Official Newspaper of Eddy County since 1883
Official Newspaper of Eddy County since 1883
Local officials will use the power of purple to treat the City of New Rockford’s water supply.
Wade Senger of Interstate Engineering presented an alternative proposal for improving the water treatment plant to the commission on Monday, Aug. 5. He recommended removal of the aging lime softening system and installation of a new potassium permanganate treatment process and reverse osmosis skid.
Potassium permanganate, or KMnO4, is a common inorganic chemical used to treat drinking water for iron, manganese and sulfur odors. The chemical is characterized by its dark purple color. According to the Environmental Protection Agency, the chemical is often added to a raw water source before going through rapid mix and filtration steps to remove any residual before the water reaches the pipeline.
The original plan was to make repairs to the existing lime softening plant and add a reverse osmosis skid to improve water taste. Senger said that the lime plant needs major repairs and replacement parts, including a mixer, scraper and silo.
The primary benefit of scrapping the lime softening plant for potassium permanganate treatment is the lower cost of installation, said Senger. He estimates the city will save $250,000 in capital costs. Chemical expense would also reduce by about $21,000 per year. Third, the shutdown period during installation is much shorter, as it would have taken 6-10 weeks to rework the lime softening plant but only 2-3 weeks to install the new potassium permanganate system. The city will need to rent a portable treatment plant for the shutdown period to keep water flowing to city residents and businesses.
The city commission approved the switch to potassium permanganate and installation of reverse osmosis. Harvey, Gwinner and Oakes are among other small North Dakota communities who use this water treatment process, according to Senger. Interstate Engineering will now prepare plans and specifications for the project and then solicit bids sometime next year.
Senger added that the city also needs to consider purchasing additional land to expand its lagoon system, as the reverse osmosis process produces more waste water. He estimates that the city will need to increase its storage capacity by approximately 16 acre feet per year.
Public Works Superintendent Hirchert reported that the water main replacement project has been delayed yet again. The general contractor, BEK Consulting, told him last week that weather conditions have prevented them from finishing their current project on schedule. The start date is now projected to be Aug. 26, another two eeks away.
Glenda Collier presented the 2020 police contract on behalf of the county commission. She said they propose a modest 2 percent increase, which will be primarily used to offset costs of 911 dispatch. The past three years the increases have been 5, 5 and 8 percent, respectively. The city commission approved the contract, which represents a total cost to taxpayers of $148,000 in 2020.
Auditor George Ritzke presented the 2020 preliminary budget for the city. On the revenue side, he projects that state aid and highway tax funds will remain flat, while the city sales tax will decrease by 9 percent.
He noted several changes in expenditures, including the police contract approved earlier that evening. Employee wages will increase 3 percent across the board, while health insurance rates are expected to grow 11 percent next year.
He added $3,000 for a new office computer, $17,500 for Centennial (Gazebo) Park lighting and plantings, and $2,000 to cover the local match required for the boulevard tree planting grant.
As for equipment, the plan is to replace the bobcat, payloader and a pickup at a total cost of $84,500 next year. The funds to cover equipment costs will come out of tye budget for water, streets, sewer, and sanitation funds, not General Fund property tax. Regarding capital improvements, the city can put a maximum of $250,000 toward airport improvements at max levy per Ritzke.
Even with those additions, the total projected levy is down $11,234 from 2019, or about 4.7 mills. The total levy requested is $277,500. (George, what has decreased?- the only thing I see is a reduction for golf course) The final budget hearing is set for Oct. 7 during the regular commission meeting.
Librarian Susie Sharp presented the Eddy-New Rockford Library’s annual report. The library added 49 patrons this year, for a total of 1,534. The highlight was the growth in the number of Overdrive (online) checkouts of ebooks and audiobooks, which Sharp said is responsible for bringing the new patrons. The library has had 4,226 in-house checkouts of hard copy books, while patrons have read 2,149 titles through Overdrive in the past year. The online system costs the library $1,500 annually, so Sharp said it’s nice to see it being used. She plans to revamp the juvenile and large print sections next year so is focusing her grant writing efforts on books in those areas.
The parking ticket issue was revisited. Upon recommendation from City Attorney Travis Peterson, the commission decided to have the Eddy County Clerk of Court resume responsibility for administration and collection of parking ticket fines. As a result, the city will only receive 40 percent of the revenue but bear no additional costs for administration and collection. The alternative was to have the city set up a municipal court or other body to hear any protests and take action on those with outstanding fines.
The next meeting is set for Tuesday, Sept. 3 at 7 p.m.
