Village Board OKs Deal To Sell Off Water Services In Part Of Frankfort

FRANKFORT, IL — The Frankfort Village Board of Trustees at its Monday meeting approved an ordinance that would allow for the sale of a portion of the Village's water and wastewater systems to Aqua Illinois, Inc.

The $1.4 million sale would affect residents in the Timber Ridge Estates subdivision, which has approximately 711 connections, according to Village documents. The Timber Ridge Estates subdivision is located south of Old Plank Road Trail between Harlem Avenue and Ridgeland Avenue.

Any sale would first need to be approved by the Illinois Commerce Commission, which could take up to seven to nine months to issue a decision, according to a representative from Aqua Illinois who spoke at the meeting.

If the deal is approved by the ICC, then services and billing would be turned over to Aqua Illinois within seven days of the closing of the deal.

The ordinance for the sale was brought before the Village Board following a recommendation from the July 13 Committee of the Whole meeting.

The Committee of the Whole determined at that meeting that the Timber Ridge Estates water and wastewater systems that supply those services were "no longer necessary or useful to the Village of Frankfort," and that the Village would be best served by agreeing to the sale, according to Village documents.

Village Trustees Michael Leddin, Eugene Savaria, Margaret Farina and Daniel Rossi voted to approve the ordinance. Trustees Adam Borrelli and Jessica Petrow were absent. Mayor Keith Ogle also voted to approve the ordinance because five affirmative votes were needed for it to pass.

Aqua Illinois, Inc. provides water services to around 273,000 people across 13 counties in Illinois, according to information on the company's website.