Quincy Reporter

City of Quincy Utilities Committee met Nov. 2.

Here are the minutes provided by the committee:

The monthly meeting of the Utilities Committee was held at 4:00 p.m. on Thursday, November 2, 2023, at Quincy City Hall. Members present were Alderpersons Dave Bauer and Glen Ebbing, and Dan Cook. Director of Public Works Jeffrey Conte, Assistant Corporation Counsel Bruce Alford, Kelly Stupasky, John Schafer, Dustin Neese, and Theresa Alford were also present. The meeting was called to order at 4:00 p.m.

Approval of Minutes

Ald. Ebbing, seconded by Dan Cook, moved that the minutes from the September 11, 2023, meeting be approved as distributed.

Public Comment

No one present for comment.

Utility Fund Financial Update

Conte presented the financials. Water sales have increased year-over-year. The Water Fund has a net operating income (NOI)of $1.4 million and the Sewer Fund NOI is $1.19 million. The water reserve fund balance is $2.87 million, and the sewer reserve fund balance is $2.9 million.

Old Business

Invoice Cloud Update

Kelly Stupasky was present to update the Committee on the InvoiceCloud transition. To date, 17.5% of utility customers have registered with InvoiceCloud. Customers are utilizing the pay by text and IVR payment options. Over 2500 customers have registered for paperless billing and incentives totaling $12,810 have been applied to customer accounts.

Red Oxygen Texting Program

The Department intends to contract with Red Oxygen for mass text messaging services. Seven (7) dedicated numbers will be used to send mass notifications for boil orders, water service interruptions, street closures, snow emergencies, etc.

PFAS Remediation Litigation

The deadline to join the class action settlement suit against 3M is nearing. 3M has agreed to pay between $10.5 and $12.5 billion to those participating in the settlement suit. It is not clear at this time how much money the City will receive; however, it is not expected to be anywhere near the cost to install a PFAS treatment system.

Action: The Committee recommends participation in the settlement suit against 3M with City Council approval.

Motion: Cook/Ebbing Motion Carried

New Business

Water Fund

Water Meter Purchases

The Department has received a quote from Midwest Meter for the purchase of six (6) 2” compound water meters, encoders, and automatic readers at the total cost of $14,250.

Action: Send to City Council with Committee recommendation.

Motion: Cook/Ebbing Motion Carried

Valve Exerciser

The Water Treatment Plant requires the purchase of an electric valve exerciser to assist with the opening and closing of large water valves. The lowest quote is from USA BlueBook in amount of $7934.95.

Action: Send to City Council with Committee recommendation.

Motion: Cook/Ebbing Motion Carried

Turbidity Controllers

The turbidity analyzer controllers used to process and record turbidity data at the Water Treatment Plant are obsolete and no longer supported by the manufacturer. The Department requested quotes for replacement controllers and Hach submitted the low quote in the amount of $12,759.61.

Action: Send to City Council with Committee recommendation.

Motion: Cook/Ebbing Motion Carried

Loan Ordinance

Bids to floodproof and upgrade the Water Treatment Plant pump station to an 18mgd facility will be opened on January 10th. The EPA has approved $8.5 million in low interest loans for the project based on the estimated project cost. The City Council approved borrowing up to $7 million for this project in 2020. The loan ordinance needs to be amended to reflect the new estimated project cost.

Action: Send to City Council with Committee recommendation.

Motion: Cook/Ebbing Motion Carried

Broadway Watermain Replacement

The Illinois Department of Transportation plans to resurface Broadway from 12th to 36th Streets in the summer of 2024. The City has buried water and sewer utilities under Broadway from Front Street to 54th Street. The condition of the water utilities under Broadway is unknown and the watermain dates back to the late eighteen hundreds. The Department desires to replace the watermain from 3rd to 30th Streets prior to the resurfacing project at the estimated cost of $5 million. The Department will need to borrow funding for this project.

Action: Send to City Council for approval to proceed with seeking financing for the project.

Motion: Ebbing/Cook Motion Carried

Sewer Fund

9th and Broadway Sewer Repair

A sinkhole developed in the middle of Broadway between 8th and 9th Streets in late August. Upon inspection, it was determined that a brick manhole had partially collapsed causing a large void under the pavement. The City does not have the equipment required to do an excavation of that size and Rees Construction was hired to do the emergency repair. The City has received an invoice in the amount of $32,330.51 for the work.

Action: Send to City Council with Committee recommendation.

Motion: Ebbing/Cook Motion Carried

24th and Broadway Sewer Replacement

Prairie Farms reported a plugged sewer line to the City, and it was determined that the line was plugged between the Prairie Farms manhole and the manhole in the middle of Broadway. Conte recommends replacing the brick manhole and extension of an 8” public sewer. The estimated cost of the project is $200,000. Bids will be opened on November 8th and Conte recommends approval to send the lowest qualified bid to the City Council.

Action: Send the lowest qualified bid to the City Council with Committee recommendation.

Motion: Cook/Ebbing Motion Carried

Dewatering Equipment Proposal Review

Four (4) proposals were received for furnishing equipment to dewater biosolids at the Waste Water Treatment Plant. The Proposals included three (3) different dewatering processes. Additional analysis will be done, and a recommendation will be made at the December meeting.

WWTP Report

Dustin Neese was present to give an update to the Committee on plant operation and the construction project.

Adjournment

With no other items to discuss, the meeting was adjourned at 5:30 p.m. on a motion by Ald. Ebbing and a second by Dan Cook.

https://www.quincyil.gov/home/showpublisheddocument/6916/638370413030330000