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Mount Carmel council authorizes engineering agreement for Phase 2 of water plant, including PFAS testing
Summary
The Mount Carmel City Council voted to authorize the mayor or city clerk to sign an engineering agreement to begin Phase 2 of the new water plant. The package includes PFAS testing, meter work and associated engineering services; council members said the PFAS portion is expected to qualify for IEPA loan forgiveness.
The Mount Carmel City Council on an unspecified date voted to authorize the mayor or city clerk to sign an engineering agreement to begin Phase 2 of the city’s new water treatment plant. The work described by staff includes PFAS testing and replacement or upgrading of water meters.
Council members said the engineering fee in the agreement is $17,025 and that the PFAS testing portion of the project was described in the meeting as “208” (reported by staff as eligible for 100% loan forgiveness through the IEPA loan program). Council members said the remaining portion of the financing would be rolled into a loan repaid from the city’s water fund; staff reported a remaining balance figure of 108,750 after the forgiveness amount was removed.
The project drew routine technical comments during discussion. Mayor (name not specified) explained the importance of PFAS testing, saying, “If nobody has heard about PFAS, it is a forever chemical, that's made in a lot of different manufacturing facilities and the federal government's outlawed it, but unfortunately, it never goes away.” The mayor added that the city benefits from having groundwater wells rather than drawing surface water: “Thank goodness we are no longer pumping out of the river.”
Commissioner Mater (title: Commissioner) said she reviewed the engineering agreement and found no issues: “I reviewed the engineering agreement. I didn't see any issues with it.”
Council members also discussed water meters installed in 2012 under an ESG-related program that carried an estimated 20-year life expectancy; staff said the registers and batteries in those meters are failing and that replacing registers has limited effectiveness. Council discussion stated the meter replacement or related costs would be financed through the water loan and paid from water revenues.
The motion to authorize the mayor or city clerk to sign the engineering agreement passed on roll call. The council did not specify the individual who moved or seconded the motion in the public transcript.
Votes at a glance
- Authorize mayor/city clerk to sign Phase 2 engineering agreement (PFAS testing, meter work): approved. Roll call recorded: Commissioner Zimmerman — yes; Commissioner Eichmeier — yes; Commissioner Mater — yes. Commissioner Meeks — absent.
Implementation notes
Staff said the city expects the PFAS testing portion of the IEPA loan to be fully forgivable; the remaining project costs would be part of a loan repaid from the water fund. Council indicated a formal ordinance reading related to Phase 2 will appear at the next council meeting.
