to the State for this grant is $10,500,000.00, and the maximum amount of each individual grant is $350,000.00.

Pepin said the City’s CDAP Public Infrastructure Grant request is for the purchase of 1600 new, radio read meters, in addition to the purchase of a hand held receiver, as well as billing software and training. She echoed Lindeman’s reasons for pursuing the project, citing the age of the City’s current meters (some dating back to the 1930’s). Her detailed report noted that about 45 percent of the meters within the systems are more than 30 years old, and another 33 percent being at least 20 years old. A quick calculation on those statistics reveals that roughly 78 percent of the meters currently in use are at least 20 years old, or 10 years past an average life span for a water meter.

She reported that the wear and tear from calcium and rust deposits over the years makes the meter readings less accurate, which in turn adversely affects the revenue generated by the water system. In the past ten years, Pepin’s report said, Savanna “has experienced roughly a 42 percent annual loss of water revenues, based upon water pumped. The report also noted the limited range of abilities for the old meters, which can only report water used. The newer meters would be able to read leaks, reverse flow and no flow data, which can be used to identify possible leaks or excess water usage within minutes, rather than weeks or months.

Whereas the current method of reading water usage requires the homeowner to read his/her own meters, the new meters would be read by a wireless radio signal, which could be read by a public works official driving around the City within the span of a single day. The report also mentions the large amount of time it takes to record the data, which is currently done manually. The new meters would save the City a lot of time by eliminating the manual entry process, and will be able to keep a running water usage database for each user, thereby eliminating manual correction of misreads.

The new meters would also allow for monthly billing, rather than the currently quarterly schedule. This would increase the City’s cash flow for water and sewer systems, and give residents a smaller monthly bill rather than a large quarterly one.

The estimated cost of the project is $473,770, and the City is applying for a grant in the amount of $350,000.00, which comprises 74 percent of the cost, including administration costs for the grant. The City would make up the balance of the cost at $123,770.00. (The grant application for the City’s Community Development Assistance Program is available for public perusal; interested citizens can contact the City offices at 1-815-273-2251 to set up a time, and a complete copy of the document will be available at City Hall after February 18th, 2011.)

Another Public Hearing on the matter will be held at a later date.

Haffey asked if the grant was an “all or nothing” grant, to which Pepin replied that it was. Long asked about the chances of the City’s actually receiving the grant given the total amount of funds available, and Lindeman cited Savanna’s high success rate in obtaining infrastructure grants, saying that the City had received “$700,000. . .in the last five years”.

Lindeman then presented some samples of the older meters, which were obviously quite corroded and worn from use. Griswold then asked if the potential savings from the new meters would allow for a reduction in the City staff, given the automation of the manual process. Stebbins said that would not happen this year, as one staff member had been hired to learn the job of other staff members who would be retiring, but added that it was a possibility in the future. Robinson and Long debated a bit on the merits of the monthly billing, with Robinson saying that it would benefit people in that they would only have a smaller monthly bill as opposed to having to save up for a large quarterly bill. Lindeman said if the City elected to go with the new billing schedule, another possible savings would be the elimination of the billing cards the City currently uses. In response to a question from Grummitt, Pepin said that notification of receiving the grant would more than likely occur in September.

Robinson gave the Water/Sewer/Refuse/Streets and Alleys Committee report. He told the Council that two representatives from Willett, Hofmann and Associates had detailed a facilities plan for the wastewater treatment plant and sanitary sewer collection system. They also detailed some alternatives for the City regarding these facilities, which included taking no action, discharging to publicly owned treatment facilities, optimizing existing facilities, and constructing a new treatment plant, with the latter alternative being considered the most viable.

Several types of treatment plants were presented; a Siemen’s package plant, an Aqua-Aerobic SBR plant and an Aero Mod plant, with the latter being recommended by the engineers, as well as Lindeman after a tour of other such plants in the area. The proposed new plant would “resolve (the City’s) present deficiencies, simplify the operation, reduce operational costs and provide for future expansion. The representatives also presented in-system improvements such as the addition of a lift station and upgrades to the Bowen and Sixth Street lift station and accompanying force mains. Not counting the cost of land acquisition, the total estimated cost of the new plant and improvements is 10.3 million dollars. Financing options were presented as well as a timeline, which could take up to two years for the IEPA to review the plan.

Haffey presented an Ordinance Committee report, which reviewed the language of several current ordinances, including the Nuisance/Vandalism code, which the committee would like to beef up a bit in terms of a proposed escalating incremental fine for each successive citation. They also discussed the ordinances which would prohibit the sale of liquor on Christmas Day, with Grummitt motioning to eliminate this language from the City codes. Stebbins said he felt this item should be made a “New Business” item at the next Council meeting since there were no doubt citizens who would wish to address the issue.

Robinson’s Finance Committee report was up next, with a recommendation to close out the contract for the 4th Street Wall project which was unanimously approved. Robinson also reported on money paid back to the City from Martin Excavating for some double billing that occurred on the project, as well as $3,000.00 from M and M Concrete for work the City did. He also reported that the Committee recommended going with J.C. Carey Motors of Savanna on the bids for a new Police vehicle, specifically a 2010 4 Wheel Drive, with the bid coming in at $29,288.00. The Committee also requested payment for accessories for the vehicle, totaling $2,580.00, contingent upon the purchase of the vehicle. The bid was later accepted by the Council by a 5-2 vote, with Long and Griswold providing the “nay” votes.

The Council unanimously approved Warrant #10, bills for the month of January, totaling $23,484.13.

Alan Adkins of 415 Colonial Drive spoke to the Council regarding his wish to have a tree located on City property that impacts his own property with its debris removed. Mr. Adkins volunteered to assume all the costs on the project but needed City approval to proceed. He said not only was the frequent removal of debris from the tree an issue, but also the fact that the trees roots were damaging the sidewalk. Long said was hesitant to destroy the tree and would prefer it be trimmed of dead branches so as to allow the tree to continue to serve the purpose of shade and appearance. Lindeman agreed, saying the person who prunes trees for the City had looked at it and had recommended trimming of some areas. Ultimately, Grummitt and David agreed to meet the next morning with Mr. Adkins to survey the tree and try to access the situation, with the matter being tabled till the next Council meeting.

The Council unanimously approved, in rapid succession, a resolution of support for the commitment of funds to the CDAP grant for the water meter project, as well as an Ordinance Amendment which would authorize Jensen to put an amendment to the current City code upon direction from Mayor Stebbins. Also rapidly approved was a resolution to appropriate funds to participate in a joint agreement with IDOT to resurface the blacktop on Routes 52/64/84, as well as a related resolution to approve the plans and specifications of that project. This would affect parking lanes, and would pay for the cost of manhole work and associated costs. The cost to the City for this work would be $64,677.00

In Final Comments, Lindeman said he appreciated the patience of Savanna residents in the wake of the recent massive snowfall, adding that the Public Works department had done a pretty good job, was doing the best they could under extreme circumstances and that the snow removal was an ongoing task. Stebbins added that there was an ongoing issue of people not shoveling their sidewalks, which was occurring not only in Savanna but in other towns. He urged everyone to do their part.

The Council then entered into executive session to discuss the possible sale or purchase of real property, and the public portion of the meeting was adjourned.

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