Trustees weigh IEPA loan, bonding and bank loans to fund Sleepy Hollow water-main and roads plans

At its meeting trustees spent a substantial portion of the agenda talking through financing options for a planned water-main replacement and the village's mounting road needs.

Bill Zazokos, who summarized the finance committee meeting, outlined three financing paths: a commercial bank loan (the bank quoted a higher current rate), an Illinois EPA loan program with a lower advertised rate but a March 31 application deadline and substantial permit and application requirements, and the possibility of issuing bonds for larger-scope work. Zazokos said committee members were also studying example loan documents and outreach with a law firm about bonding procedures.

Zazokos told trustees the village must weigh timing and application costs: an IEPA application requires preparatory permitting and can be time-consuming, and applying without being ready risks wasting application expenses. He recommended surveying affected households on specific streets that might convert to city water before committing to the full financing package.

Trustees also discussed scale and cost estimates. Finance documents under consideration ranged from projects of roughly $2 million up to $7.8 million depending on scope; one trustee noted an estimated need of roughly $7 million for longer-term road work. Trustees agreed staff should distribute the finance-committee spreadsheet and a project-prioritization list for the board to review in January and prepare firm proposals for the next committee meeting.

Next steps: staff will circulate committee materials, the board will review resident survey results about conversions to city water, and the finance committee will continue evaluating bonding and IEPA application timing.