By Steve Metsch
A water study that McCook’s village board approved in March is paying dividends just two months later.
Mayor Terrance Carr said that a dozen leaks have been found in the city’s water system, which had been losing 5 million gallons each month.
“We found 12. We fixed all 12 of them. We had an outside company fix four of them and we fixed eight in-house,” Carr said after the May 15 village board meeting.
In March, the board approved paying Advanced Technical Services no more than $20,000 to find and repair leaks in the system.
The contract starts at $10,000 and then costs $450 for each leak found and repaired, up to a total of $20,000.
The job includes inspecting roughly 110,000 feet of water pipe eight feet underground. Sound waves are used to find leaks.
“I swear by it,” Carr said of the company’s inspection system.
After the board meeting, Carr sorted through a cardboard box filled with failed parts found in the water system.
“This is an O-ring that was torn, gaskets that were broken. All (were) eight feet underground. Here’s a bolt, totally rotted out. A piece of lead pipe with a hole in it,” he said.
Early data is favorable, Carr said.
“We’ve recovered 80,000 to 120,000 gallons in loss. So, we’re about 3 million (gallons recovered) of the 5 million,” Carr said.
In other business, the village board unanimously approved paying just under $39,000 to Vigilant Solutions for license plate recognition software and hardware.
“They’re all over. Everybody is putting them up. The big reason is (to recover) stolen vehicles, it sends a message, but the reason we’re getting them is for these speed racers and stuff,” Carr said.
Last year, McCook dealt with several large gatherings that featured crowds with dozens of cars, some of which were raced illegally or tore up parking lots.
A state grant will pay the village $30,000, Carr said. “We have to pay first before we get the grant.”
The eight LPR units, some of which are solar-powered, will be located on streets bordering McCook, Carr said.
“You put them on the outside of town so you can catch anybody coming to the inside,” Carr said.
The board approved paying Infinity Lawn Service $1,820 each week to mow lawns across McCook.
“We’ve been doing this in the village, cutting residents’ grass for 30 years. The parkways and their grass. Anybody over the age of 50,” Carr said.
The board approved a proclamation declaring May 15 to 23 “Police Week.”
“Best police department in the state of Illinois. I’d put these guys up against anybody, top to bottom,” Carr said.
Police Chief Steve Svetich said, “Thanks for the compliment.”