MOUNT VERNON — A representative from a Columbus-based engineering and consulting firm gave City Council a presentation on an estimated $12.796 million electrical and equipment upgrade at the city wastewater plant. Construction on the project is expected to get under way in 2009.
Joseph Jacobs of Malcolm Pirnie, the firm designing the project, reported that the existing emergency power system at the plan lacks the capacity to run secondary pumps. Obsolete electrical equipment, pumps and controls need to be replaced; influent pumps need to be replaced; and existing secondary pumps need to be upgraded. He recommended several electrical improvements, including ones for the main power distribution system, the pump and control building and the secondary treatment building.
The upgrade will allow the plant’s emergency generator to run the entire plant when necessary. Other recommendations include an upgrade of the system that allow staff to monitor activity at the plant, and replacement of various pumps, piping and other equipment, as well as replacement of the pump and control building roof.
Jacobs said he expects the bid opening for the project to take place March 2009; the estimated completion date is May 2011. He said the plant has to be kept in operation during the project, which drags the construction out a little longer.
Councilman John Fair said the plant was built in the 1950s, and asked whether the planned upgrades will be adequate to handle future growth in the city and the increased need for wastewater services that go with growth.
Judy Scott, water and wastewater treatment and distribution administrator, said she believes the plant has the capacity to handle future growth, but added that despite the upgrade, maximum capacity at the wastewater plant will remain at 5 million gallons a day. Currently, the plant is treating about 3.2 to 3.5 million gallons a day.
Jacobs said Mount Vernon’s plant is better equiped to handle growth than some other cities in Ohio. He said Newark, for instance, has 8 million gallons a day capacity and it treats 8 million gallons a day. Mount Vernon, on the other hand, has about 1.5 million gallons a day capacity available for growth.
Scott said she has not seen a huge increase in the wastewater services that have had to be provided in 26 years, adding that the plant was designed with the idea of servicing a larger base of wastewater users in mind.
Safety-Service Director Dave Glass said the plant has less wastewater to treat now than in the 1950s.
Councilman Chuck Dice asked whether the financing of the project can be phased in over time, so the public is not hit with a huge increase all at once.
Glass said he thinks the cost of the project can be stretched over several years. The project will probably be financed on the short term with notes, which will be converted into long-term bonds at a later date.
Councilman Burt Hanson, chairman of the Utilities Committee, said the city will finance the project over the course of about 20 years, and likened the investment to an individual purchasing a house. He also said the city’s water and wastewater commission will be working on a plan to pay for the project, and will make a presentation before council in the future.
Scott said sewer rates have not been raised since 1993. Council members did not decide or even discuss in detail any proposed increase in wastewater fees, although after the meeting Hanson said it is a topic that is likely to be discussed by the water and wastewater commission.
In other business:
•Council approved a 3 percent annual pay increase for city department heads, including the safety-service director; law director; civil service administrator; police chief and police captain; fire chief and assistant fire chief; buildings, grounds and parks supervisor; street department superintendent; development services manager; and income tax administrator.
•Council confirmed the mayor’s appointment of Joel Daniels to fill the unexpired term of F. Steven Hall and Cynthia Wells to the Buildings Appeals Board.
•Council approved a transfer of $2,500 for computer maintenance.
•Council voted to sell a mower formerly used by the cemetery department.
•Councilman Bruce Hawkins encouraged local residents to visit Sips on Saturday morning at 8:30 to meet with some members of council for an informal chat on city matters. He added that he himself will be unable to attend this month.
