Resident warns Roselle lead service-line replacement program will burden fixed-income homeowners

At the March 10 Village of Roselle meeting, resident David (Dave) Yacom urged the board to address affordability for lead service-line replacements, saying federal and state grant programs are not available to Roselle and that many homeowners on fixed incomes could not afford the private-side replacement costs.

Yacom said the village’s informational materials and funding worksheet make it difficult for some residents to qualify for assistance. "My social security check is $1,400 a month," he said. "Do I have an extra $5,000 to check out this summer? No." He said costs are rising and that expecting seniors to pay thousands of dollars is unreasonable.

Mayor Mark Pulaski responded that the Environmental Protection Agency handouts are distributed as required and that the village performs faucet sampling for households selected for lead testing. Pulaski said Roselle had applied for state and federal funding but was denied because the community was judged too wealthy for those grant programs. "We were denied federal funding and state funding. We are as a community too wealthy to them in order to have any grants given to us," Pulaski said, adding that he and village legislators continue to press for more equitable funding decisions.

Pulaski and staff said the village must follow state bidding requirements when doing public work, which increases costs, and noted the village’s waiver system and other options that may allow homeowners to proceed when feasible. The board did not take action on funding changes during the meeting; the public comment closed without a motion.