City of LaSalle Finance Committee met March 20
Here are the minutes provided by the committee:
ROLL CALL
Present: Aldermen Lavieri, Jeppson, Herndon
Excused Absence: Chairman Ptak, Alderman Thompson
Others Present: Finance Director John Duncan, Deputy Clerk Brent Bader, Director of Public Works Patrick Watson, Fire Chief Jerry Janick, Alderman Bacidore, Alderman Reynolds, Economic Development Director Curt Bedei, Alderman Crane, City Treasurer Virginia Kochanowski, City Engineer Brian Brown
A quorum was present.
Moved by Alderman Herndon and seconded by Alderman Jeppson to appoint Alderman Lavieri as Chair for Finance Committee tonight.
Voice vote, all ayes. Motion carried.
Moved by Alderman Jeppson and seconded by Alderman Herndon to approve and place on file the minutes of the Finance Committee for March 6, 2023.
Voice vote, all ayes. Motion carried.
BILLS
Alderman Lavieri asked about the 80 hours of overtime under sewer. He thought this was a little excessive. Watson and Brown both stated that these hours were due to Carus chemical clean up. It is getting taken care of by the insurance company. This included overtime and any food expense. This was done by Carus’ request. This is allowing them to run their plant for longer hours for the pretreatment plant to clean their lagoon.
Alderman Lavieri asked about pricing on the repair kits for the meters. Director Watson did get pricing back for $30 for the 5/8” meters and $60 for the 1” meters. Watson states that the repair kits outweigh the cost of a new one.
Moved by Alderman Herndon and seconded by Alderman Jeppson to accept the proposal from Schimmer Ford for the purchase of a Ford F250 with service body, for $59,357.82 for use as a Public Works service truck.
Alderman Lavieri asked about how soon this vehicle would come in. Watson stated that it could be up to a year if ordered now. Alderman Lavieri mentioned that it could be worked into next year’s budget then.
Director Watson explained that this one would be in place of the 2005 2500HD 170,000 miles and the transmission is out.
ROLL CALL
AYE: Pro-Tem Chairman Lavieri, Alderman Jeppson, Alderman Herndon NAY: None Absent: Chairman Ptak, Alderman Thompson Abstain: None
MOTION CARRIED: 3-0
Director Watson discussed the need for a new vehicle due to the new meter program and stated that the current van has 123,000 miles on it. The current van will not be a trade in. They will use it with the meter crew to see how much more they can get out of it.
Alderman Jeppson asked how quickly this van could be available. Watson stated that Schimmer has one but they were unsure if they could change it to what the city had originally requested.
Alderman Herndon asked how soon the meter project could start. Watson stated that they will be having a meeting this Friday. They hope to get this project going in the next couple weeks.
Finance Director Duncan mentioned that their meeting this Friday will be in regards to the timing of the equipment that they will be ordering. They will get a lead time for the mobile transmission reader that they will need in place to read the MTUs. Duncan also discussed how manpower is needed for this project. The process within the union contract is to have internal bid sheets, which went out last week. Duncan predicts there to be two outside hires happening after that process takes place. He plans on the project to be in full swing by mid-summer.
Duncan also mentioned that in addition to the two new hires, all water department employees will also be trained and all rotated throughout this project.
Alderman Bacidore’s concern is that there are always two guys on a job. He feels that only one person is necessary for each job and they could have five guys out, doing five houses at once. Duncan stated that there are only two devices available to program the new meters, once installed. He stated that there will be two one-man crews. Additional helpers will be called out if a shut off is necessary. Duncan believes that six to eight appointments per hour can be done by these crews. There will be situations where the crews will need a two-man crew if they run into an old Badger Meter. The plan is to have two vehicles, each set up to be a one-man crew.
Alderman Crane said that years ago the city did agree to have two guys on each job for safety and liability reasons. Duncan said that they already spoke to the foreman and the crew to call for a second person if they feel that their safety is at risk. Alderman Herndon feels that it would be best to have two guys on each job just to cover the city
for legal reasons. Alderman Bacidore mentioned how Grasser’s and John’s always has one guy on the job. Duncan mentioned that the city spoke with Rochelle and they did one-man crews.
Moved by Alderman Jeppson and seconded by Alderman Herndon to accept the bid for the purchase of a 2023 Ford Transit Van for use as a Public Works Water Department van,
ROLL CALL
AYE: Pro-Tem Chairman Lavieri, Alderman Jeppson, Alderman Herndon NAY: None Absent: Chairman Ptak, Alderman Thompson Abstain: None
MOTION CARRIED: 3-0
Moved by Alderman Herndon and seconded by Alderman Jeppson to approve request from George Knafelc of Knafelc Investments for a Redevelopment Incentive Program Grant totaling $5,127.15 for premises located at 129/135 Joliet St.
Economic Director Curt Bedei mentioned that this project that was once approved but the timeframe ran out so the request had to be reapproved. He mentioned that this project was completed last week and they turned in their paperwork and the proof of payment to the contractor.
ROLL CALL
AYE: Pro-Tem Chairman Lavieri, Alderman Jeppson, Alderman Herndon NAY: None Absent: Chairman Ptak, Alderman Thompson Abstain: None
MOTION CARRIED: 3-0
Economic Developer Curt Bedei discussed how the city received a grant through NCICG for $40,000. This will take the inventory of the city’s lead lines. This company, 120 Water, has done larger communities like Joliet and is very familiar with this type of project. Bedei hopes to apply for a grant in the future to replace the lead lines.
Alderman Lavieri clarified how the grant is for $40,000 and the first phase of project is $15,000. He also stated that 120 Water was the only company that does this type of work.
Alderman Crane asked about how the company is able to go above ground to detect lead lines. Watson stated that they do use some of the city’s notes to map the city. Watson also stated that they have changed out at least 10 in the last year but the city has about 100 lines out there and they need to figure out where they are.
Engineer Brown stated that some residents can help out by stating what kind of line is going into their house. If the city does not have a record of it, they will assume that it is a lead line.
Bedei mentioned that the city does have about a year to do this. The data analysis will know what subdivisions to look at and focus on based on the years they were developed. He stated that the grant does require a third party to do this and cannot be paid by the City.
Moved by Alderman Herndon and seconded by Alderman Jeppson to approve the proposal from 120 Water regarding Lead Service Line Inventory.
ROLL CALL
AYE: Pro-Tem Chairman Lavieri, Alderman Jeppson, Alderman Herndon NAY: None Absent: Chairman Ptak, Alderman Thompson Abstain: None
MOTION CARRIED: 3-0
Alderman Lavieri did ask if Watson or Reese had time to look at water contracts. Watson mentioned that Reese did. Finance Director Duncan did mention that he verified pricing, Attorney McPhedran got several legal languages that he advocated for, and Reese verified scope of service. Reese was very happy with everything that was included.
There were no more questions or comments from the public.
Moved by Alderman Herndon and seconded by Alderman Jeppson to adjourn the meeting.
Voice vote, all ayes. Motion carried.
Pro-Tem Chair Lavieri adjourned the meeting at 6:20pm
https://www.lasalle-il.gov/sites/default/files/agendas-minutes/2023-03/3-20-23%20Copy.pdf
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