Kendall County Times

At the Jan 3. meeting of the Joliet city council, Councilman Larry Hug, chairman of the Public Services committee, gave a report on some recent agreements made. Most of them were for contracts regarding motor fuel or diesel fuel for the city fleet and machines. The rest of them were regarding  chemicals and substances used in the water treatment process.

Council was told that last year the city almost ran out of chemical supplies for water treatment for the year, coming up about two weeks short from its supplier. Another company stepped in and helped it finish out the year without a shortage. The city has negotiated extensions for the various chemicals with these companies, and so far they are having a very good experience with them.

The company agreed to market-rate prices for the chemicals they supply to the city, with the stipulation that if the prices change, either going up or down, the bill to the city would reflect that. Hug shared that the prices for two of the chemicals had already taken a downturn since that agreement and the company changed their billing accordingly, decreasing the price for the city as they had agreed.

“So they're keeping their word,” Hug told council. “These are companies that have integrity. So we went through all of the chemicals and we looked at all the contracts available and negotiated for an extension for the next year. Once we get through this year, we can always go to a formal bid on these contracts the year following, depending on the economy, depending on the volatility of the economy and the supply chain.”

In other business, council voted to approve an ordinance to prohibit using ground water around 818 East Cass St. as a portable water supply.

Councilmember Pat Mudron was absent from the meeting.

The council will meet again at 6:30 p.m. on Jan. 17 at 150 West Jefferson St.