The McLeansboro City Council passed a pair of actions Tuesday night to move forward with upgrades to the city’s water and sewer system, including a new water tower.

The council voted to award an electrical and SCADA work contract for the tower to Microcom for about $205,000. They also voted to authorize the issuance of up to $2.4 million in waterworks and sewage system revenue bonds to get the financing in place for the new water tower.

McLeansboro mayor Dick Deitz says these improvements have been a long time coming for the city.

City Clerk Fred Vallowe told the council approving the bonds would be the last step in getting the USDA loan secured for the water tower project.

Also approved at Tuesday’s meeting were two separate TIF requests, a resolution to reroute certain city streets and state highways for the annual Christmas parade, and a donation of $2,000 to the Hamilton Memorial Hospital Foundation was approved.

The council will meet again on Tuesday, November 12, at 6 p.m. at McLeansboro City Hall.