While Joliet will have some upfront fees to pay Hammond, Hammond would charge Joliet a volume metric fee that’s very “insignificant” in the grand scheme of things once Joliet’s debt rolls off down the line, according to Kevin Smith, Hammond attorney.
Once Joliet taps into the system, that fee is based on the average annual millions of gallons a day, he said.
As an example, Smith said if Joliet used 30 million gallons per day on average in a single year, multiplied by 5,000, per the contract, Hammond would get $150,000, plus a baseline fee of $110,000 for a total of $260,000.
In the last few years, Hammond has become a major player in the wholesaler water business, having expanded its scope into the southeast suburbs as a competitor and alternative to Chicago.
Hammond also sells to the Illinois communities of Lansing, Calumet City, Chicago Heights and other nearby communities.
McDermott told Joliet council members he and the city would be partners in this endeavor, rather than Joliet a consumer and Chicago the supplier.
He likened Hammond’s proposal to owning a house and Chicago to renting a property for decades.
“After 20 years of renting a house, what do you have after 20 years? Nothing,” he said.
