City of Waterloo Water & Sewer Committee met May 3.
Here are the minutes provided by the committee:
Members in attendance
Mayor Stan Darter
Alderman Kyle Buettner
Alderman Russ Row
Alderman Joel Vogt
Alderman Jim Hopkins
Alderman Jim Trantham
Alderman Jason Goff
Alderman Matt Buettner
Alderman Gary Most
Tim Birk
Shawn Kennedy
John Wieters
1. Petitions by Citizens on Non Agenda Items – None
2. Discuss long lead time items for both the Transmission Main and Water Treatment Facility Projects – The EPA will make the loan available to the City of Waterloo on or before July 1st, 2023. To get jump started on the Water Treatment facility and the Transmission main it was decided by the Council and Mayor to order long lead items now, to gain almost eight weeks on the project. The Waterloo Council and Mayor had decided to use the ARPA funds from the Federal Government for the Water treatment plant, Transmission line and Water tower, they decided to use a portion of the money now to order the items deemed necessary to start the lead time now. For the water transmission line and treatment facility it was decided we would order an assortment of gate valves, booster pump, vfd drive, filtration system and building materials with a long lead time. The total cost up front for the City of Waterloo is $836,850.01. Alderman Jim Hopkins made a motion to use the ARPA funds that are currently in the Water Fund to put on order the above items. Alderman Joel Vogt seconded the motion, all members were in favor.
3. Corrosion Control Testing began May 1st, 2023 – HMG engineer John Wieters gave an update to the status of the Corrosion testing. The rack has been built and the testing has begun per the EPA guidelines. Originally the rack was going to be stored and used at the old fire house building on Main Street, recently it was decided to move the rack to the Gas and Water Street shed. Testing has begun and is on schedule. If any new updates become available, we will be informed at a committee meeting.
4. Discuss replacing PVC section between electrical substation and the one-million-gallon ground storage tank. See the attached bid tabs for the cost differences.
a. Current Bid price total $11,310,660.26
b. Bid Price, if we replace PVC with HDPE $10,670,940.26
c. Difference is $639,720 savings.
Discussion – The original bid was to use PVC piping for the transmission main, upon further investigation HMG representative John Wieters explained that there are multiple advantages to use the HDPE piping. It was originally quoted with PVC to facilitate the ability to tap into the line for future customers. Upon further examination the ability to tap into the transmission line is not going to be advantageous for the customers or the City of Waterloo. The best way to serve customers in the future is to bring the treated water to Waterloo and redistribute it from the water tower. He recommended at this time to use HDPE materials for the transmission line. John informed the committee it is perfectly acceptable for treated water and has been used in numerous other projects around the country. Alderman Russ Row made a motion to use HDPE for the transmission line with the cost savings of $639,720. Alderman Jim Hopkins second the motion. All committee members are in favor.
5. Discuss Ordinance to not allow connections to the HDPE transmission line. As previously noted, the best way to keep the highest level of water quality for the customers of Waterloo is to not allow tap ins on the transmission line. Alderman Russ Row recommended that the Water/Sewer committee recommend that to the council at the May utility meeting to update the ordinance. All members agreed.
6. Discuss the removal of the interior coating on the elevated tank. HMG Engineer John Wieters explained in the original bid it was stated that the builder of the water tank would include an interior coating on the elevated tank. After careful consideration and due diligence on what other elevated water tanks have done in the past the interior coating was not needed and would provide an additional unneeded cost to the city. Alderman Russ Row made a motion to remove the interior coating from the project for a savings of $81,270 to the City of Waterloo. Alderman Matt Buettner seconded the motion. All committee members were in favor.
7. Twenty-year vs Thirty-year financing contract change. In the ordinance passed by the Waterloo City Council language was used to allow the City of Waterloo to finance the project for either length of term. It has been decided with the interest rate being the same and under 1% there is no advantage to using a 20-year term. The council has decided to secure the funds with a 30- year term. The City of Waterloo will investigate amending the contract with a letter from the City of Waterloo’s attorney. If the EPA does not find that acceptable, the council will amend the ordinance.
8. Update on Well Road – City Superintendent Tim Birk provided pictures to show the progress of the road being built to access the wells for the water project. The road is almost complete with only some cleaning up and a low water bridge to be installed by Huebner Contracting.
9. Discuss the replacement of the bar screen at the Waste Water Treatment Plant. The wastewater treatment plant has been in operation since 2006, the initial screen into the plant needs an upgrade for the third time since opening. In the past the City has elected to use a plastic screen that on average has been lasting for 6.5 years. The options are to install another plastic screen at the cost of $80,000 or to upgrade the screen to metal components for a cost of $140,000. HMG engineer John Wieters advised the council that the metal screen should last at a minimum of 20 years. Alderman Jim Hopkins made a motion to purchase the metal screen for $140,000 plus the cost of installation. Alderman Joel Vogt seconded the motion, all committee members in favor.
10. Service line program – Superintendent Tim Birk was approached by a third-party insurance company that would like access to the City of Waterloo resident list to send out a mailer to offer people insurance on their sewer and water lines in case of a problem. The council didn’t feel comfortable giving our residents addresses and names to this firm.
11. Comments – Superintendent Tim Birk made the council aware that Fountain Water district would like to have a meeting with Waterloo for the possible purchase of water in the future. After that meeting more information will be provided to the Council.
Motion was made by Alderman Matt Buettner to adjourn the meeting at 6:04pm, Alderman Joel Vogt seconded that motion. All committee members in favor, meeting adjourned.
https://www.waterloo.il.us/wp-content/uploads/Water-Sewer-Cmte-Mtg-Minutes-05-03-23.pdf
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