City Has No ‘Out Of Pocket Expenses’ To Date For Decommissioning Old Power Plant

By Gordon HopkinsAccording to Fairbury Mayor Spencer Brown, “the City has not had any out of pocket expenses” for the removal of several portions of the defunct municipal power plant.The power plant was shut down several years ago and the power plant’s cooling tower was dismantled at the end of 2021. In 2022, then-City Administrator Jacob Matthews reported that the remaining municipal power plant assets no longer serve a practical purpose, but could constitute future liability and maintenance expense. Matthews wrote, “It is believed these assets could potentially generate at least $120,000 dollars.”Therefore, the City Council voted unanimously to sell or dispose of the remaining components of the power plant at a meeting of the Council on Tuesday, August 16, 2022. The City of Fairbury signed a contract with Industrial Engineering Solutions (IES) for the purchase of three turbines, three condensers, three generators and one air compressor.Also included in the agreement was the draining and demolition of an oil tank, which still contained some oil. On January 25, 2022, the Line Department received a quote of $129,651 to move, clean, and demolish the Storage Tank. Matthews wrote in a memorandum, “Selling this non-performing asset with other non-performing assets would create significant value for the City of Fairbury.”IES hired oil collection contractors, Midwest Torching and Maintenance, to pump out the remaining oil in the storage tank, as well as dismantle and haul away the tank, itself. While the tank is gone, some barrels of oil remain at the site.IES agreed to pay $120,000. Thus far, the city has received a $12,000 down-payment.Mayor Brown told FJN, “The rest is pending payment, there is also some more work to be completed by IES. I do not have a time line to share at this point.”

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