The Board of Public Works, which oversees operations of Trenton Municipal Utilities, met on Monday evening at city hall for its regular monthly meeting.
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The Board of Public Works, which oversees operations of Trenton Municipal Utilities, met on Monday evening at city hall for its regular monthly meeting.
Board members met with Ray Blakely of Blakely and Associates in Chillicothe concerning progress on improvements to the utilities? SCADA system. The SCADA system allows equipment to be operated and data transferred to and from remote locations within each of the three utility departments. Approval had been given earlier this year for Blakely to proceed with the project. Projections by Blakely showed a total cost of $61,308 for work in the electric department and $45,216 for the water department. Estimates for the sanitation department will come later.
Part of the current SCADA system has become inoperable and the board authorized Blakely to move ahead with the project, which is estimated to take two to three weeks to complete. Some of the work to be done can be completed by TMU employees, which will reduce the cost. City Administrator Kerry Sampson noted the new system will not require any off-site training, which had been a problem with the old system.
TMU Director Chad Davis discussed with board members the implications of a possible Whole Body Contact designation of Muddy Creek. WBC designation means bodies of water must be swimmable and fishable.
Environmental Protection Agency and Missouri Department of Natural Resources regulations require rivers and lakes designated for WBC to have effluent from municipal sanitary sewer systems disinfected before being discharged into them. Muddy Creek is not currently designated WBC, but could be in the future. Effluent from Trenton?s plant currently meets all DNR requirements, but is not disinfected. Davis estimated the cost to comply with disinfection requirements at nearly $500,000, through the use of ultraviolet lights.
Davis told the board a Use Attainability Analysis could be conducted which could show the creek is not used for recreational activities and would exempt the utility from meeting the disinfecting requirement. The study would have to be completed by the end of October and a consultant estimated the cost to be around $10,000. The board agreed to allocate up to $10,000 for the study. TMU staff members were to meet with DNR representatives today to try and obtain some guidance and feedback on the future of the new regulations.
The board approved a $2,500 payment for Schreiber Engineering to submit a modeling proposal to DNR for the air operating permit for the utilities electric generators.
Davis told the board about progress on the water plant long term plan of action being conducted by the Larkin Group. It is hoped work can be completed so bids can be sought for the project in November. Filter replacement at the water plant is the main concern of the project, which is estimated to cost nearly $500,000.
A bid for tree trimming along city power lines was accepted from Russell Smith Tree Service of Milan for $85 per hour. It was the only bid received by the deadline. The utility has budgeted $25,000 for tree removal.
A new policy for payroll in mutual aid situations was also approved. It was noted in the recent occurrence where a TMU employee aided with work in Florida, he would have been paid time and half and double-time more often if such a policy would have been in place. All of his salary and travel expenses were paid by the utility using his services.
Kerry Sampson told board members the city and utility earned an award of $8,364 from MARCIT, the city?s insurance carrier. The award is based on the performance of the entities in the loss control program provided by the company. Sampson said the money will be used by the safety committee in safety and wellness programs for employees.
The next meeting of the board is scheduled for November 30.