Lumber Yard, Electricity Rates Addressed at Town Hall Meeting

Although only a handful of residents came to the Village Board's latest town hall meeting Saturday, a number of issues were addressed, including the new electricity provider, transportation issues and the old lumber yard buildings at Cedar and Route 30.

The village holds four such town hall meetings each year, with the focus of each one being on a different quadrant of the village. However, anyone can come ask questions regardless of where they live in town. Here's what was discussed this weekend:

Old Lumber Yards

The deteriorated buildings slightly northeast of Route 30 and Cedar Road are an "eyesore and a safety issue," Mayor Tim Baldermann said, but it'll take a bit more time to tear them down.

The owner of that property was given one year to take down all the lumber yard buildings, but that clock ran out in May. Now, the village is seeking bids to take them down and then would lien that property so the owner will be in debt to the village.

The Hickory Creek there, however, has been subject to terrible flooding over the years and the village is first conducting studies to ensure that it doesn’t get worse when the buildings are down.

New Electricity Provider

On Thursday, the village announced that it partnered with Direct Energy as its new electricty provider. For the October 2011 through September 2013 billing cycles, , helping them save on current rates, which Excelon provides for about 7.8 cents per kWh.

John Miner, of US Veteran Energy in New Lenox, was upset he couldn't get in on the bidding process when the village selected from eight bids. He said he gets a rate of 5.8 cents for small businesses now, which is lower than 5.89 offered by Direct Energy. However, the village worked with another aggregator to find the lowest bids in the area. "We're comfortable with what we've got," Baldermann said.

For residents who have already switched to another provider besides Excelon, they will still be able to drop their service and enroll with Direct Energy if they want. People currently getting Excelon service through ComEd will be automatically enrolled in the new program unless they opt out. 

Nelson Road Extension

Voss Properties owns the undeveloped land in between Haven and Illinois Highway, where the road extension would run through. It plans to build homes on the land, but the project is at a standstill.

At a previous town hall meeting, Baldermann said Voss wanted to construct homes first and then extend the road, and the village rejected that plan. He said the village even offered to pay for the extension and allow Voss to pay back the money later, but the company didn't want to do that.

Baldermann said at Saturday's meeting that the board still believes this project is a priority and he hopes they can work out a deal with the developer.

Route 6 and Parker Road

A couple residents voiced concern that there isn't a stop light at the intersection of Route 6 and Parker Road on the north end of town. Especially as the Silver Cross Hospital and other shopping developments come to that area, traffic control will be a priority.

“It’s a horrible intersection without malls and hospitals," Baldermann said. However, it’s the county’s property, and though the village has communicated with the county about that intersection, there hasn't been much movement.

The mayor encouraged residents who want a traffic light there to call our county representatives Tom Weigel, Laurie Smith and Jim Moustis. Find the county representatives' contact information here.