When Blaine Bastien died--then John Rednour--sadly, some of how Du Quoin did business died, too

In the 1970s there was a senior cashier at the Du Quoin State Bank by the name of Edna South who knew the day-to-day workings of the bank like the back-of-her hand. She knew the routines. She knew the customers. She knew the bank's customers and how business clients did business. She knew even the smallest details of the bank's great business history.

She wasn't the owner or the major shareholder, but she knew it all. The information was all "up here," in her head. When she died, that knowledge died with her.

For any business or unit of government that experiences such a huge loss, it takes time to put that history back together.

Retired award-winning Du Quoin wastewater facility superintendent of 29 years Phil Brandenburg stopped by the newspaper Monday. "I'm tired of the wastewater plant (and the biannual $200,000 bond payment) being the whipping boy on the city's budget problems."

"Blaine (Bastien) always put money back for those payments and some additional money for the planned repairs at the plant and the 13 sewer lift stations. "Jeff Whitley (former water superintendent) had a program to retrofit those lift stations to submersible pump stations," Brandenburg said. "That 18 percent water rate increase is a little hefty when you consider we had some grant money to help pay for a good share of the new water lines," said Bandenburg.

Phil retired in 2009 after an outstanding career. "Before that, I never had to worry. Blaine took care of it."

"Now Dave Peradotto is doing a fantastic job," says Brandenburg of his predecessor.

Repairs, including things like wastewater spray nozzle head replacements and replacement of a "fine screen filtration" unit are known about and being planned for.

The cost of that will be about $60,000.

That's the latest news in a string of issues that brings the city to the point of an 18 percent water rate increase Jan. 1.

In recent years--even during Bastien's great career--the general fund was tapped to help pay water department expenses (despite a string of annual 3 percent rate increases and a rate increase 10 years ago that was as large as the most recent increase). About the same time there was a $400,000 utility tax was invoked by a previous council that certainly helps--but can't keep up with the bills either.

Despite grants to pay for Main Street and Washington Street water line replacements two years ago, there were enough change orders to the replacement of the 1920s-vintage lines that added costs rose by over $70,000.

But, the repairs had to be made to a system that, at times, was capturing only 65 percent of the water Red Lake was sending us. Because of those repairs--and the associated costs--the system is now capturing 95 percent of what we buy from Rend Lake, which means we can now buy less water because we aren't losing it out the system.

Some of these things contributed to the city's debt service climbing from $400,000 on the sewer plant to a current level approaching $500,000. Not good.

And, honestly, finance commissioner Kathy West, water commissioner Yvonne Morris, Mayor Rex Duncan and city administrator Brad Myers have had an extraordinarily tough time understanding how Blaine Bastien got it all to work. The two $200,000 sewer plant bond payments didn't even show up in the city's budget software. If this were television it would be a segment in "Unsolved Mysteries."

Department payroll costs have increased.

And, with the life expectancy of the city's million-gallon underground storage tank (built during the Mayor Renos Miller era) having no more that five years left, Duncan says it is imperative that in the next year or two the city have a plan for more potable water storage.

This isn't a political story. It's a story about where Du Quoin is--and why. No matter how you vote and regardless of who the next mayor is these are long term issues.

Nothing changes.

Unlike city clerks Cecil Daily, Mell Smigielski, Rex Duncan and Blaine Bastien who benefited from time spent with their predecessors, much of how Du Quoin does business died with great people like Blaine, John Rednour and the retirement of people like Phil Brandenburg and the resignation of Jeff Whitley.

Their contemporaries move forward without some of this knowledge and are putting the pieces back together along the way.