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News
Plan open house on Boulder Hill main project : News : Oswego Ledger-Sentinel : Hometown Newspaper for Oswego and Montgomery, IllinoisPlan open house on Boulder Hill main project
| Montgomery officials to offer information, explain plans at Feb. 21 event
| by John Etheredge
| 1/24/2013
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Residents of the unincorporated Boulder Hill Subdivision will soon be invited to attend an open house next month on plans to improve the subdivision's water main system.
The project is expected to cost several million dollars and result in a water rate hike for Boulder Hill residents.
The open house will be held on Thursday, Feb. 21 from 7 p.m. to 8:30 p.m. at Boulder Hill Elementary School, Peter Wallers, president of Engineering Enterprises, Inc. (EEI), the Village of Montgomery's engineering consultant, told the village board Tuesday evening.
Wallers said notice of the open house will be included in the water bills the village mails to Boulder Hill residents.
Board members voiced support for holding the open houses, noting that it will provide Boulder Hill residents with an opportunity to view the project plans and question village officials and engineers.
"I think the residents will like that," said Andy Kaczmarek, a board member.
In a unanimous ballot Dec. 9, the board authorized EEI to prepare engineering plans and provide additional services for the project at a total estimated cost of $288,459.
The project will include the replacement of 18,900 linear feet of water main along with the installation of 109 hydrants, 121 new valves and 282 new service lines and water shut-offs in various locations throughout the subdivision located along the south side of U.S. Route 30, east of Ill. Route 25.
EEI has estimated the cost for the project at $8 million.
To finance the project, including the engineering work, village staff has recommended the board consider either approving a bond sale or pursuing a low interest loan through the Illinois Environmental Protection Agency (IEPA).
During a Nov. 26 meeting, board members voiced support for a plan to hike Boulder Hill water rates approximately $15 per month to provide revenues to pay off the bonds or an IEPA loan.
The additional charge for the water main project would not be applied to the water bills of the village's water customers who reside inside municipal limits.
The Don L. Dise Corporation, developer of Boulder Hill, installed the mains as the subdivision was developed from 1957 to 1978.
In 1958 the village board approved an agreement with the Dise Corporation to provide water to the subdivision. Under terms of the agreement, the Dise Corporation paid for and installed the water mains, while the village paid to construct water pumping and storage facilities to serve subdivision residents. The village financed those improvements with revenue bonds, according to a study of the village's water system compiled in 1982 by Paul Schuch, then the village's engineer.
Today, the village provides water to an estimated 2,800 Boulder Hill households.
Initially, water rates for Boulder Hill residents were double what village residents paid. However, as the board has approved water rate increases over the past several years, the difference between rates charged to Boulder Hill residents and village residents has shrunk.
The village is currently charging its in-town residents for water at a rate of $4.90 per thousand gallons used, while Boulder Hill residents were paying for water at a rate of $6.03 per thousand gallons used.
However, over the past two decades, Boulder Hill water mains have been prone to breaks, especially during the winter months.
Rust problems have also been an issue for many of the village's Boulder Hill water customers.
Late last fall and winter several Boulder Hill residents reported problems with rust in their water after the water flow in some mains was changed after the village public works department shutdown a well for emergency repairs.
In addition, homeowners near the Oswegoland Civic Center on Ashlawn Avenue and Circle Drive East have reported chronic problems with rust in their water dating back several years.
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