Good morning Chatham, we’re including significant progress reports today.
As power is restored to the entire village, this will mark the last of the extensive daily update messages. There is still a substantial amount of work to be done throughout the Village, both in stabilizing the emergency repairs that were made to the electrical distribution lines and in clean-up. We will still provide additional alerts to intermittent outages and for general notice information. We know that there is still a tremendous amount of work that needs to be done and it will still be a long time before it is all done. Our town should be extremely proud of the patience, grace, and support that you have all offered to our teams and your neighbors. Keep lending assistance to your neighbors through the long clean-up and recovery that follows.
With this last long update, we ask that you read each section of this release completely, so you are aware of changes in support resources and ongoing sources of information.
Bold and italicized information through this message are indicate key information to be aware of and upcoming plans ongoing resources.
MILESTONE DAY
Today we begin to say goodbye and thank you to the outside community and contract electricians that have supported our power restoration. We will be forever grateful for their help and they are welcome back to Chatham at any time (albeit to visit, we’d like to never need their work). As much as we appreciate their effort, the visiting crews have all mentioned how welcoming and gracious our residents have been to them. The also were extremely complimentary of the efforts that Chatham Jaycees have coordinated to keep them well fed and full of energy so they could continue to working.
Some of them won’t go far. We have been communicating our restoration progress with CWLP consistently and have made information about crews that were becoming available from our project with them, and some of the crews will be heading just north to continue to assist the City of Springfield and their customers. We are pleased to be able to coordinate with our neighbor community and provide any assistance to them as we have been received from our responding partners.
POWER RESTORED TO ALL NEIGHBORHOODS THIS AFTERNOON
By late this afternoon we expect that power will be restored to all general areas of the Village. Crews are working on the last remaining isolated area in Chatham Knolls along Glenwood Lane, all remaining outages are individual service issues.
If you are without power anywhere in the Village at this time please contact the Utility Office at 217-483-2451, option 6, between 7:30 am and 4:15 pm Monday through Friday. After-hours calls can be made to 217-483-2453.
Please note that after-hours calls are handled by our Police Dispatch and make require patience in answering as emergency and police communications are their priority. Our electric teams are following-up on each of these individual service calls to determine if power can be restored, or if there is damage to the customer-owned equipment that must be repaired first. See https://chathamil.gov/resource/2023-07-04-utility-owned-customer-owned-equipmentfor a diagram of utility-owned vs customer-owned equipment. Our crews cannot repair customer owned equipment, please consult a qualified residential electrician.
In the event of an emergency, always contact 9-1-1.
DAMAGED CUSTOMER ELECTRICAL EQUIPMENT IS A SAFETY CONCERN
Our friends at the Chatham Fire Department also remind you of the safety risks associated with damaged electrical components. CFD reiterates the call to have qualified electrical contractors to inspect and repair damaged customer-owned portions of the service connections. Damaged electrical components can cause devastating fires, expensive damage to homes, and personal injury to anyone that contacts it.
WE STILL NEED ACCESS TO REAR EASEMENTS
Even though your power may be restored, that doesn’t mean our work is done. We understand that homeowners are anxious to continue rebuilding and restoring individual properties. We want you know to that our crews will continue to need access for large equipment into the restored areas well after all the power has been restored to remove all the damaged power lines that are being replaced. This type of clean-up is a low priority for our crews at this time, and may last several months after service restoration.
Homeowners that are repairing fences should take note of where the rear easement lines are to aid in preserving access. Gates in the back for access for homeowner’s cleaning, mowing, and maintenance needs, as well as increased access for utility workers is highly recommend.
HELPING THE VILLAGE OF CHATHAM WITH ADDITIONAL DAMAGE DOCUMENTATION AND THE CHATHAM LIBRARY WITH RECORDING LOCAL HISTORY
The Village of Chatham and Chatham Area Public Library have teamed up to create a method for those without power and severe damage to their homes and buildings to share photographic information. Please help by visiting https://www.chathamlib.org/chathamstrongstories-community-archive-projectto share pictures of damaged areas throughout town. You’ll be asked for the address and the date/time when the photo was taken. These photos provide additional information to support our ongoing calls for public and private State and Federal assistance. Your submissions also help the local history division of the Chatham establish a wide collection of pictures of this locally historic event.
CLEARING DEBRIS AROUND STORM DRAINS – RAINS REMAIN IN THE FORECAST
With the amount of debris around the Village, we are asking our residents and business for assistance in helping make sure that storm drains along the roadways in front of your homes and businesses are clear to accommodate drainage during the predicted rain. Clearing parking lots, sidewalks, and curbs of debris aids us in keeping these drains clear over time. Our community remains resilient in the response to this disaster, and we greatly appreciate your assistance to the Village and your neighbors.
ILLINOIS BAPTIST DISASTER RELIEF TEAM
The Illinois Baptist Disaster Relief team has organized volunteer teams to aid in clean-up for residents that need their assistance. To contact the group for assistance you can call 618-889-1938. These volunteers are working with residents on their private property, not for the Village.
CHATHAM LIBRARY OPEN FOR COOLING, CHARGING, AND RELAXING
The Chatham Area Library will be open today from 9:00 am to 8:00 pm for normal operations and cooling. The library has outlets to charge devices, as well as computer access and wi-fi. They welcome all and their children with space to socialize, play, and read for all ages.
We thank the Library for all of their assistance and additional hours of operation during the power restoration process. Visit their website at https://www.chatham.lib.il.us/for their regular hours of operation and to explore all the resources that this gem of a facility provides our community.
MEALS AVAILABLE LOCALLY
The American Red Cross will be delivering a limited number of lunches to the area today for those in need. We do not have their exact locations as it will be mobile through these areas. If you need assistance you can watch for them at approximately noon today.
At this time, the Red Cross indicates that this will be the last local delivery of this manner and if you need individual assistance, you can contact them directly.
AMERICAN RED CROSS OF ILLINOIS SHELTER AVAILABILITY
The Red Cross has a shelter at the lower level of the BOS Center. The services are available beginning for anyone impacted by the storms in need of shelter or assistance. Meals, water, and Red Cross volunteers are available. Parking is available in the ramp at 7th and Washington. The Red Cross reminds you to bring medical supplies, including prescriptions, personal hygiene items, and other necessities for your family members.
SPOILED FOOD DISPOSAL – DUMPSTERS AVAILABLE THROUGH SUNDAY
There are green dumpsters located in Community Park near the parking lot by diamond #3 (near the Dewberry Trail entrance to the park). If you have spoiled food that needs to be disposed of and do not anticipate your normal garbage disposal to arrive soon for service, this dumpster is available for you. Please utilize the green dumpsters only.
These dumpsters are ONLY FOR FOOD WASTE. Please do not dispose of anything other than food items in this extremely limited resource.
Please take note that these dumpsters are scheduled to be removed from Community Park after Sunday, July 9th, as routine waste hauling resumes completely.
DEVICE CHARGING STATIONS
Multiple small device charging stations are being positioned throughout local establishments that have power and public access. These devices are currently located at Scoop Du Jour and the Creek. Please consult with each business for their operating hours.
COMCAST INTERNET TIPS
While Comcast repair crews have worked around our linemen, they have been following to restore their above-ground lines. Representatives from Comcast have provided this general advice to customers without internet service:
- Check your modem to see if it is online.
- A solid white light indicates that it is on, a yellow or orange light indicates that it is offline.
- If it is offline, reset the modem by unplugging it from the power source, wait 30 seconds to plug it back in to see if service returns.
- If the white light comes back on you have a signal, if not you are still without service.
The Village of Chatham cannot assist with Comcast, or any other providers, internet, cable, or communications service issues, and encourages you to contact their support departments directly for assistance.
WHERE OUR CREWS ARE – DEBRIS REMOVAL
Debris removal crews are spread through the village continuing to remove debris. With the restoration of power, the teams are no longer attached to linemen crews and will be working on multiple areas across the Village.
Our regular monthly limb pickup is also on going now and making their sweeps through town to take what they can from front yards. Our streets, parks, and water departments continue to clear access to roads, alleyways, and yards for linemen. Use extra caution around all of the large, heavy equipment working in this area and throughout the Village.
WHAT TO EXPECT GOING FORWARD – DEBRIS REMOVAL
Debris removal teams will continue working well beyond the time frame that all power is restored. Additional information will be provided as to when the clean-up efforts have reached the point where we will be utilizing only the regular monthly branch pickup process. The hours that teams are working will return toward our traditional working hours, allowing our crews to get much-needed rest and recovery time.
WHERE OUR CREWS ARE - ELECTRIC
Electrical crews are focused this morning on completing the remaining general restoration impacting the area around the west edge of the Birch Grove Subdivision.
Trouble teams are working on the individual service calls that are being placed to restore isolated power issues impacting single addresses. If you power is unable to be restored in one of these individual service calls, please watch for communication from the Village with the notice that there is customer-owned equipment that needs to be repaired before they can complete the connection – either through phone calls or printed notice at your location. Once that repair work as been completed, please contact the utility office to schedule the final service reconnection.
Use caution when traveling near the equipment as they will be operating in narrow roadways and alleyways blocking areas of travel and creating line-of-sight restrictions.
WHAT TO EXPECT GOING FORWARD – ELECTRIC
As power is restored to all general outage areas, the teams will continue to work to clear the individual service issues. They will also go back into the areas and begin to evaluate all the emergency repair work that was done to get the power back on and stabilize the emergency repairs into permanent fixes. There is also a substantial amount of downed poles and dropped infrastructure that they will be removing. Please continue to keep easement access and alleys accessible and be alert for large equipment throughout the Village.
THE BIKEPATH FROM WALNUT TO PLUMMER REMAINS CLOSED
Please AVOID THIS AREA, dangerous conditions exist on the bike trail. Powerlines and limbs are down in this section and should be avoided. Be alert for downed limbs on all other portions of the trail.
WHO IS HERE
Our electric department is being supported today by additional linemen and equipment from Waterloo, Naperville, Sullivan, and a large team of Asplundh contractors from Connecticut and throughout the State of Illinois. These crews are all identified with municipal or company names on their trucks and equipment and wear high visibility clothing. Additional equipment and assistance in our streets today from Chatham Township, Sangamon County, Brown Storm Services.
CREWS REMAIN IN ALLEYS, EASEMENTS, AND BACKYARDS
Take notice that linemen and public works crews need to continue to enter backyards, alleyways, and easements. There is a substantial amount of equipment that will have to be moved through yards and rear easement areas to clear trees and restore power. In doing so, crews may be required to remove undamaged property such as standing fences. When our crews are removing undamaged property, they are photographing and documenting what they have to remove for future replacement.
TREE, LIMB, AND BRANCH SITES
The Village has established three locations for dropping any branches removed from yards. These areas are ONLY for tree debris. The Village CANNOT take building materials, damaged fencing, or any other waste other than tree debris. At this time, disposal of those items must be arranged individually.
Do NOT dispose of chipped wood in these piles. Wood chips in debris piles are an increased fire hazard.
The locations are:
1. The southwest parking lot in Community Park near Main Street.
2. The rocked, empty lot on the west side of Veterans’ Memorial Square
3. The empty lot on the corner of Plummer Boulevard and White Birch Drive. Access to the lot is off White Birch Drive. Please do not dump limbs in the school property on the north side of Plummer.
Use extreme caution in these areas and around the heavy equipment that is present throughout the Village.
DISPOSAL OF OTHER MATERIALS
The Village is not able to accept building materials, damaged fencing, or any other waste other than tree debris. Homeowners and their contractors should be prepared to arrange for private disposal of these items.
Thank you all for your continued support as our crews continue to work diligently on clean-up and restoration.