Fellow Village Residents,

When I started here in the Village five and a half years ago, I said there are three things all residents what from their local Government, they want their snow plowed, their trash collected, and their toilet to flush. That has not changed and probably never will.

The backbone of every well-functioning community is its infrastructure. So, managing a community such as Reese we need to keep our eyes on the things most people never see or give a thought about, the physical systems that enable our daily lives like the sanitary sewer system as well as sidewalks and roads where weather, age and neglect takes its toll. A lengthy five-year plan was developed by our DPW Supervisor Gene, our report from the saw grant findings and me.

 I will say if any of these infrastructures had failed, our way of life would be disrupted beyond belief. We hope by implementing this plan we can maintain the quality of life we enjoy here in the Village well into the future. Some of these projects are the saw grant I just mentioned where we were given funds to clean, camera and document our entire sanitary system as well as our storm drain system. With this information we were able to identify areas of leakage, prioritize them and fix the leaks over a three-year period. We installed boots at breaks, joint misalignments, and leakage where residents connected to the system. We also relined about three quarters of a mile of sanitary sewer with a full liner. All these repairs should have a 50-year life expectancy. We continue trying to resolve the M-81storm water flooding in the Rhodes and Gugino St. area as well as find funding for this estimated $900,000-to-one-million-dollar project.

We also added a cross connection to the storm drain system at Woodruff and Gates to improve drainage in that area as well as replaced some storm sewer where roots had destroyed the drain tile.

We repaved S. Reese Rd, the East half of Center St, replaced sections of Williams, Hudson and East St. Crack sealed the Village office parking lot, the Village parking across from Dunn Hardware and the firehall parking lot as well as the old tennis court which is now used for RC racing and pickle ball. We are seeking bids for crack seal for much of our newer paved roads as well as all Village owned off street parking. We’re looking over the next three years of repaving Rohloff Dr., Daley Dr. and Norwood Subdivision, depending on fund availability. South Van Buren is scheduled under the County with some funds coming from the Village in 2026 or 2027 also depending on their funds.

Were in the process of replacing the main lift station generator on Dixon Rd, and we installed a new generator on the fire Station.

As for our lift stations, they pump the sewage through the Village to our lagoon system. These stations along with a series of holding chambers, valves, pumps as well as a backup system and alarm system to protect our system and our way of life.by adding this last generator, all stations have a generator backup on site. We have also replaced many of the valves and impellers with our final project in rebuilding to be completed by summer 2024.

We had a new roof installed on the Village office as well as the heating system replaced, we should also have the AC replaced by summer 2024.

The Village also maintains a fleet of motor vehicles which includes 2 patrol cars, two size dump trucks, a pick-up, a gator, a backhoe, and a small mower tractor. As well as a rescue rig, grass fire rig, 2 pumpers and a tanker.

We as a Village qualify to buy under State purchase so we find ourselves in a position to sell the vehicle and buy a new one with having a vehicle still under warranty and never having to buy a set of tires. We also do scheduled maintenance over the three to 4 years and replace it with new.

The large dump truck was replaced in 2022 and the smaller one which we call the salt truck will be ordered this spring as well with a spring or early summer of 2025 delivery, we purchase one new PD car every 4 years so we will be making a purchase early summer 2024 which will be a 2025 model.

The next big purchase in the DPW will be the Backhoe replacement, we did replace the gator which was over 15 years old and records show we spent a fortune on maintenance over the years so it was determined we should replace these on a regular basis every 2-3 years as well as the small mower tractor. The grasshopper large mower is also starting to cost us more to maintain so will be on the 25-26 budget for replacement and we will try and determine the sweet spot to rotate it out with a replacement.

Finally, we made a change in our trash collection service, GFL has brought stability and dependability back to the Village for trash, recycling, and yard waste removal. Their equipment is safe and clean, their employees are friendly, and they do a great job for the Village.

All said the last five and a half years have been exciting for me as your Village Manager, I said when I was hired “I am the maintenance man, I will work hard at making sure our infrastructure will be safe, dependable and carry the Village well into the future”. We developed a complete infrastructure plan to restore the areas that are failing and maintain by repairing, rebuilding, or replacing worn and outdated infrastructure. This was nothing I did on my own, I quickly got my finger on the pulse of the Village and listened to what it had to say. We worked as a team to develop a prioritized plan and implemented the plan as funds were available. We have not raised taxes and do not see the need soon.

My wife and I moved to our home on North Street in early 2023 and have enjoyed neighbors and friends very much. Thank You for allowing me to serve the Village as I look to the future with my eye on infrastructure as we continue the plan.

 

Thomas H. Raymond CPM

Village Manager

Village of Reese

April 4, 2024