What do you do when a 16 inch water main springs a leak beneath a 40 foot tall tank holding carbon monoxide? This was the situation underlying an emergency meeting of the Alva Utility Authority (AUA) Thursday afternoon.
Mayor Kelly Parker called the meeting for 4:45 p.m. but elected to wait until one final trustee arrived at 5 p.m. Present for the meeting were AUA trustees Daniel Winters, Garrett Lahr, Gail Swallow, Sadie Bier, Troy Brooks and Greg Bowman. Taylor Dowling and Joe Parsons were unable to attend. City Attorney Drew Cunningham and Water Department Superintendent Drake Lewis were also present. City Business Manager Stephen Ford is attending the annual city managers conference but he listened in by phone.
While waiting for the meeting time, Parker said the usual Pledge of Allegiance and prayer that begin regular city council sessions would be skipped. Someone said prayer seemed like a good idea so Parker led a prayer for the situation at hand.
With a quorum present, the mayor opened the meeting and explained the situation. A 40 foot tank located at VAP (Value Added Products) is sitting over a 16 inch line bringing water to Alva residents. The water line is leaking, and water is blowing out around the tank.
The city consulted engineer Bill Myers who said moving the tank would require a crane and emptying the tank of carbon monoxide. The other solution is to reroute the water line through the VAP parking lot. Lewis said VAP CEO Steve Sterling is willing for the city to reroute the line. He did want to know if the city would be responsible for repairing the damage to the parking once the line is moved.
Lewis said that Orr Construction could have a crew with eight workers and equipment needed in Alva Thursday night to tackle the job. They just needed to know if they’ll also be replacing the parking lot since that takes different equipment.
Mayor Parker said Cunningham is going to look into the situation. He needs to check for filings at the courthouse. If VAP was granted permission by the city to put the tanks in the easement, then the city may have liability for fixing the parking lot. Parker added that the main thing is to get the leak fixed and keep water flowing to Alva citizens. The city also supplies water to rural water districts.
Lewis said the estimate to move VAP’s tank is a little over $125,000. It’s estimated that the equipment, people and materials needed to repair the water line will cost around $60,000 without any repairs to the parking lot.
While research needs to be done on the easement situation, the city needs to tackle the water leak now. Mayor Parker asked for a motion to authorize City Business Manager Ford to spend over his $25,000 limit to effect necessary repairs. Winters made the motion, seconded by Bier, and the motion passed unanimously.
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