Albany Utility Board recommends equipment purchases

ALBANY — Albany City Manager Sharon Subadan told Albany Utility Board members Wednesday that she plans to bring a number of funding requests for upgrades to the board in coming weeks to help bring the authority “out of the Dark Ages.”

The Utility Board convened for a special called meeting Thursday to consider funding requests for pump repairs at the city’s wastewater treatment plant and the purchase of a dozen electric reclosers for the utility’s Light Division.

A recloser is a circuit breaker for an overhead power line that is equipped to automatically close the breaker after it has been opened, disrupting the electrical flow, because of a momentary fault.

After the board discussed both matters and recommended that the Albany City Commission approve funding for each, Subadan said, under her breath, “In other words, we’re moving out of the Dark Ages.”

Albany Mayor Dorothy Hubbard, who serves as chairwoman of the Utility Board, quipped, “Is there any way we can do it quicker?”

Subadan quickly responded, “We can get anything done if you (the City Commission) approve the funding.”

The repairs and replacement parts, Utilities Operations Manager Jimmy Norman and Sewer Superintendent Jeff Hughes pointed out, are needed as quickly as possible due to the turnaround time on each proposal.

Hughes noted that repairs to three Flygt Pumps at the treatment plant would take “five to six weeks” to finish, and Norman said the delivery date on the reclosers is “16 to 17 weeks.”

The City Commission will consider both recommendations at its meeting Tuesday.

“We need to modernize our system to best serve our customers,” Subadan said. “You’ll be hearing more of this type request in the coming weeks. Everything we do now, we do thinking of the future.”

Procurement Manager Mike Trotter said the cost for rebuilds of the three pumps would total $178,456.98. Xylem Water Solutions USA of Garden City supplied the bid. Assistant City Manager Phil Roberson said that while the treatment plant is operating at necessary capacity — even with the three pumps down, due to redundancy built into the system — the authority needs the damaged pumps back in service as quickly as possible.

“We need all of our pumps working to meet (EPD) requirements,” Roberson said.

Norman said that repairs to reclosers damaged during January storms and the need to replace one because of age would leave the city with one of the 12 reclosers recommended for purchase in its inventory. Power Connections of Dothan, Ala., bid $19,604 each on the reclosers, for a total purchase of $235,248.

Also at the meeting, the board learned that its scheduled April 13 meeting had been canceled and that its planned April 27 meeting would be moved to April 25.