At the March 3 Fountain City Council meeting, Widseth Smith Nolting Engineer Craig Britton described how missing information on components of the wastewater treatment plant (WWTP) is eluding them. Britton has been seeking maintenance manuals for the plant for more than six months.
“Some components are lacking information, particularly the effluent filter bed at the end of the treatment system. It’s a finishing treatment component and it’s been out of service as long as John and Mike can remember,” he stated to the council. Working alongside MMS Environmental representative Mike Morris and Public Works’ John Hanson, they are trying to determine why it was purposely bypassed. “I don’t know the history of why it was disconnected from the treatment system, but it should at least be evaluated.”
Mayor Jim Schott tried to recall the reasoning and mentioned a component that was broken or possible problems with the sand screening. “I can’t remember, but I want to get it running the way it was designed.”
Britton suggested contracting with Vessco, Inc. to further look into the problem. The Minnesota company tackles engineering, design, sales, and field service of wastewater equipment. The intention is to have Vessco review the system and controls, determine the depths and condition of the unit, and provide a complete report on it. “It’s in the design of the original plan and will likely provide more consistency there,” added Britton. “The numbers do fluctuate from time to time.”
The cost for the evaluation and report is $1,500. “Either they’ll have it up and running that day and we monitor it or they’ll be able to let us know how to get it up and running,” concluded Britton.
In related news, the city has received a proposal for a contract from MMS Environmental. The last contract expired on August 21, 2019, and the city has been on a monthly basis since that time. The daily rate per visit in 2019 was $1,700, while they are now proposing $1,875 per visit. In the prior contract, Morris would make site visits three times a week, a cost of $5,100 per month or $61,200 per year. In the proposed contract, visits would drop to just twice a week, equating to a $16,000 savings for the city. However, both Britton and Schott feel this isn’t going to provide enough coverage.
Another change between the previous and proposed contract is sampling. In the prior contract, MMS included sampling costs, while this time around they are asking the city to cover it. Britton didn’t expect it was much. Insurance coverage was reviewed and noted as standard. Repair rates are expected to remain the same.
“The thing is I don’t know if we can pull John to go down there more than he already is. If we do streets or something, he is not going to get there. I don’t think we have the full picture here,” said Schott.
“John’s going to be busy. I don’t know how he can keep up now,” added Councilor Ron Reisner. The council opted to table the contract to allow for further conversation with MMS about coverage.
In other news, the city provided a raise for City Clerk Mary Tjepkes, following her one-year employment anniversary, discussed reimbursement to Reisner for snow removal, approved reimbursement for Jim Hanson for welding work, and discussed ordinance violation for a property on First Street. They also received an annual report from Preston Ambulance Service Director Ryan Throckmorton.
“2020 was very challenging for EMS,” began Throckmorton. Major areas of concern were staffing, call volume, and equipment. The service took in significantly more revenue than budgeted, largely due to Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Economic Security Act and other grant funding. Other than one-time purchases, including personal protection equipment and a new ambulance, service expenditures fell $20,000 below budget. “We were told that Preston was by far one of the most prepared services in the county,” he added.
Another struggle for the service was call volume, which dropped 15% for the year. “People were scared to call the ambulance, weren’t going to call unless they absolutely had to.” Response time average has improved to just five minutes.
The breakdown between Preston and the other cities/townships that the service covers remains roughly 50/50. The per capita cost is just $17. However, it was noted that without volunteers who comprise the majority of the service’s staff, this number would be $181. “When COVID first hit, we lost half of our EMTs on the crew and we’re volunteer,” noted Throckmorton. “There were multiple reasons. We hired three EMTs to cover 24-hour weekend shifts. Costs are expected to increase and the service will face challenges without continuing to secure grants. It is anticipated that equipment savings may need to be shifted to cover staffing costs.
The next regularly scheduled council meeting is Wednesday, April 7, at 7 p.m., at the community center. The meeting is open to the public.
Leave a Reply