Executive committee approves IGAs with Joliet for Southeast Joliet Sanitary District dissolution and meter replacements; CDBG funds used
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Summary
The committee approved intergovernmental agreements with the City of Joliet to manage the dissolution and service transfer of the Southeast Joliet Sanitary District and to authorize city-led water meter replacements; committee members asked for clarifications on inspection scope, municipal plumbing-code alignment and contract dates before approving an amended meter-replacement agreement funded with CDBG dollars.
The executive committee considered two intergovernmental agreements with the City of Joliet related to the Southeast Joliet Sanitary District (a planned dissolution and transfer of services) and a companion agreement authorizing Joliet to perform water meter replacements and related inspections.
Member Oxley raised a drafting issue pointing to inconsistent dates (one place in the draft reads 2026 and another 2025) and asked that dates be corrected. He also flagged potential conflicts between Joliet's plumbing rules and Will County's plumbing standards and recommended clarifying which portions of interior plumbing (meter end and beyond) would be inspected so homeowners are not surprised by differing interpretations.
Elaine Bottomley (county staff) answered that the draft contains a scrivener's error on dates and that Joliet staff had been coordinating with county inspectors. She said the items are the product of a longer policymaking process and that the meter-replacement IGA is meant to be implemented as part of the dissolution and upgrading of service for about 750 active customers in the Southeast Joliet Sanitary District. She explained Joliet would assume liability for inspections, provide weekly reports to county staff and that the work will be done by City of Joliet licensed staff or licensed contractors. Funding for the meter replacements will come from Community Development Block Grant (CDBG) funds.
Committee members moved and approved an amendment to the meter-replacement IGA clarifying contractor licensing and inspection language; the amendment passed and the resolution passed as amended. Members requested staff follow up to explicitly exclude inspecting interior plumbing downstream of the meter where the homeowner's existing repairs should not create retroactive code enforcement penalties.
The committee also discussed that the district's dissolution and the IGAs had been under preparation for months and that the city and county staff would continue to coordinate to ensure the agreement language aligns and homeowners are protected from unintended consequences during the transfer of services.