St. Jacob to receive $187,500 in loan forgiveness for sewer relining project
By Stephanie Malench
The St. Jacob Village Board met on Aug. 6, with two major pieces of written communication distributed to board members. The first was a letter of resignation emailed by Guideon Richeson. There was no vote or discussion. The second piece of correspondence was a letter from Village Clerk Kathy Becker to all board members reminding them of the oath of office they took at the beginning of their term and they are not above the law.
The majority of the meeting was spent discussing three major projects that are in various stages of planning and funding.
The first was about a $250,000 Safe Routes to School (SRTS) grant application for the priority path section from Meadows Subdivision to St. Jacob Elementary School through the St. Jacob Township Park’s new property. Jody Shaw with Oates and Associates Because the priority project is part of the larger plan connecting St. Jacob Township park with Tri-Township Park in Troy, the village would be eligible to apply for the Agency for Community Transit (ACT) grant and Metro-East Park and Recreation District (MEPRD) grant to cover the remainder of the total project cost of $415,000 which includes $90,000 design/construction administration fees (engineering) and the balance of the $75,000 of the project cost not covered by the SRTS grant, in theory bringing the village’s cost to $0.
During discussion, trustees George Gavlick and Nick Timmons and Village Attorney James Craney raised concerns about how the reimbursement program would work for this project, as the full cost would be nearly one-quarter of the village’s total cash on hand. They wanted to know if there would be one invoice to be paid for the full amount and how long it would take for reimbursements to occur. The grant winners would be announced in summer of 2026, and construction would have to start within 18 months. Timmons was concerned with the cash reserves since payments will be made to the EPA for the sewer relining project that this would be a burden.
Because Shaw did not have answers to all the board’s concerns, the board voted not to approve the resolution in support of the SRTS grant with only Nathan Schmidt voting to approve the resolution. Craney asked what the joint funding agreement looked like. Shaw said that would not be issued until the grant is awarded.
The board asked Shaw to come back to the next meeting with the answers and they would hopefully approve the resolution at that time.
Bob Massa with Juno and Associates gave updates on the Mill Pond restroom project and the sewer relining project. All the materials are in for the restroom to be built, and it is scheduled to be assembled after Tardis’ current structure is completed. Massa said the only item the village needs to complete besides site prep is choosing what color the unit is.
Timmons and Gavlick were concerned about the costs of the concrete and how much of a pour that included. Massa said the structure would sit on four piers and setting it on a pad was not recommended. Timmons reminded the board that they already paid $22,000 in engineering fees and the board is now worried about how they are going to pay for the project.
Mayor Richard Schiefer suggested that they get the structure delivered then worry about how much of the other concrete work they can afford.
The final project Massa gave an update on was the sewer relining. The EPA approved the project with an estimated cost of $1.34 million, a projected loan amount of $1.25 million and $187,000 in loan forgiveness. Massa told the board not to be concerned about the difference between the projected loan amount and the estimated cost, as the EPA will write the loan based on approved engineering contracts and the contractor’s bid plus 3%.
After a final meeting between Juno and village staff, requests for bids will need to remain open for 45 days. The EPA will then take up to 30 days to approve the bid then cut the check. Massa projected the project would happen this winter, which is best due to less rain and lower infiltration risks.
The board decided not to act on an offer from Ameren to have an energy audit for LED lighting in advance of the ban of fluorescent bulbs beginning on January 1, 2026, as they have already switched the village hall and activity center to LED lights and are getting ready to install LED fixtures in the public works building. They also decided not to reinstate the 1% sales tax on groceries that the state is discontinuing since they received little money from the tax due to only having Dollar General in the village.
The police department wrote 11 tickets and collected $362 in fees and fines since the July 16 meeting.
Timmons reported that he attended a meeting at Madison County for streets with Adam Walden, ACT Director SJ Morrison and Madison County Board Committee Chair Bobby Ross to find grants for streets. He learned about a new option, an STP block grant that takes 2-3 years to plan. Timmons also announced that oil and chip is scheduled for September 10 if Reuters has the milling done beforehand.
The next meeting is Aug. 20 at 6:30 p.m. in village hall.
