Poplar Grove looks to light up parts of Woodstock Road

By Bob Balgemann

REPORTER

Concern from a few people about dark patches along Woodstock Road has caused village officials to ponder the best way to solve that problem.

The primary locations are intersections with Greenbriar, Ridgestone and Stone Hollow.

Village Administrator Diana Dykstra said staff felt the best option was to use existing poles on the south side of Woodstock Road, at Stone Hollow Road and Ridgestone Trail.

Commonwealth Edison has quoted the village a cost of $4,040.92 for two 14-foot arm lights, two transformers, wiring and electric service. The estimated monthly cost would be $47.82, which would provide sufficient lighting for those intersections.

The committee of the whole agreed at its Sept. 12 meeting to recommend the options suggested by staff.

Another road project calls for improvements to Squaw Prairie Road, on the eastern and western approaches to Poplar Grove Road. The options are patching or giving those sections a brand new surface.

Committee members agreed to defer that item to the Monday, Sept. 19 village board meeting. At that time, they hope to have information as to whether Belvidere Township, a proposed partner in the project, would be interested in doing just the patching.

The estimated cost for resurfacing was $53,000, with the township loaning the village up to $76,000 to be repaid over time.

Patching estimates from Stenstrom Excavating and Blacktop Group, William Charles Construction Company, and McCann Concrete Products ranged from $12,950 to $22,500.

In addition, the village is embarking on a major overhaul of the way water and sewer bills are paid. It’s a work in progress as officials continue to iron out the details.

They currently are proposing that effective Jan. 1, 2017, bills be paid every month, rather than every other month as is the case currently.

“Residents have often asked for us to consider a change to the bimonthly billing service,” Dykstra said. “Some bills can exceed $300 and they [residents] are unable to make those payments, asking for a more manageable monthly billing system.”

A proposed cycle would run as follows:

The utility bill is generated the first day of the month.

The bill due date is the 20th of the month.

If the bill isn’t paid by the 21st day, a late fee/disconnect notice is sent through the mail. The late fee would be 10 percent of the total bill.

Telephone calls are made to the affected customers on the 25th through 28th days.

Disconnection notices will be posted on service addresses for accounts with a balance of more than $100.

The proposed ordinance has sections dealing with time of payment, liability, delinquent payments, bad checks, liens, termination of service, sewer-only customers, and the right to appeal.