Kane County Reporter

The Montgomery village council recently approved a contract to help fix water mains and lift station improvements.

During a Montgomery village board meeting, officials discussed funding for new lift station projects and Lake Michigan Transition project. The village had previously reached out to Kendall County authorities asking for some of the ARPA funding to help fix water mains and decrease water loss issues. The county supplied a contract agreement, offering $2 million for the project, which would directly impact and benefit many county residents and Montgomery water users. The funding would come close to covering the full scale of projects identified in Boulder Hill area, which could be up to $75 million when all said and done, however the funding will cover a smaller project.

The village also discussed plans for Fairfield lift station improvements and Farm and Fleet lift station improvements. The village received two bids for these projects, and were advised to accept the less expensive one, which was $316,400 from Marc Kresmery Construction. The village has previously worked with this contractor and is confident in their skills and service quality. 

Village Engineer Pete Wallers answered some questions about the project from council members, including how some of the funding was raised from the increased water utility bills, however that increase is also going to water supply projects.

"To the best of my knowledge, we haven't done any substantive repairs on any of these stations, so this would be the first time I'd have to go back to the records to find out when we constructed all these," Wallers said at the meeting. "I mean, the Fairfield station went in at the start of the Fairfield and Cambridge subdivision. So some time ago and obviously the Farm and Fleet went in when Farm and Fleet built. So they've been in service a long time. They're kind of due for rehab for sure. So I think we got good service life out of them."

The village is actively working toward a Lake Michigan Water supply, so many of its infrastructure funds will start going toward those projects in the coming years. Wallers said they would have to start looking at the allocations of some of their funds and revenues more closely in the next year or so. The council approved these contracts and some other smaller purchases for its public works department.