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Referendum for New Public Works Garage
» Terry Gatlin - Beecher Herald - October 16, 2008


At its Monday meeting, Beecher Village Board members and the public were shown a video presentation on the present Public Works Facility and the need for a new Public Works Facility.

Following the presentation, an architect's rendition of what the new facility would look like, and a financial presentation on Beecher's ability to finance such a structure, a question and answer time was given to the public.

On November 4, the following referendum question will appear on the ballots of Beecher:

"Shall bonds in the amount of $1,100,000 be issued by the Village of Beecher, Will County, Illinois, for the purpose of constructing, furnishing, and equipping a new public works facility at a site to be located in the Village and renovate roads, water and sewer systems within the Village and for the purpose of paying the costs thereof, bearing interest at a rate not to exceed 9% per annum?"

The issue of a new public works facility has arisen because the present garage is not large enough to house the equipment needed to provide services to the growing community. The present facility was obtained when the Washington Township Highway Department moved from its facility at 380 Ahrens Drive to its new facility, just north of Indiana Avenue.

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The new township building houses the Washington Township offices, the township highway trucks, and the buses for Beecher schools.

The proposed public works facility will be located on village property just south of the township building. The size of the building will triple the amount of space available on Ahrens Drive. The present facility has 5,638 square feet. Pictures of the present facility show that the bathroom also serves as a place to heat food and contains storage lockers.

The present public works garage is not large enough to house the trucks and equipment needed for services to the village. The present garage is located on the sewer plant property. The sewer plant will need to be enlarged in the coming years to handle the increasing demand from more houses and buildings in the village. The current public works garage will be needed to handle the increase to the sewer plant.

Public works employees now need to move vehicles in and out of the garage to get to the equipment they need to work with. Also, the public works supervisor, who has computer access to records, does not have a secure room in which to work.

The proposed new facility will provide 15,066 square feet of space, compared to the 5,638 square feet in the present garage. Features of the new facility will include a parts room, repair shop, tool room, lunchroom, locker and shower room, and superintendent's office. A second floor area will provide a place to store seasonal items, such as banners, decorations and other items used seasonally or occasionally.

A new facility will allow employees to work on the repairs to the trucks and keep them in good running condition.

If a new facility were built near the Washington Township Center, the trucks would not need to make back-and-forth trips to get salt and sand during the winter season. Those things are stored in the domed building at the township building. The village also shares access to a joint fuel system, which means trucks would not have to make a trip to the township center to fuel up, thus saving gas.

The joint fueling station at the township center serves the police cars, fire department trucks, highway department trucks, school buses and village trucks. This kind of joint effort among all the departments allows a lower fuel cost to the various departments.

Where will this money come from to build this new facility? Currently, village residents pay $42.88 per year to pay off the bonds for the pond bond. When those are paid off this year, the new bonds would require the same amount from each resident. There would be no increase in taxes. The debt service for these new bonds would be locked in for 10 years.

According to Brad Townsend, of Ehlers, a financial consultant hired by the village, the village will have no problem, even considering the current financial situation of the country, in making payments on the bonds. Ehlers took into consideration the tax rate and the estimated Equalized Assessed Valuation in its calculations. Ehlers is a very conservative company, according to Beecher Village Administrator Bob Barber.

"As conditions improve," said Townsend, "the village could pay off the bonds earlier, if conditions warrant."

"If the citizens vote not to approve this proposal, we would be faced with the prospect of expanding the sewer plant and building a new public works facility down the road," said Beecher Village President Paul Lohmann. In a few years, the new public works facility would cost more than we presently plan for, said Barber.

At the next village board meeting on October 27, the same video presentation will be shown again and there will be a public hearing. After that, it will be up to the voters on November 4.

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