Power last hurdle for long-awaited Toulon lift station

By JOHN A. BALLENTINE
For The Prairie News

TOULON – The end of the sewer saga is in sight.

At the Jan. 9 Toulon monthly council meeting, City Engineer Zach Knight said, “Our lift station is finally going to be here on Wednesday [Jan. 11] and I confirmed that with Stark [Excavating]. They intend once it’s delivered to basically complete the installation. Piping and electrical hookups will be done and the next huge step after that will be the startup.”

Water will be sent into the lift station to test the pumps and controls. This step is still being scheduled, Knight said. He added that Stark will likely take five business days to install the station.

The problem with all of this “good news” is that Ameren has to supply electrical power to the station for it to function. It was conjectured that it may be several weeks for Ameren to start that process.
In a related note, Stark has submitted another payment request for $146,760 for asphalt work completed on the roadway. The council discussed the inflationary prices of this project and concluded that the payments to Stark have to be done even though Stark is over the project’s time deadline. The deadline was extended to the first part of last December. The board approved the payment request.
Cemetery fees will be increasing soon to open and close grave sites in Toulon’s cemetery. The council passed an ordinance increasing the fees and Mayor Larry Hollis said Toulon raised fees because the Wyoming Monument Company recently increased their pricing.

Grave openings will be increased $100 from $600 to $700 for Monday to Saturday. Sundays and holidays are increased from $1,200 to $1,350. Baby grave openings and the burial of cremated remains will be $350 from $300 Monday to Saturday and $650 from $550 Sundays and holidays. Lastly, if a grave opening or burial is after 2 pm., then a $100 surcharge is applied to the previous rates discussed.
The sewer lines for the new Dollar General store in Toulon on Illinois Route 91 near the Route 17 intersection will now be run on the east side of Route 91 and across the intersection via boring to a Union St. sewer line hookup. Hollis said the original idea was to hook into a sewer line just west of the new store, but that the sewer line shown on maps actually doesn’t exist. That realization led to the change of plans.

The culvert on East Jefferson Street near Union Street that requires replacement has a timeline of a February-March bid letting and a projected construction street date of April 1.

The city is selling an excess property on Jefferson Street with a March 13 bid opening schedule.
The council also approved a $1,000 donation to the Stark County Elementary School Parents’ Club as its annual contribution.