In a letter to the village of Manteno and copied to Gotion plant manager Mark Kreusel, Richard Petersen, fire chief of the Manteno Fire Protection District, brought up some issues with the manufacturer’s fire protection and safety compliance.

Manteno Mayor Annette LaMore read Petersen’s two-page letter dated Nov. 19 during Monday’s Village Board meeting. LaMore said she had been out of town and just read the letter Monday. The village received the letter Nov. 21.

Petersen wrote that it was a letter of concern “regarding several unresolved safety and compliance matters associated with the Gotion Illinois lithium-iron battery manufacturing facility located at 333. S. Spruce.”

In the letter, Petersen listed six outstanding issues:

• An industrial fire brigade has not been established despite the facility’s high-hazard classification and applicable regulatory requirements.
• An emergency action plan is outstanding. An EAP hasn’t been finalized and submitted.
• Sprinkler holding tank inspection reports have not been received.
• A bi-directional amplifier system has not been verified. The BDA is critical for emergency responder radio communications.
• A certificate of occupancy contingencies is unresolved. The fire district cannot issue a certificate until a fire protection and safety compliance agreement is executed.
• A Station 3 partnership proposal has not been addressed. Gotion hasn’t indicated acceptance or proposed any viable alternative.

Board members agreed to hold a special meeting at 6 p.m. Monday, Dec. 8, to address the ongoing concerns.

“I think we should invite Mr. Kreusel to come to that meeting, and also the fire chief, because we need to get this taken care of,” Trustee Joel Gesky said.

Joe Cainkar, the village of Manteno’s attorney, said all parties involved have been in discussion about the issues.

“I do know there’s a lot of back-and-forth between the village, the district and Gotion regarding those issues, so I know they’re ongoing,” he said.

Gotion sent a statement via email to the Daily Journal: “We remain steadfast in our commitment to ensuring the highest standards of safety within our plant, safeguarding both our employees and the Manteno community. We welcome the opportunity to continue working collaboratively with the village and the Manteno fire department to address any outstanding matters.”

LaMore stressed that these issues are about the safety of the village.

“This is very, very important, so thank you for listening, and we all need to be aware of what’s happening,” she said.

Petersen wrote in his letter that if the issues remain unresolved, the fire district’s next course of action may include requesting a tax abatement compliance review and all other legal options.

“The fire district remains committed to working collaboratively with the village and Gotion to resolve these issues promptly,” Petersen wrote. “Our goal is not confrontation, but the establishment of a clear, enforceable and sustainable safety framework that protects the facility, its workforce and the broader community, and to require Gotion to adhere to the commitments it made when seeking district, village and community approval.”

Gotion currently operates five main production lines. In addition to mobile chargers used electronic vehicles, the plant also manufactures energy-storage systems for commercial, industrial and residential entities.