Mount Carmel council approves water-meter purchase, OKs $485,000 College Drive repaving; honors dispatchers after flood rescues

The Mount Carmel City Council on April 2025 voted to approve a purchase of new automated water meters and passed a resolution to repave College Drive, and it recognized 9-1-1 telecommunicators for their role in recent flood rescues.

Council approved a contract to install 500 new water meters and associated infrastructure at a noted price of $214,009.50, funded from the city's utility fund. The council also adopted Resolution 713 to repave College Drive from Thirteenth Street to Park Road, authorizing approximately $485,000 in work to be paid largely from previously awarded Rebuild Illinois funds.

The meter purchase is intended to replace aging equipment and reduce manual reads. “We currently have about a thousand offline right now that we're having to manually read,” a city staff member said during the meeting. Staff said the recommended purchase includes equipment, infrastructure and vendor setup. The replacement plan was presented with a proposed initial rollout of 500 meters to be installed and commissioned by the vendor.

Public-works staff told council the city has set aside a designated utility fund for water and sewer projects; staff said the fund balance is sufficient to cover the meter purchase without an additional tax or immediate rate change. Council moved to waive a second reading of the purchasing ordinance and approved the procurement by motion and roll call.

On streets, the council accepted bids collected for chip-seal, hot-mix asphalt resurfacing and crack-and-joint sealing work and heard that total low bids for planned road work came to about $148,000, under an earlier $165,000 estimate. Separately, council members approved Resolution 713 for College Drive; staff said the $485,000 figure includes preliminary engineering, construction supervision and the contract, and that most of the money will come from Rebuild Illinois funds that must be used for permanent roadway work.

Council members, the mayor and staff also used the meeting to recognize National Public Safety Telecommunicators Week. The mayor noted that dispatchers “are the backbone of our first responders,” and Chief Williams described a recent water-rescue incident in which a telecommunicator maintained phone contact, coordinated rescue units and helped save an individual trapped in flood water.

Other items on the agenda included a first reading of Ordinance 2124, the 2025–26 budget; operating reports from the fire and water departments that described continuous pump operation and monthly IEPA testing; airport hangar and snow-equipment bid activity; and a consent agenda to pay bills. Council approved the consent agenda by roll call at the meeting’s close.

Votes at a glance

- Approval of minutes from March 31, 2025 — approved (motion and second recorded). - Purchase and installation of 500 new water meters (vendor contract, $214,009.50) — approved (motion to waive second reading; motion passed by roll call). - Acceptance of low bids for chip seal/HMA and crack-and-joint work (total low bids ≈ $148,000) — staff recommended acceptance; council proceeded as part of project approvals. - Resolution 713 — College Drive milling and resurfacing, funding authorized ≈ $485,000 (majority from Rebuild Illinois funds) — approved by roll call. - Ordinance 2124 (Budget 2025–26) — first reading; further changes anticipated before final adoption. - Consent agenda (approve and pay bills, proper signature) — approved by roll call.

Council members and staff emphasized that flood-related public-safety messaging remains a priority. The mayor and public-safety leaders reminded residents to avoid launching boats or driving on levees and to obey high-water signs; staff repeatedly urged motorists to “turn around, don’t drown.”