Mount Vernon council approves $4.05 million IEPA loan application for water-main replacements

The Mount Vernon City Council on March 3 authorized staff to apply to the Illinois Environmental Protection Agency (IEPA) for a $4,050,000 loan to fund replacements of municipal water mains on multiple streets.

Assistant City Manager Nathan McKenna told the council the project covers mains ranging from 6 inches to 10 inches on Broadway, Crownview, Central Avenue, Waterworks Road, Linnview Drive, White Avenue, E. Harrison Street, Casey Avenue, Castleton Avenue, S. 15th Street, Industrial Drive, Denton Road, S. 21st Street, Logan Street, Cherry Street and College Street. McKenna said the loan application would continue planned upgrades to the city’s water system and authorized staff to pursue IEPA financing under Resolution #2025-09, which the council approved unanimously.

McKenna also requested and won council permission to waive bidding for the installation of three valves on a 16-inch transmission water main. He said adding those valves would create redundancy and allow the city to divert water through an existing 10-inch main if the 16-inch line developed a leak; Midwest Petroleum and Excavating, Inc., the contractor installing the second transmission line from Rend Lake Conservancy District to Mount Vernon, provided a quote and indicated the work could be completed during the first week of July. The council granted the waiver by motion (Yeas: Botch, Gliosci, Moore, Young, and Lewis).

Separately, McKenna asked the council to seek quotes to upgrade alerting systems at the city’s three fire stations; he said the project is budgeted at $105,000 and the council authorized staff to solicit quotes.

The council’s action authorizes staff to pursue the loan and proceed with related redundancy work and procurement steps; no construction schedule beyond the contractor’s July availability for the valves was specified in the meeting record.