We are truck-drivers, ironworkers, bartenders and mechanics. 

We are homemakers and teachers.  We are waitresses, office workers and managers.  We are CNA’s, nurses, college students and village workers.  We are laborers, retirees and veterans. 

The one thing we all have in common is that we live on Chatham Place in Boulder Hill.  I’ve lived on Chatham Place for 20 years.  It’s a quaint neighborhood - full of families in different stages of life.  We all take pride in keeping our neighborhood in good repair to be a safe place to raise our children and grandchildren. 

In the last couple years, Chatham Place has been plagued with water main problems.  To date, we have 16 water main breaks patched.  Last summer, one of the breaks pushed up the asphalt so severely we could not safely drive down the street.  The main broke in another spot farther down 3 days later. The main broke Christmas Eve and again in another spot after the New Year. 

I saw the article in the Ledger about the project to replace and repair sections of water main in Boulder Hill including several neighboring streets.  Chatham Place is not on the list. 

I understand there’s a lot of work to be done on this project without an unlimited budget.  I also understand there are to be subsequent projects over time.  What I don’t understand is how the criteria for the prioritization of the first wave of replacements were developed. 

I don’t understand how Chatham Place could NOT have met the criteria, because the amount of patches on Chatham Place for water main repairs exceeds the amount of regular asphalt.  I’m sure you’re thinking “16 water main breaks in a system that’s 40+ years old isn’t all that bad.”  It really wouldn’t be too bad if that was the number of breaks for all of the area.  16 breaks are bad because Chatham Place is only one block long. 

Jane Schenk
Chatham Place
Montgomery, IL