Not so fast on the Wabash Valley Regional Water Commission disbanding just yet. Last night was expected to be the final meeting for the commission which was formed to explore the possibility of building a regional water plant for Mt. Carmel, Albion, Grayville, and Keensburg.
But, those plans were blown up last month when Albion’s City Council voted to pull out of the commission, effectively ending any hopes of the regional plan moving forward.
At last night’s meeting, commission member Quentin Speir of Albion made a motion to disband the commission, but the motion died for a lack of a second after other members questioned whether disbanding at this point could cause problems with outstanding bills left to be paid.
One of those bills is for a $5,000 preliminary engineering report from LAMAC Engineering. Grayville Mayor Joe Bisch who oversaw last night’s meeting in the absence of chairman Justin Dulgar, said he would talk with LAMAC representatives to see what the status of the charge is. So far, LAMAC has been paid $35,000 for work on the regional proposal. Bisch said after that determination is made and legal counsel is sought to properly shut down the commission, a special meeting will be called to do exactly that.
Albion Representative Quentin Speir looks on as Grayville Mayor Joe Bisch speaks at Thursday's Wabash Valley Regional Water Commission meeting.