Kewanee city officials are considering joining a network of communities that help each other recover after emergencies.
The City Council Tuesday discussed joining the Illinois Public Works Mutual Aid Network (IPWMAN)
For an annual fee of $100, the city could get help from other city public works department in a vast area in Illinois.
For example, other communities could have pitched in to help remove downed trees and limbs that littered streets and yards across Kewanee after the tornadoes a couple of years ago.
Kewanee would be in a district that stretches from Galena in the northwest corner of the state, south to Knox County.
Sending workers to help other communities in need wouldn’t be mandatory, City Manager Kasey Mitchell told the council Tuesday,
“We could choose at any time to say no,” Mitchell said.
“I don’t see any reason not to” join IPWMAN, Public Works Director Chris Berry told the council. “It’s most likely Kewanee would ask for aid rather than being asked to give it.”
The council didn’t make a decision Tuesday on joining the network.
Mayor Gary Moore said the council shouldn’t decide without consulting the union that represents the city’s public-works employees.
“Otherwise, we will see a grievance,” Moore said.
Also Monday, Mitchell announced that the fall cleanup in Kewanee’s cemeteries will run from Oct. 20 to Oct. 31.
Anyone who has grave decorations they want to save should remove them before the cleanup starts.
