Board of Trustees

Village of Peoria Heights Board of Trustees March 23, 2026 The meeting was called to order at 5:30 p.m. Everyone stood for a moment of silence and the Pledge to the Flag. Upon calling roll, the following Trustees were present: Nate Steinwedel, Teresa Symmonds, Sarah DeVore, Brandon Wisenburg, and Jen Reichert. Trustee Elizabeth Khazzam was absent. Others present included Mayor Matt Wigginton, Administrator Dustin Sutton, Village Clerk Stephanie Turner, Superintendent of Public Works Chris Chandler, and Interim Fire Chief Austin Szentes. Mayor Wigginton noted Clerk Turner had correspondence as part of public comment. Clerk Turner read correspondence from Mr. Nick Warren and Ms. Paige Sweet. They have recently purchased a home in the Village and requested a special exemption moving up the replacement of their home’s lead service line. Mayor Wigginton opened the meeting to public comment. Hearing no public comments, he closed the meeting to public comment and moved on to new business. Trustee Symmonds made a motion to approve Resolution 2026-02: a Resolution Authorizing the Village of Peoria Heights, Peoria County, Illinois to Submit Funding Application for Financing Replacement of Lead Service Lines. Trustee Wisenburg seconded the motion. Trustee Symmonds explained the Village needed to determine its next year's funding request from Illinois EPA. She noted this was the final year of possible federal funding. Trustee Symmonds shared an update of the previously awarded funding for replacements as well as the remaining number of unidentified service lines. The Board discussed the funding source as well as methods for reducing costs by completing work internally. Trustee Symmonds reminded the Board that the Village needed to decide how much funding to seek from IEPA. Mr. Mark Lee, engineering consultant for the Village, came forward to speak about the situation. Mayor Wigginton asked for a recommendation from the Village’s consultants. Ms. Jacki Hudnall, Woodard and Curran, spoke about the various funding options. Trustee DeVore expressed she didn’t want to seek more funding than work that could reasonably be completed. Trustee DeVore questioned why the Board was at a special meeting when the topics had been under discussion for years. Mr. Lee stated Woodard and Curran had received additional information encouraging their clients to seek additional funding. The Board discussed funding sources and water rates as related to the Waterworks Capital Improvement Plan. Trustee Symmonds made a motion to amend Section 2 from $10,000,000 to $6,000,000. Trustee Steinwedel seconded the motion. The amendment passed 5-0. The Board approved Resolution 2026-02 as amended 5-0. Trustee Wisenburg asked if the Board would be discussing the correspondence read previously in the meeting. Trustee Wisenburg expressed he’d like the Village to remain open to the request. Trustee Symmonds commended Ms. Smesrud for her professional response. She noted the Village couldn’t accommodate the request because it already had a list determined. She expressed that the resident could replace their private side. The Village would then be required to replace the public side. The Village wouldn’t be able to reimburse the homeowner for the private replacement. Trustee Symmonds noted the complications from allowing private replacement of lines and determining order of replacement. Mr. Lee explained the price per line for a large project such as the Village replacements will be much lower than a private replacement. Superintendent Chandler explained IEPA determines the order of the list based on demographic information. Trustee DeVore made a motion to adjourn. Trustee Reichert seconded the motion. The Board of Trustees voted 5-0 to adjourn at 6:31 p.m. ____________________________________ ______________________________________ Matthew Wigginton, Mayor Stephanie Turner, Village Clerk