DeKALB — The DeKalb City Council invited Cub Scout Pack 131 to lead the Pledge of Allegiance as part of the America 250 celebrations, giving kids the opportunity to take part in commemorating the 250th anniversary of the signing of the Declaration of Independence.
City manager acquired authorization to negotiate agreement for wholesale electricity distribution
On Monday, City Manager Bill Nicklas acquired the authorization to negotiate and execute an agreement for wholesale electricity distribution to water facilities and street lighting for the city.
The Public Works Department began using LED lights over the past six years to conserve energy with the help of ComEd.
DeKalb Public Works Director Andy Raih said a majority of DeKalb’s street lights are owned and operated by ComEd.
“We’re actually just renting their equipment and paying the electric bill,” Raih said.
This lighting system has promoted an 80% to 90% decrease in energy consumption by the city of DeKalb since its installation in 2020.
Residents who notice streetlight outages should report them to the city’s public works department rather than contacting ComEd directly.
Approval of transportation improvement program for DeKalb Municipal Airport
The DeKalb City Council approved the Transportation Improvement Program (TIP) for the DeKalb Municipal Airport covering fiscal years 2027 to 2031.
TIP is an ongoing project to improve the city’s transportation system by updating and fixing existing transit issues.
City Manager Bill Nicklas said the top priority is installing a new weather reporting system, as the current equipment is too outdated to operate reliably.
“We need to proceed with due haste to get this back up; it doesn’t affect the general aviation flyer, but it does impact those larger jets that come in,” Nicklas said.
Approval of 2020 Action Plan for Community Development Block Grant
The city plans to allocate $63,740 to the Community Development Block Grant this year, amending the 2020 Annual Action Plan and using remaining funds to support local service agencies addressing priority community needs through the end of the year.
“There are some residual funds that we are obligated to spend by the end of this fiscal year, and we intend to do that,” Nicklas said.
During the meeting, Nicklas said that the Farmworkers and Landscaper Advocacy Project was removed from the list of grant recipients, reducing the total allocation to $47,500. Of that amount, $16,000 will be directed toward owner-occupied home repair, primarily addressing issues such as damaged roofs, faulty radiators and other necessary fixes.
Upcoming City Council meeting details can be found on their calendar website.
