Finance Committee - 2/21/2018 Page 16
facility. It’s nice to have one company do the whole package versus an engineer do part of it and then the
contractor do the rest.
Mayor Donchess
Some years ago the city entered a Consent Decree with the federal EPA. There are terms of the consent
decree that we have to comply with having to do with the way the plant runs and the levels of effluent that
comes out of the plant. In addition, extensive state DES regulations. Most of this work is basically mandated
by either a regulation or the consent decree. We really have no choice with respect to all the sewage
treatment plant upgrades. When the problems developed at the plant, DES came in and did an extensive
review and issued letters regarding all the work that needed to be done. At this point, the city has gotten
ahead of that or beyond that but still there’s obviously more to do.
MOTION CARRIED
From: Dan Kooken, Purchasing Manager
Re: Primary Clarifier Upgrades — Final Design Phase (Value: $221,875)
MOTION BY ALDERWOMAN KELLY TO ACCEPT, PLACE ON FILE AND APPROVE AMENDMENT 1 TO
THE CONTRACT WITH WRIGHT-PIERCE IN THE AMOUNT OF $221,875. SOURCE OF FUNDING IS
DEPARTMENT 169, WASTEWATER; STATE REVOLVING LOAN FUND; PRIMARY TANK
UPGRADES
ON THE QUESTION
Mr. Boucher
This is part of the treatment process. There’s five settling tanks at our facility. They have a lot of mechanics
to it, chains and scraper arms within the tank that are aged. The design of the tanks are not efficient. There
are areas of the tank where the sludge on the bottom doesn’t settle properly where it is supposed to settle.
Grease is building up where grease shouldn’t build up. Plus there’s electronics and part of the SCADA system
that goes to this project in order to control it. Wright-Pierce looked at this project and did a preliminary design
which we are finalizing to see the needs of this project. This portion of the project would be the final design
which would take us right through the bid process and inspection process of that.
Alderwoman Kelly
Can you talk about the State Revolving Loan Fund?
Mr. Boucher
| don’t know a lot of the details about it and how much it covers.
Mayor Donchess
It’s a source of funding for some of these projects. It’s aloan. When we do a larger project, we can either
bond the project and borrow the money on the private market or occasionally get involved with the revolving
loan fund at the state level which carries a fairly low interest rate. Here is an example where we are using the
loan fund. In terms of the state’s support, the state is supposed to support a lot of these projects but their
share they have not funded for. | think they partially funded one year a couple of years ago, but they are not
coming through with the money that they are supposed to, big surprise, for these sewage pollution abatement
projects. The city is kind of on its own most of the time other than participating in the loan fund. Of course, the
loan fund means the money has to be paid back so there’s no grant.
