Rutland board approves $5M grant for sewer system, a month after rejecting it

The Rutland Village Board has approved a $5 million grant to install a sanitary sewer system within the community a month after the board voted to reject the same plan.

The plan, which needed the village president to break the tie in a vote on Monday, passed despite objections from some residents and trustees who balked at the notion that it could be recalled for a vote after it had previously failed.

The village was selected for the funds from the Illinois Environmental Protection Agency’s Unsewered Communities Construction Grant Program in February.

Rutland’s sanitary service is treated by septic tanks with effluent draining to drainage fields and field tiles, according to Gov. JB Pritzker’s office.

Trustees Don Kleppin, Tom Mangan and Troy Petrimoulx voted to accept the grant Monday, while Donna Dennis, Kathy Knepp and Samantha Montgomery voted against it. Village President Dan Krischel broke the tie.

Former board member Dorothy Benckendorf, who no longer sits on the board, voted against the plan when it was rejected last month. Dennis, who also voted against it, was not present for the latest vote. Petrimoulx, who voted in favor Monday, was not seated on the board at the time of the initial vote.

“It will improve the quality of life for the residents and bring us up to the standards of every other community around us.”

—  Rutland Village President Dan Krischel

The village will conduct a committee meeting in two weeks to discuss the two options for the sewer.

Krischel said he believed accepting the grant is the best move for residents’ health and safety.

“It will improve the quality of life for the residents and bring us up to the standards of every other community around us,” he said.

The village will have to borrow at least $650,000 beyond the estimated $5.65 million grant.

The project will cost about $5,300 per month for the village to maintain, according to estimates previously discussed with the board. The village will split that among the 125 residents, which figures to about $43 per household month. Other fees would push the sewer bill to about $55 per resident. There will not be a hookup fee.

The Illinois EPA will not let the village use the grant to fix individual septic systems. The agency prefers to work with a single entity (the village) rather than individual homeowners. A requirement of the grant is to create a village-operated system.

During Monday’s meeting, residents and trustees questioned the proceedings, asking how it was possible to vote again after a previous board voted against accepting the grant.

There are no rules in state law or village code prohibiting the village board from reconsidering an agenda item and there is court precedent to allow it, including MacMahon v. Davis and Ceresa v. City of Peru, a village official said.

Krischel said he didn’t turn in the paperwork for the grant immediately after the April 12 meeting, because members of the board wanted to revisit the motion.

Dennis said it shouldn’t matter if board members wanted it to be reconsidered because it was voted down.

“Every vote can be changed,” Krischel said in response.

Dennis, Montogomery and Knepp all expressed concerns about the affordability of the project for not only the village, but also its residents.

“We can’t afford a police department in this town,” Dennis said. “We can’t afford to keep our water tower maintained without going to the bank and getting a loan. How in the heck is this town going to run a sewer?”

Village Clerk Candace Gross Heider said the village has 10 to 12 residents who don’t pay their water bills on time or have racked up late fees. The village had two residents this month who received assistance from non-profit organizations to help pay their water bills.

A member of the public in attendance told the board there are residents living on a fixed income and they “didn’t have any more money” to pay an increased water and sewer bill.

After the village voted to accept the grant, several members of the public began shouting, with one saying she wanted it noted in the minutes that she “totally object to Dan (Krischel) behaving like a dictator.” Another woman said the village president needed to “step down.” About 30 people were in attendance at the American Legion Hall for Monday’s meeting.