Concerned about cost, officials will look at proposal in the future
By Anne Trautner
Staff Writer
The Twin Lakes Village Board has decided against purchasing a mechanical security gate for the village’s wastewater treatment plant.
Instead, trustees approved spending $8,872 for Eagle Roofing to replace the roof on Lift Station 4.
The new roof will be paid for with funds that are in this year’s sewage budget.
In October, the board approved spending up to $13,000 on a mechanical security gate to help keep people out of the treatment plant.
However, after meeting with a gate company, the Village Board decided against that plan. Trustees decided that in order for the gate system to work, two gates would be needed, and there is not enough money in the village’s budget to purchase two gates.
“With just doing the one gate, it just wasn’t really going to meet the functionality that was needed for the plan. We need both gates to open, and so we decided to not spend the money on that project at this time,” Village Administrator Jennifer Frederick said.
The plant is surrounded by barbed wire fencing and currently has two padlocked gates that are open during business hours. The village board was concerned with the possibility of children wandering into the facility and had hoped to be able to purchase a mechanical gate to keep the plant more secure.
By installing an electronic gate control system, the residents could ensure the quality and safety of their living. Along with reduced insurance premiums, this could have also added a better appeal to their property.
“We will just continue our current practices and keep it on our list of potential projects, but it just wasn’t the proper time. The full budget just wasn’t there at this time,” Frederick said.
Because that freed up money in this year’s sewage budget, the board decided instead to replace the roof of Pump Station 4, which is located by the sand bar on the southeast end of Lake Elizabeth on Howden Avenue, Frederick said.
The new roof had been budgeted for next year, but the board decided to cut that out of next year’s budget and go ahead and replace it this year.