The first City Council meeting for the City of Knoxville in 2018 was a short one. Besides approving minutes and signing off on the City’s new sexual harassment policy, the bulk of the meeting Tuesday night was spent discussing replacing lead water service lines in town.
Engineer Kevan Cooper presented the council with information on the Lead Service Line Replacement principle forgiveness program through the State. The program is set to open up statewide soon – but Knoxville’s program will differ from that of Galesburg’s. “The way this project would work for Knoxville, you apply for the loan and 50% would be forgiven up to $1 million.” According to Cooper’s research, 158 homes in Knoxville have lead water service lines – but he expects there are many more. Based on Galesburg’s numbers, the cost to replace a line is $4,000 for an estimated 200 Knoxville homes. With 50% of the principle being forgiven through the program, the cost would be roughly $400,000. Cooper added that using the 20 year loan, with 2% interest, it would cost the City $24,400 dollars a year. The council decided to move forward with the program – which by spring, would need council approval on borrowing the money for the project.
