Kankakee Times

City of Watseka Water/Wastewater Committee met Sept. 21.

Here are the minutes provided by the committee:

PRESENT: Aldermen Cahoe, Barragree, Marcier, Garfield, Miller Alderwoman Ulfers, Mayor Allhands

ABSENT: Alderman Rushbrook and Alderwoman Musk

GUESTS: Neil Piggush with Piggush Engineering, Nick Rice with Peerless Midwest

Alderman Cahoe opened the meeting at 7:00 pm. There was no public comment. Neil Piggush with Piggush Engineering spoke first. He stated his company has been in business for 8 years and along with being an engineering firm they also do grant writing. He has helped Gilman get at 2-million-dollar grant for downtown, he has also helped Kankakee get at 7.65 million grant for infrastructure. He has helped 9-10 communities in Iroquois apply for and get grants. There was a lengthy discussion about what kind of grant to apply for. Neil suggested the City put together a list of projects that need to be done and he will see what is available. Alderman Cahoe thanked him for coming and stated he will be in touch yet this week with him.

Nick Rice with Peerless Midwest spoke next. He stated his company does well maintenance along with drilling wells. His company is here now and they are currently working on well 6 first as it is the oldest well the city has. He stated the well is 160 foot deep. They are cleaning the well and rebuilding the pumps and will put them back in. Once that is done the wells should be good for 7-10 years. They will do well 9 and 10 next, this should all be done in about 3 weeks. There was discussion about how bad the piping is on Veterans Parkway. There was a discussion of test wells next. It was stated the total cost for a test well could be about $25,000 to $30,000. A question was asked about putting it out for bid. It was stated these costs will not come in all at once it is a 3 step process that will add up to the $25,000 to $30,000. The committee stated Peerless Midwest should move forward with a test well.

Water Superintendent Greg Marks reported on the following:

Oxidation Ditch: The project is moving along as scheduled and there is a meeting scheduled for next Tuesday with Helm Mechanical.

Lift Station at High School: the repairs have been completed

G.I.S.: this project is still work in progress. Mayor Allhands stated for $500 the city could get a digital copy of property lines in Watseka.

Work Report: 40 utility locates, 11 water meter changes, 17 water turn on/off, 2 service line repairs

Alderman Garfield asked why Robinson Engineering was not here along with Piggush Engineering. It was stated Piggush Engineering was more of a sales call.

Alderman Cahoe makes a motion to adjourn at 7:49 pm and Alderman Marcier seconded. Roll call carried 7-0.