ROCHELLE — The purchases of a utility work machine, LED streetlights, Elster REX-U electric meters and the approval of a loan with the Illinois EPA highlighted Monday’s Rochelle City Council meeting. The city council also retained Adam Lanning as primary board member and appointed Adriana Milan as alternate board member to the Rock River Watershed Group.

Council members approved a resolution allowing the city to borrow up to $9 million from the IEPA Water Pollution Control Loan Program for Phase 2 of the Water Reclamation Treatment Plant Improvements. The estimated cost of the engineering project is $7,038,000.

Willett Hoffman & Associates is currently working on the design for the Phase 2 improvements, which include biological nutrient removal upgrades, rehabilitation of the final clarifiers, replacement of the tertiary sand filters with cloth media filters, rehabilitation of the excess flow lagoons, the addition of a fine screen unit to the second influent channel in the headworks building and piping modifications so the anaerobic lagoon effluent can be screened.

Council members approved two resolutions with Wesco Distribution, one for 60 LED streetlights amounting $151,488 and another for 880 Elster REX-U electric meters amounting $108,680. The new electric meters will replace outdated analog meters and the new LED streetlights will be installed in downtown Rochelle and in other areas of the city.

Council members approved a resolution amounting $49,806.43 for a new Bobcat Toolcat 5600 from CSR Bobcat. The city street and cemetery divisions currently share a skid loader, which has created reduced efficiency and production for each division. The new Bobcat utility work machine is a compact vehicle with a front loader that can operate hydraulic tool attachments.