Albany Utility Board makes funding recommendations to City Commission

ALBANY — The Albany Utility Board voted Thursday to recommend that the Albany City Commission approve financing for three utilities-related items.

The board approved unanimously recommendations that the City Commission OK $351,618.96 to renew a three-year contract with Hewlett-Packard for software/hardware support; an estimated $255,286 for the as-needed purchases of water meters, and $48,602 for upper and lower chains for the dissolved air flotation tanks at the Joshua Street Wastewater Treatment Plant.

Responding to Commissioner Sam Snead’s question about the Badger brand water meters, Director of Utility Operations Jimmy Norman said, “Those meters are not electric, but they are manufactured so that you can make the conversion pretty easily if you want to.”

City Manager Sharon Subadan noted that an agenda item calling for discussion of a proposal to change Utility Board meeting dates had been taken off the table now that the City Commission has adjusted its meeting schedule to a second business meeting each month.

Mayor Dorothy Hubbard, who serves as head of the utilities authority, said the Utility Board would implement a new policy that was introduced at the City Commission’s meeting Tuesday, the first in which that board held back-to-back work and business sessions.

“We will bring forms over to our meetings that will allow citizens to sign up and make comments on agenda items at these meetings like we are the city meetings,” Hubbard said. “We’ll continue our policy of having individuals sign up ahead of time to be placed on the agenda, but our citizens will be able to sign up on the days of our meetings to make comments.”