Some of the contractors hired to work on the city’s upcoming water system upgrade must be female- or minority-owned businesses, the City Council decided this week.
Aldermen unanimously approved an ordinance requiring three changes to a contract to manage the $16 million project awarded last month to Odell Engineering of Sugar Grove.
Meeting Illinois’ affirmative action requirements was one change; the others require Odell to allow access to project records for auditing and to agree not to charge contingent fees. All the changes were mandated by the Illinois Environmental Protection Agency as a condition of granting the city low-interest loans to fund the project. Other funding will come from a 40 percent hike in water rates that took effect Jan. 1.
The project includes a new water treatment plant at Fabyan Parkway and Windham Drive, said City Administrator William McGrath.
The project will also bring Batavia into compliance with new federal limits on radium in the public water supply.
The work will begin in April or May and end in late fall, McGrath said. It will affect residents throughout the city at least part of the time. Public Works Department staff members will send notices to neighborhoods warning them when construction will affect their areas, he said.
