Gotion responded on Monday to several issues that were brought to the forefront in December about fire and safety issues at its lithium battery manufacturing plant at 333 S. Spruce St. in Manteno.

During the public comment portion of the Manteno Village Board meeting, Andy Wheeler, head of public relations for Gotion, updated the trustees, mayor and public on what the company has done to allay concerns about the safety issues.

“Gotion Illinois has been working closely with the village and Manteno Fire Protection District, and I’m pleased to report that we have resolutions on all the outstanding items regarding fire safety of the plant,” Wheeler said.

Manteno Mayor Annette LaMore read Manteno Fire Protection District Fire Chief Richard Petersen’s two-page letter dated Nov. 19 during the Dec. 1 village board meeting on the issues. LaMore said she had been out of town and just read the letter that day. The village received the letter Nov. 21.

Wheeler outlined what Gotion has completed since the issues were brought up and after a Dec. 8 special board meeting. The issues were the establishment of a fire brigade on site, having an emergency action plan in place, sprinkler holding tank inspection report, and a bi-directional amplifier (BDA) system for emergency responder radio communications.

Wheeler said a fire brigade is in place with experienced firefighters and a fire marshal. It’s waiting on final village approval.

“We also have a certified fire truck in place at the plant, one that could be used inside the facility as well on the exterior,” he said. “It’s a big pumper that we purchased from on the East Coast. We will continue to hire as our operations at the plant grow, and we will be updating the fire district on a weekly basis.”

An emergency action plan (EAP) is also in place, Wheeler said. The EAP has been approved by all parties, including B&F Construction Code Services of Elgin, who has been contracted by the village to ensure all fire and safety codes are met.

“We’ll be reviewing that as a matter of practice and updating it always, so everybody’s on the same page,” he said.

The inspection for the sprinkler holding tank, which is a backup to the water supply at the plant, has been completed, Gotion is waiting on the final approval from B&F and the village.

The BDA, which is used for emergencies in the plant, has been tested and is functional. The final inspection of the system is set for Jan. 13.

“They have to come in and do the inspection and permitting all at once,” Wheeler said.

Wheeler also distributed an updated Q&A on Gotion from what is manufacturing at the plant to if there are any planned expansions.

The village will be meeting at 3:30 p.m. Thursday at Gotion to finalize the agreement on the fire brigade and all what Gotion will provide and what the fire district will accept.

“We should be able to come to a resolution on that coming out of that meeting on Thursday,” village administrator Chris LaRocque said.

The village is also looking to make the fire brigade at Gotion a requirement.

“My concern is, is we give them occupancy permit and all of a sudden the next management regime comes in and says, ‘there’s a cost saving method and we’re going to get rid of this fire brigade that was put into place,’” Trustee Joel Gesky said. “How do we ensure that that stays in place and that we have the ability to make sure?”

Joe Cainkar, village attorney, said Manteno would have to make it part of the village code. The village is going to work to adopt it as part of the code.