Tamaroa Selects Contractor for Water Project

</element><element id="paragraph-1" type="body"><![CDATA[The Tamaroa Village Board voted Wednesday to award the contract for the planned Rend Lake water connection project to the lowest bidder, J.K. Trotter of Mt. Vernon.

Mike Smith of Southern Engineering said that there were six bids submitted, ranging from $1,460,085 to $2,484,000. The engineering estimate on the project was $1.6 million.

The board also voted to borrow $1.9 million in interim financing from Farmers and Merchants Bank at 3.25 percent interest.

Marsha Gajewski of USDA Rural Development had some good news and some not so good news. She said the paperwork can be completed in about a month. She expects the project to start June 1.

The bad news is that Tamaroa does not qualify for the promised $580,000 grant that was to be used to pay for a portion of the project. A new Federal rules requires that the average water bill in the village cost 1.5 percent of the median household income. It does not.

Instead of a $580,000 grant, Tamaroa will get a $580,000 loan.

Former Mayor Bill Place was present at the meeting and was very unhappy to hear that the government had backed out of the grant. He said he did not appreciate the "bait and switch tactics those (expletives) in Washington use."

However, the Village can afford to pay for the entire project, Gajewski said. Because interest rates have dropped so far, the debt service (total amount the village will pay back over 40 year period) on the $2 million project at today's interest rates will cost the same in the long run as borrowing $1.5 million at the interest rates prior to the recession.

The project will be done in two phases. The first $580,000 will have a four percent interest rate. The loan for the remainder will have a 3.25 interest rate.

Gajewski is waiting for approval on the second phase of the project. As soon as approval is given, paperwork can be completed and the project can begin.

Both Gajewski and Smith said the first thing to be done is to connect the direct line to Rend Lake Water District, that will allow Tamaroa to purchase water at a much lower rate.

The second phase of the project would be to connect the new customers.

Once the project begins, the contractor will have 365 days to complete the project and an additional 85 days for final clean-up.

Rend Lake passed a five-year water rate plan in 2007. The rate will increase to $1.92 for the first million gallons and $1.72 for the next 29 million gallons in May 2011.

Du Quoin is currently charging Tamaroa at their regular residential rate for the entire amount purchased each month. Place said Tamaroa purchases about 8 million gallons a month.

The cost is approximately $17,000 per month, Board Secretary Cheryl Pelker said.

Purchasing water from Rend Lake will amount to a substantial savings.

Gajewski calculated the debt service on the loan using rates much lower than those currently being charged. At the lower rate, the water system in Tamaroa generates about $366,000 per year. The debt service includes the principle and interest payments to be made twice a year at a total cost of $102,000, a required 10 percent reserve, $11,200 per year for short-lived assets which will be used for emergency repairs, $135,700 per year for operations and maintenance and $88,500 to purchase water for an estimated total of $336,853 per year.

The board would set the water rates once the new system is in place. Trustee Charles Stein said the previous board's intention was to roll back the rates to what was charged in 2007.

Gajewski and Smith said that might not be possible, but a substantial reduction for both in-town and out-of-town users will be possible.

Place said he hopes the Tamaroa board hasn't learned to lie like the people in Washington.

The rates will determine how much revenue is generated each year by the water system.

Gajewski said that raising the calculations using the current rates generates a cushion of about $150,000.

Smith offered a report recommending the rates be set at $9.20 for the first 1,000 gallons and $5.70 for any thereafter for in-town customers and $10.20 for the first 1,000 gallons and $7.00 for any thereafter for out-of-town customers.

The board authorized payments for work Smith has done on the project and approved two change orders. The first raised the amount allocated for residential inspections from $120,000 to $130,000. The second raised the allocation for work on the right-of-way documents to $50,000.

Smith said that once the project is complete he will be owed about $130,000 for design and other work. He has been working on the project for more than five years.

Gajewski also urged the board to complete an application for a $30,000 community facilities grant. The grant funds, along with a $10,000 matching portion, would be used to re-roof the gymnasium at the Community Center.

Tamaroa completed a pre-application that showed they were eligible for the grant. The funds may or may not be awarded this year, depending on whether or not all the money has been allocated.

The other hot-button issue for the evening was the possibility of a town-wide trash pick-up. After a lengthy discussion, the board voted to not change the current status in regards to trash pick-up in the village. Residents select their own trash hauler at this time.

Mayor Curtis Stube cast the tie-breaking vote against town-wide trash pick-up. Trustees Harold Valentine and Lisa Haycraft were in favor of not changing. Trustees Kirk Pestka and Stein were in favor of town-wide trash pick-up and Trustees Nelson Knapp and Betty Roberts abstained. Knapp and Roberts, who are brother and sister, abstained because they are related to a local trash hauler and felt it was a conflict of interest.

Pestka said he called several local trash haulers, but only one submitted a proposal in writing. He said Du Bois has town-wide trash pick-up and is much cleaner than when people selected and paid their own trash hauler. There may also be a substantial cost savings for residents who pay about $16.50 per month for trash service.

Local hauler Steve Ellison said town-wide trash service would have to be bid and because the larger out-of-town firms receive government subsidies, they can easily underbid smaller, local trash haulers. Ellison also warned that big companies would send in huge trucks that will tear up the streets in town.

Place said the issue was put on the ballot in a non-binding referendum four years ago and failed to pass by a wide margin. He suggested putting the issue on the ballot again.

Place also shot down Pestka's idea of town-wide trash pick-up as a method to clean up the town.

"Even if you put a flush toilet in a pig sty, the pigs won't use it," Place said. Ellison seconded that sentiment.

Pelker said she was speaking as a citizen, not elected official when she objected to town-wide trash pick-up. "We have a 70 to 80 percent free and reduced lunch rate at our school," Pelker said. Though town-wide trash pick-up would likely save her money, that might not be the case for some residents. Some people who generate little trash may share the current bill with a neighbor or have other, less expensive arrangements already.

Also at issue was the legality of turning off a resident's utilities for not paying for trash pick-up. Gajewski said that the trash charge can be coupled with the sewer charge, but not with water. Sewer service cannot be shut off.

Resident Fred Schultz asked what would have to be done to get a recycling center in Tamaroa. Both Du Quoin and Perry County have recycling centers that were started with grant money.

In other business, the board:

heard from Place that the previous board had agreed to spend only the interest from the Canadian National Railroad settlement. The funds are to be used exclusively for road and alley work. Village Treasurer Margaret Lee used $16,000 of the interest to pay bills last month. The board voted in January to use the Canadian National funds to pay bills, if necessary. The borrowed funds would be replaced in the account once payments from the state are received. Lee said that only one state payment has been received in the past month- a check for $201.

voted to bring back for one day the two employees who had been laid off. They would then be laid off for another 30 days. Employees must work at least one day to retain their health insurance. The village will continue to pay for the employees' health insurance for another month.

discussed a previous agreement with the Village of St. Johns to turn off water service to St. Johns sewer customers who were delinquent. The 10-year contract between the two villages expired two years ago. The agreement stated that Tamaroa was blameless if a customer's water was erroneously turned off since the village does not accept the sewer payments and has no way to know who has paid and who has not. Tamaroa shut off the service to five homes last month at the request of St. Johns. Three of the five residents did not owe Tamaroa anything so Village employee Joyce Mazzarella was unable to charge a reconnect fee for those customers. She brought the problem to the attention of the board. Village Attorney Gene Gross was asked to approach St. Johns about entering another 10 year contract for the service. Gross said in the meantime that Tamaroa is not obligated to shut off water service for delinquent St. Johns sewer customers and should not do so.

agreed there was no need to raise the minimum ordinance fine. Gross said that offenders are generally offered a chance to settle out of court for about $100 for an offense. If not, they must appear in Du Quoin City Court. Fines set by the judge are usually at least $100. The village currently has no police department and receives only minimal coverage from the Sheriff's Department. Residents have been complaining about several young men who drive erratically and disturb their neighborhood. Haycraft said she was told by a Sheriff's Deputy that nothing can be done. Gross said the next time one of the board members calls the police and is told that nothing can be done, they should call him. Knapp said that he lives in the neighborhood in question and residents are afraid to sign a complaint against the troublemakers for fear of reprisal and because the person who signs the complaint must appear in court. Gross said many Police Departments require residents to sign complaints, not just the Perry County Sheriff.

asked Pelker to send a thank you note to WJPF Radio Announcer Tom Miller. Miller had heard about the village's financial difficulties and auctioned off a baseball signed by Cardinal Chris Carpenter. He raised $250 and donated those funds to Tamaroa. A thank-you note will also be sent to the bidder.

agreed to pay for the candy for the Easter Egg Hunt to be held at the Community Center on March 28 at 1 p.m.

heard that the date for the Chicken and Dumpling Dinner has changed to April 11.

heard that Haycraft paid the $762.04 utility bill on the house she purchased in 2006, as agreed at the January meeting.

heard from Ellison that drivers are speeding up and down 2nd North Street to avoid the new stop sign near the Fire Department.