Skip to content

Alderman shows initiative

Vandalia officials learned on Monday night that their hopes for a quick, simple and inexpensive fix to the ongoing problem with the city’s raw water intake on the Kaskaskia River had been dashed.
But the failure to find such a fix wasn’t due to a lack of effort.
At some point, it may be worth it for the city to fix the problem, though the need to do so may be moot if the city can work out an agreement with the Kaskaskia Springs Water Co. that is cost-effective.
While the effort to remedy the intake problem wasn’t successful, it points out something good going on in city government.
Terry Beesley, chairman of the city council’s water and sewer committee, took it upon himself to contact several agencies, to see if he could find some free help with the intake.
After being rebuffed by several agencies, Beesley, who serves as chairman of the water and sewer committee, learned that a representative of the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers was willing to offer the free help he was seeking.
That individual came out to Vandalia to inspect the intake area, and he also reviewed documents that were used for the project. In the end, he couldn’t offer any cheap and easy solutions.
But it’s worth noting that we have an alderman willing to not only roll up his sleeves and do some hard work, but to take some initiative.
Nobody had been pushing Beesley to find a way to fix the problem. In fact, there really have not been any discussions by the council about the intake.
It’s used when operable; at other times, the city turns to Vandalia Lake to serve its water customers.
But, wondering if he could find a way to improve the city’s water production and distribution without costing the city a boatload of money, Beesley went looking.
While his work didn’t pay off this time, Beesley is to be commended for his effort.
With that kind of initiative, he – and other city officials who follow his lead – are bound to come up with some ideas that will help the city.
rb
 

Leave a Comment