Marengo, IL City Council Recap: October 26, 2026

Many restaurant grease traps in Marengo have gone without the annual inspections the city code requires, and some without permits, Public Works Director Tyler Ankney told the City Council on Monday, after grease packed a city sewer line and pushed sewage into a resident's basement last week. The council also accepted a clean audit of the city's finances and closed out two sewer contracts: the first phase of the water and sewer extension finished within about $4,100 of its original price, by the engineer's figures, and this year's sewer lining project finished 37% over its award.

Seven of the eight council members were present; one was absent. One resident spoke during public comment, asking about the renumbering of the city code; staff said section numbers changed but not the substance of the rules.

Many Grease Traps Went Uninspected

Ankney said Public Works was called to a home on West Washington where "a little bit of sewage water got pushed into their basement." Crews found the city's sanitary line "packed full of grease" and cleared it. Looking into why, he said, he found that under the city code, every business with a grease trap should get an annual permit and an annual inspection, and that for a lot of the grease traps on file, "the last time they were inspected was 2024, which is just unacceptable."

The permit requirement dates to December 2005. The city code requires every business with a grease trap to hold a city permit, renewed each year for $75 (nonprofits and public bodies need one too, with the fee waived), and says the city "shall inspect" each one at least once a year.

He said he could not speak to why the inspections were not done, but that the city is taking it seriously. The plan, he said, starts with the businesses known to have filed permits before: get permits filed, get inspections done, and then bring the council a plan, which could include training staff to identify grease traps, updating the code and giving the council enforcement options. He said he would also like to flush the sewer lines tied to grease traps on an annual, if not quarterly, schedule, since "just because you inspect grease traps doesn't mean that grease still doesn't sneak through." He said he believes the health department also keeps an inventory of grease traps, and that working with it to get that data will be part of the process.

Asked by council members, Ankney said the backup involved one home, downstream from McDonald's, and that he had not identified any other restaurants upstream of it from the permits. Asked about problems at the wastewater treatment plant, he said he knew of none personally and would follow up; pressed, he said he could not answer without data, though he would assume grease could be reaching it, given that inspections have not been done in a while. He said he has met with the resident several times. A council member said they and another council member had received calls from the resident.

Clean Audit; Police Pension at 55%

Joseph Troyer of GW & Associates presented the city's audit for the fiscal year that ended April 30, 2026. The firm gave the city an unmodified opinion, which Troyer called "a clean or clear opinion," and each of the city's major funds ended the year with a positive balance. About $13 million in grant money administered by the state's Department of Commerce and Economic Opportunity (DCEO), federal pandemic-relief funds, moved into the water and sewer fund for the extension project.

Two pension numbers stood out in Troyer's walkthrough. The Illinois Municipal Retirement Fund plan that covers city employees other than police is 101.81% funded. The police pension fund, measured the way the audit measures it, went from about 45% funded to about 55% in one year, which Troyer called "huge." The audit shows the fund took in about $2 million in investment income and about $1 million in city contributions during the year; Troyer said the city puts all of its pension levy into the fund and added another $150,000 this year. A funding policy the city and the pension board adopted during the year aims for 90% funded by 2040, and Troyer said the fund is on that track. (The audit counts investments at market value; the headline figure in our July report on the fund came from the actuary's smoothed valuation, a different measure.)

Because the city spent more than $1 million in federal money passed through DCEO, the audit also included a single audit, a closer review of how that money was spent. Troyer said it found no problems. The council voted unanimously to accept the report, and then unanimously to hire GW & Associates again for next year's audit, at up to $26,850 for the annual audit and $4,650 for the single audit. Asked from the audience whether the audit is mandatory, staff said the city is required to have one every year.

Two Sewer Contracts Closed Out

The council unanimously approved the final change orders on two sewer projects, without discussion:

• Water and sewer extension, phase one. A net decrease of $124,428.62 to Swallow Construction's contract brings its final price to $8,359,893.58, about 0.05% over the original award, according to McMahon Associates, the city's engineer. The change order pays for extra work, including unstable soil along the sewer route between West Street and U.S. 20, farm drain tiles struck along Meyer Road, a low-maintenance grass mix on former farm field in the city's easement, drainage and curb work, and moving a boring pit under U.S. 20. It subtracts $297,748.86 because the work actually done came in under the quantities in the bid.
• 2026 sewer lining. An increase of $232,894.73 brings Hoerr Construction's lining contract to $862,472.98, up from the $629,578.25 the council awarded in August. According to McMahon's memo, about $144,000 sets prices for pipe that turned out to be 14 and 17 inches wide rather than the 15 inches on the plans; $62,300 pays for liners at the sewer connections of eight of nine homes on a stretch under U.S. 20, added after talking with city staff, so the road would not have to be dug up; and a net $27,774.93 squares the bid quantities with the work actually done. The memo says the project grew by nearly 3,000 feet of lining because of favorable bid pricing, partly offset by reductions elsewhere.

The final payments on both contracts were on the list of bills the council approved on its consent agenda earlier in the meeting: $862,472.98 to Hoerr and $780,330.16 to Swallow. The $2,858,497.96 bills list also included $782,238.43 in property taxes passed through to the police pension fund, the $153,401 property and liability insurance premium approved October 12, and $48,693 for a new Ford F-150 police vehicle. The consent agenda, which also approved the October 12 minutes, passed unanimously.

The council also unanimously approved a $6,158.96 change order on the water treatment plant addition, for work already done under an expedited staff approval to meet the grant deadline. A ball valve, $2,692.70, stops chlorine from flowing backward through a new transfer pump; the engineer's memo says the Illinois EPA would allow only a small day tank, and McMahon had raised concerns about that setup during permitting. Pipe insulation, $3,466.26, stops condensation dripping from the Well 7 supply line into the new lab. A council member asked whether the problems could have been found ahead of time. Staff said the valve problem had been a concern since permitting and the city had been troubleshooting it with the manufacturer for a couple of months. (The agenda calls this Change Order #9; the attached form is numbered 10.)

Farm Stands

Assistant City Administrator Megan Lopez said the city has seen more home-occupation code violations, a number of them for vegetable farm stands, and asked whether the council wants staff to draft an ordinance allowing them. She said about three people are doing it now, including homeschool families whose children grow and sell produce. Staff said the code does not mention farm stands, and the home-occupation rules say a business cannot be visible from the road. Council members raised liability and stands set up in the public right-of-way, and one asked what rules would apply to anyone selling food off a front porch. One suggested the city look beyond farm stands at the residents selling baked goods from home, and help them with a business incubator in empty downtown storefronts. Lopez said she would research what other towns do and bring back draft language for discussion. No vote was taken.

Around Town

• The mayor said the street resurfacing is done for the season apart from a little work to wrap up. Schroeder Asphalt returns this week for grass and gravel shoulders and plans to finish pavement markings by the end of the week, a representative of McMahon Associates said. On Meyer Road, markings go back where they were before; that is the extent of the project's scope.
• For next year, staff mentioned Chapel Street, which the city knows needs work, as one option, not a decision: a full rebuild including water main and sanitary sewer. Staff said it has been on the radar for a couple of years. The city will try to bid next year's street work earlier, for the start of the season, and the program will move to Ankney, with the mayor still involved.
• The police chief said officers will be at McDonald's from 5 to 7 p.m. Thursday selling cookies to raise money for Special Olympics Illinois, and that the department collected 93 pounds of unwanted prescriptions for the DEA's drug take-back day.
• A council member asked colleagues who have not yet done so to send bios and photos for the city's website.

The council did not go into executive session and adjourned at 7:52 p.m. The council's next regular meeting is November 9. Agendas and packets are posted at cityofmarengo.com.