Here’s tonight’s Mayor’s Report:
I’m meeting with Steve Bryant, the Regional Manager of Energy and Government Affairs of Good Energy, LP on Thursday. Good Energy is a national leader in government energy-aggregation strategies. I believe we are facing a challenging natural gas market in the immediate days ahead and Steve advises many of the communities in Southern Illinois including Olney, Salem, Edwardsville and Alton. If I believe Bryant is a good fit, I will bring him to the Gas committee.
IDOT says the price of doing Route 15 through Fairfield has gone up since it bid the project last year. Now the city’s original $645,000 bill for finishing the connecting roads between Main and Delaware will cost $787,000. They say the price of asphalt has gone up. IDOT is also offering to stretch the project on to Commerce Drive. Originally, the resurfacing ended at Airport Road. We have until the end of the year to answer.
The U.S. Census says Fairfield officially now has 4,883 residents. That is down from 5,154 in 2010 and 5,421 in 2000. So we have dropped 538 citizens in 20 years. One analysis from the George Washington Institute of Public Policy revealed that the median loss for each person missed in the census could cost local government $1,000 annually. Such an analysis might be low in a city like ours where we control all utilities. There is no doubt this will have a negative impact on future city budgets.
Alderman Reever and Libby Lingafelter will travel with me to Carmi on Wednesday to visit Burrell Woods RV Park which is owned and operated by the city. It features 30 easily accessible RV pads, electric hook-ups and a sanitary sewer. We will also look at the city’s adjoining dog park. The Carmi community raised $20,000 to build their dog park.
“Coffee With The Mayor” is set for 7:00-9:00 AM next Monday at McDonald’s.
