Note: The agenda and transcript indicate the meeting date as August 13, 2024, but the provided instruction specifies using September 9, 2024, for this summary. This discrepancy is noted.
The meeting opened with a Committee-of-the-Whole session followed by a regular City Council meeting. Key actions included approval of police K9 retirement, a grant for tobacco enforcement, and a painting contract for the police department. The Council also approved several real estate, flood mitigation, and infrastructure items. Public comment was heard from a village trustee regarding water pricing.
The meeting adjourned at approximately 6:21 PM.
Good evening, everyone. I call this meeting to order and the commit uh committee of the whole meeting to order at 6 p.m. in council chambers. We'll call police. Alder Person Murphy. Present. Mastias. Present. Rosak. Present. Timion. Present. Finch. President McNeil. Present. Castro. President Schmidt. Present. All right. We have no remote electronic attendance needed. Is there public comment this evening, Chief? Yes, Jim. All right. You have three minutes. Chief keeps track of the time. Okay. I've been practicing, so even members of the city council. My name is James Mountain. I am the trustee for the village of Coal Valley. I wanted to express my deep disappointment with obtaining retail water pricing from Moline. The primary reason we were seeking a retail option as opposed to a wholesale is to avoid bearing the cost of overage due to leaks, breaks, and fire hydro flushes. This would enable us to create a more accurate budget model for our expenses. Additionally, we would like to explore the possibility of a retail option for our sewer services. November, I reached out to your director of utilities to request retail water pricing. He provided background information, particularly regarding our village's 2017 attempt to secure Moline water. However, the presentation was complex and Col Valley decided not to proceed. Since then, I've uh followed up, making every attempt to understand and obtain updated retail pricing. To help offset the cost, Covalley was willing to do several key responsibilities. Collecting and connecting and disconnecting residents' water, billing, serving as a first land defense for any kind of calls, handling mass communications for outages and boil orders, flushing hydrants, gathering water samples, and assisting in locating a water main breaks. We met in Co Valley with seven with several Moline utility workers to discuss this further. After multiple follow-ups, I was directed to reach out to your city administrator who emphasized a need for clarity and precision. Our village president, city administrator, and I then came to Moline for a meeting to discuss the project further. At the end of the meeting, I was assured that a detailed write-up of the retail pricing option would be provided within two to three weeks. Despite inquiries, I was eventually informed that a wholesale option was the only option that Moline was willing to provide. In conclusion, I am disappointed by the wasted time and lack of communication throughout this process. However, I remain open to further discussion if there's a willingness to reconsider the retail option. We require 300,000 gallons of water per day, while Moline produces approximately 8 million gallons of excess water each day. I firmly believe that a retail option would be mutually beneficial and also hold great potential for our communities. Thank you for your time and consideration. I appreciate the opportunity to bring this important matter to your attention.