Left to right: Village of Hodgkins Water Department Foreman Ken Tucker, Code & Safety Enforcement Officer Dan Tholotowsky, Building Department Inspector Matt Struve, Mayor Noel Cummings, Trustees Paul Struve and Tim Kovel.
HODGKINS, IL (August 14, 2019) – Establishing an unparalleled commitment to public safety, the Board of Trustees of the Village of Hodgkins, IL unanimously approved an update of the Village code to include a financial incentive for installing home fire sprinklers in new construction and retrofitting existing one- and two-family homes.
Effective immediately, the Village will provide 50% of the installation cost when the system is approved. The covered criteria include combined water service and water main tap fees (if any), piping and valves, installation, and testing fees. It is applicable to structures and mobile homes and the Village has set no limit for its 50% cost share. Further, the Village will pay 100% of the cost of increasing the water line size on a newly constructed home (if needed by the plumbing code) for future sprinklers if the owner isn’t ready to install sprinklers.
“All the credit for this program should go to President Noel Cummings and the Board of Trustees,” says Village of Hodgkins Code and Safety Enforcement Officer Dan Tholotowsky. “Although the Village doesn’t require one- and two-family fire sprinklers, they are among the first to offer a financial incentive for them, if not the first. Without the trustees, none of this would have happened.”
The Village of Hodgkins is an older, established community without much new development, he says. There are limited vacant lots for sale and some renovations. But already in the short time since the program was approved, one home has already applied for the incentive and construction is under way.
“The Village has a motto: ‘Small town, big heart’ and I think their big-heartedness could also be a safe heart,” Tholotowsky says. “They believe in fire sprinklers and they care about their residents and first responders. They’ve done an excellent job with commercial sprinklers and this is just another extension of their public safety commitment.”
“This is a step in the right direction for fire safety. It is our desire to be a leader in many ways,” says Ken Tucker, Foreman, Public Works Department, Village of Hodgkins.
Dan Tholotowsky, Village of Hodgkins Code and Safety Enforcement Officer
“This is a real credit to the Village of Hodgkins,” says NIFSAB Executive Director Tom Lia. “New homeowners who never knew about home fire sprinklers until now have a new incentive to build here. And for local homeowners who want to retrofit with sprinklers, the Village has made that choice a much more affordable option.”
All sprinkler incentives are good for public safety, whether they’re designed for developers, builders, or homeowners, Lia says. “The Village of Hodgkins incentive is less common, as it so generously benefits the homeowner. It’s important to share information about all kinds of home fire sprinkler incentives to increase awareness and maybe even generate some healthy competition among other local officials!”
Village of Hodgkins Board of Trustees:
President Noel Cummings
Village Clerk Stephanie Gardner
Trustee Tim Kovel
Trustee Lida Mills
Trustee Vicky Moxley
Trustee Dominic Misasi
Trustee Larry Rice
Trustee Paul Struve
Building Inspector Matt Struve