At last week’s meeting of the City and Borough Assembly, a number of ongoing infrastructural needs made the agenda.
One item of interest was acquiring a new backup generator to support one of the city’s recently upgraded sewer pump stations. The pump station on Case Avenue is one of two primary stations servicing Wrangell’s waste that were upgraded last year.
In the event of a power failure, Public Works has requested permission to purchase a 175 Kilowatt backup generator capable of running the pump. Currently the department has one smaller generator that provides backup power to its other primary pump station.
In the event of an outage affecting both stations, however, Public Works director Amber Al-Haddad made the case that the Case Avenue location would need its own generator. Despite its close proximity to the municipal powerhouse, she explained it was not feasible to simply extend power across the street to the unit, partly because of safety requirements but also because of time considerations. Though Wrangell Municipal Light and Power can typically have its backup generators on in half an hour to an hour, under periods of heavy use the pump station could be overflowing with sewage within 30 minutes.
“That was considered when we did the redesign,” Al-Haddad said. “It wasn’t to code.”
The need was first arrived at during a planned outage earlier this spring, and a search for a similarly powerful generator from among local contractors had found no substitutes. She recommended sole-source purchase of a Caterpillar C7.1 175kw generator from NC Power Systems in the amount of $45,330. Normally such purchases would go through a bid process, but given her department’s compatibility with Caterpillar systems and NC Power Systems’ role as the company’s regional distributor, she felt the circumstances warranted a noncompetitive purchase.
Assembly members questioned whether this was wise, with David Powell requesting cost estimates from other firms. While he did not have any qualms with requesting a specific brand, he was hopeful a bid process could yield a more competitive price.
“It’d like to see it go out to bid,” he said. Fellow members agreed, unanimously voting down the proposal.
Al-Haddad estimated she could have a proposal put together within a week, and that bids could possibly be in in time for the Assembly’s next meeting early next month.
Right-of-way conflicts with the owners of one property are still holding up resurfacing work and improvements along Evergreen Avenue. City manager Lisa Von Bargen reported staff was continuing to try to reach a conclusion.
While the road is city-owned, the project is managed by the Department of Transportation and Public Facilities, which is putting up the majority of its funding. Designs have been complete, with a copy of the latest documents available to review at City Hall. Once all right-of way conflicts have been resolved DOT will request authorization of the federally-sourced funds to move forward for the construction phase.
The oft-delayed project has been in a holding state since 2013. Spanning the road from the ferry terminal until 500 feet from the airport turnoff, the addition of a sidewalk up to Petroglyph Beach has also been included in the design. Drainage along the roadway would be improved and utility poles realigned, and the road would see additional signage, curbs, gutters and guard rails.
Another state-supported project was revisited at last week’s meeting, with an update on the Shoemaker Bay Harbor redesign provided by Von Bargen. She and finance director Lee Burgess are reportedly in communication with the Alaska Municipal Bond Bank Authority about bonding for the project, which could cost up to $11.4 million. The state DOT would put up $5 million of that, with the remainder to come from bonds and harbor reserves.
One new development with the project is deciding where to place material dredged from the harbor. In initial plans that problem had been overlooked.
“We are having to make some decisions on where to have the dredge material,” Von Bargen explained. Material disposed of at an uplands site would not need to be tested for contaminants as it would in wetland areas, and several such sites would be available. But given recent concerns by the public over land contamination related to the former Byford junkyard cleanup last year, she recommended conducting tests anyway.
Testing to state and federal standards could cost tens of thousands of dollars, she said, and could push a construction start date back to March. “I’m sort of asking for a tolerance level from the Assembly,” Von Bargen said.
Asked for direction, the Assembly seemed in agreement. Member Patty Gilbert would like to see a firmer cost estimate before reaching a decision, which Von Bargen would bring before the council at next month’s meeting.
Gilbert was also interested in learning what upgrades would be required by the municipal water treatment plant before next summer’s elevated demand. While not posing any problems this year, in 2016 the aging plant had been unable to keep up with demand, disrupting seafood processing operations and triggering a local state of emergency.
Consultants at Shannon & Wilson have recently completed a groundwater desktop study and have begun a study of the plant’s two reservoirs. Von Bargen said city staff is currently following up on their findings and is anticipating a final report, from which a long-term solution to the plant’s problems may be found. Von Bargen added that an interim solution may also be forthcoming, which will include cost estimates for residential and small commercial water metering – which could reduce overall demand by up to a third – and a water needs assessment.
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