Mary Hansen
The State Journal-Register
In a strange twist, construction on Interstate 55 could cause a slight bump in utility costs for City Water, Light and Power customers next month.
Doug Brown, chief engineer for the utility, told the Springfield City Council Tuesday night that CWLP needs an estimated $400,000 to cover higher-than-normal transportation costs for coal from the Viper Mine near Elkhart. Brown estimated that customers would see a one-time, 50-cent increase to the fuel adjustment cost on their bills for August.
The Illinois Department of Transportation closed a section of I-55 south of Elkhart for construction in June, causing McLeod Express, the company that transports coal from the mine to the Springfield plant, to reroute its trucks. The modified route takes twice as long, and McLeod is charging CWLP more for transportation costs until construction is done in early August.
“Unfortunately, the state of Illinois didn’t notify anybody in advance of the roadwork,” Brown said. “With this price adjustment, (McLeod) is going to be able to ensure that we get enough drivers to maintain our coal supply at what we’ve got until the construction is completed.”
Drones
By a 6-to-5 vote, with Mayor Jim Langfelder casting the deciding “yes,” the council approved a measure that prohibits drones from being flown over some city-owned property, including the CWLP plant and transmission stations, as well as active police and fire investigation sites.
Alds. Chuck Redpath, Herman Senor, Doris Turner, Cory Jobe and Joe McMenamin voted against the ordinance. They had questions about enforcement and how the new municipal regulation would compare to future state regulations.
Debt collection
Aldermen also approved an ordinance that would allow the city to send unpaid fines to a collection agency and charge the fee to the debtor, typically an additional 30 percent of the charge.
The change is part of an effort to tackle the city’s unpaid debt. City Treasurer Misty Buscher said the city is working on consolidating the collection process into one software system to better track and collect money owed to the city for parking tickets or other fines.
Turner and McMenamin voted against the proposal.
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Joe McMenamin for Ward 7 