Kankakee ESU reports maintenance, hydro relicensing progress and preliminary FY26 finances

Kankakee City’s Environmental Services Utility reported routine maintenance activity, updates on the hydroelectric plant relicensing effort and preliminary fiscal 2026 financial figures during its June 16 meeting.

Why this matters: the reports cover daily operations that affect streets, parks and sewer services, capital projects that could affect local energy generation, and budget projections the board will later use for planning.

Street, alley and brush work: Mr. Lopez said crews are beginning to run a rented cold planer in alleys and will move to streets, and that the department has been helping with city events. He described borrowing a Harley rake from the Village of Bourbonnais to turn over gravel on a walking path in Martin Luther King Park and testing a brush-cutting attachment to address overgrowth along creeks and right-of-ways. Lopez said the rental machine broke down during the trial and was being returned, and that the county sometimes helps with brush work.

Parks and Pioneer Park: Several aldermen thanked the park district for recent cleanup work. Board members and staff clarified that some park areas are under the park district’s jurisdiction; staff said the Hobby Avenue project will open to traffic soon but landscaping and final punch-list items could take about 30 to 60 additional days and the project likely will not be closed out until the end of summer.

Hydro plant and FERC relicensing: Superintendent Newton reported that the utility received the last of four programmable logic controllers (PLCs) for lift-station work and that the draft hydro relicensing application is nearing completion, with staff hoping to submit a preliminary draft to the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC) on June 20. The board discussed plans to integrate a river water pump into the hydro control system and heard that turbine deliveries have been delayed; staff said current supplier estimates place the turbine arrival in late August and that installation would take several weeks.

Industrial lab and flow meters: Industrial lab supervisor McGinnis said annual EPA proficiency testing is underway. He reported that staff in Manteno identified an industrial contributor to a grease (fat, oil and grease) problem and that contractors had begun sampling. He also said a new flow meter at Shabance is installed and staff will begin using those readings rather than older average-flow assumptions.

Preliminary FY26 finances: The assistant comptroller presented a preliminary budget comparison for the first month of fiscal 2026. Staff reported total budgeted expenses of about $19.2 million and budgeted revenues of about $24.9 million, with year-to-date actuals roughly 7.6% below projected expenses and revenues roughly 8.2% below projection for the month. The utility reported a cash position of about $6.98 million and noted wages and benefits of approximately $496,000 for the reporting period. Staff said a more detailed preliminary budget would be ready in about six weeks.

Other operational notes: Tech services reported streetlight repairs on Route 50 and Riverstone Parkway, including underground feed repairs and an outstanding pole delivery. Staff described ongoing work to finalize PLC installation at lift stations after completion of lighting work. No formal policy actions or new ordinances were taken on these operational items.

What’s next: the hydro relicensing draft submission to FERC and the capital budget refinements are near-term items staff said they will pursue; the board moved the fleet purchase recommendations to the city council for consideration.