Potential for loan to replace water storage tanks
April 23, 2017
In an update to the Alva City Council April 17, City Business Manager Joe Don Dunham said a letter has been prepared to place Alva on the Drinking Water State Revolving Fund (DWSRF) project priority list. The city is seeking funding to replace aging water storage tanks and pumps at the Young Street tank farm.
Alva was told by the REAP grant coordinator that it was unlikely Alva would quality for their grants due to population numbers. However, he learned from the Oklahoma Water Resources Board (OWRB) that Alva might qualify for the DWSRF loan program. It is a low interest loan administered cooperatively by the OWRB and the DEQ.
Getting on the priority list is the first step. Projects that are ready to proceed will be given the highest priority. An engineering report is required by DEQ including a cost-effective analysis. The city must supply sufficient economic and environmental information for DEQ to issue an environmental decision regarding project impacts. A public hearing with public notice must be held. The project must comply with the federal Safe Drinking Water Act as well as federal cross-cutting laws and authorities.
Alva’s proposed water rate increases have been sent to the OWRB for an opinion also. Recently the OWRB turned away an application for a grant because Alva’s water rates were too low.
Ordinance Reviews
A committee tasked with reviewing city ordinances has made recommendations on the business ordinance and animal ordinance. The city attorney is currently evaluating these. He must make sure the updated ordinance is consistent with other parts of the city’s code and state statutes.
Dunham said the next ordinances to be addressed are the nuisance ordinance and the place of meetings for the city council.
Health Insurance
Preliminary reports show Alva will not have an increase in rates for employee health insurance. Dunham said there could be minor increases in Delta Dental insurance but no increase is anticipated for group life insurance or vision insurance.
Budget Retreat
The city held a retreat March 25 for the purpose of discussing the 2017-2018 fiscal year budget. Dunham said it became apparent that some priorities need to be reconsidered. Committees will meet on these as soon as possible. Currently they are trying to determine revenue expectations.
Water Department
The water department is working on several projects. Over the preceding weekend, there was an electrical outage at the well field. Normally this has not been a problem. However, the alarm on the water level of the well field 5,000 gallon storage tank failed to sound at the proper time. It is supposed to be triggered when the water level goes below 70 percent. When it finally sounded, the tank was at 30 percent. The water department is tracking down the problem.
There have been a couple of water leaks in the 14th Street area. At 14th and Mill, the city was waiting for utility lines to be located and marked before proceeding. At 14th and Oklahoma, a pump seal was leaking. The city was waiting for a part to arrive to fix that.
Siren Change
During storm season, the city tests the sirens monthly. Dunham said they will be moving the sirens from a telephone line system to a radio control system. This will reduce the city’s phone bill by $2,000 to $3,000.
Polycarts
The approximately 500 wheeled polycarts for sanitation have arrived and are being assembled. Dunham said they will soon be delivering the carts to areas where sanitation service is curbside. He named Mimosa, Magnolia, Myers, Murray, Sunset and the tree streets off Noble.
These carts are no cost to residents but remain the property of the city. Residents can fill them with trash and wheel them to the curb. The carts can be picked up and emptied by the sanitation trucks saving workers’ backs and eliminating the possibility of being injured by items such as needles that might poke through trash bags.
Purchasing Levels
Later in the city council meeting, Dunham presented a list of purchasing levels for city department heads and assistants. He said these levels have been reduced by $5,000 each to allow for more review before purchases. The only level unchanged is for Dunham himself who can make purchases up to $25,000 without council approval.
Dunham said cutting these levels would allow for review of more purchases which he thought was needed during the budget crunch being experienced. The council approved the measure.
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