FREEBURG — Hilke’s Ice Company owner Laron Hilke told Freeburg trustees at their July 8 meeting that he didn’t know if he would be able to rebuild his business in Freeburg following the devastating fire that destroyed the factory on June 19.

“Right now, I don’t know where we are going,” Hilke said. “I don’t want it back where it was.”

Hilke went on to explain that at 3 a.m. on the day of the fire, he knew that the ice factory was a total loss, and the fire departments were working to save his house, which was near the building. Hilke explained how he and his wife ran into the house to grab what they could in case it couldn’t be saved.

“I don’t ever want to see her face in that situation again,” Hilke said. “That’s why I don’t want to build back where we were. If it were to burn again, at least I would always have my house to come back to.”

Hilke said that he has asked two people within city limits to sell him land, but one has turned him down, and he is waiting to hear back from the other property owner.

“The biggest thing I have to have is three-phase electric and lots of it,” Hilke explained.

Mayor Darryl Haller asked how long Hilke thought it would take to build a new factory.

“I’m hoping for nine months,” Hilke replied. ‘That’s what I’m praying for.”

“But that’s if you find land, right?” Trustee Brad Wieberg asked.

“Yes,” Hilke answered. “I’m ordering stuff with no land. Is there a possibility that we stay in Freeburg? Yes, but it’s only a possibility. We want to stay here. This is our home.”

“You are going to try to stay in Freeburg?” Utilities Supervisor Doug Hamacher asked.

“That’s what I would like to do,” Hilke said. “This is where we started 50 years ago. We’ve got more going against us than for us at this point.”

Haller explained to fellow trustees that Hilke’s Ice uses 49% to 50% of the total water consumption per month.

“What we need to understand is that it’s half of our revenue,” Haller said. “We’ve got to really watch how we are spending our money on our water.”

Haller said that the village may have to consider a rate increase to make up for the loss of revenue.

“If we don’t have enough revenue coming in, we can’t maintain two water towers,” Haller said. “We are going to have to make some tough decisions.”

There are other things to consider if Hilke’s Ice chooses to relocate.

“Not everywhere in town are you going to be able to get enough water,” Haller said. “There may be issues there. That’s why nine months may not work if we have to put some big water lines in. Then we are going to have to get engineers involved, and there is nothing quick about that. We need to know what’s going on as soon as you find out.”

“When I know, you’ll know,” Hilke promised. “We’re working against the time clock.”

Hilke said he is looking for a minimum of five acres to build an updated, one-level ice plant.

He said that one of the big things that has to be changed is the addition of a shut-off going into the ice plant from an area outside the plant. Hilke explained that his shut-offs and water pipes had melted and dumped a lot of water.

“I don’t know how many gallons I dumped into the plant,” Hilke said.

Haller said he had received many compliments on the water department in Freeburg, noting that the village never ran out of water during the fire.

“I’m so proud of our fire department and the other rural fire departments in this area,” Hilke said. “There wasn’t one thing that went wrong with that fire.”

Hilke noted that his company had opened another facility in Eldon several years earlier. Once the call went out for statewide mutual aid, Hilke said that without him knowing, the Eldon Fire Department and other rural departments from the area were listening to the situation and coming to help with the fire as soon as they were able.

“I can’t thank everyone enough for everything,” Hilke said.

Hilke said that ice is coming in from all over America. He anticipates that he will not have any trouble keeping up his inventory.

“We’ve helped out a lot of people over the years, and now it’s coming back to us two-fold,” Hilke said.