09-12-11 Common Council Meeting Minutes

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REGULAR MEETING SEPTEMBER 12, 2011 Mr. Faccenda advised that he is here tonight with Gary Gilot, Director of Public Works for the City of South who will described the projects that are set forth in the Bond Ordinance. The ordinance is a Sewage Bond Revenue Ordinance for bonds that are in the amount not to exceed $22 million dollars over a period of twenty (20) years. The issuance of the bonds is necessary as part of the City’s continued compliance with the EPA mandate on it’s control of the combined sewage overflow. He stated that there is no rate increase that goes in connection with bonds. He stated that there was an increase last year and a similar bonds ordinance and a set of projects that were done to control the combined sewer overflow, this is the second step in that process and there is no additional rate increase required. th Mr. Gary Gilot, Director, Public Works, 13 Floor County-City Building, 227 W. Jefferson Blvd., South Bend, Indiana, advised that the scope of this bond in terms of project proceeds includes a project on Diamond Avenue that will extends where they are currently working on Phase I that goes from the River just north of Angela at Riverside and west to about Woodward. He stated that they will pick up from there with this funding and put a separate storm sewer along Diamond Avenue from Woodward to about Vassar. The second project is East Bank Sewer Separation continuation. There are a couple of projects actually in the East Bank. Portions of Niles and north of Cedar to fill a gap between the storm sewer on Corby and the storm sewer were are just not building on LaSalle. The third project area is just east of Bendix and north of Lincolnway West. He stated that this will carry separated storm water north to a gravel pit just south of Lathrop and just east of Bendix. The next project is Waste Water Treatment Plant improvement, so that they can handle wet weather solids, when there is a heavy rain we tend to get a flush of solid accumulation from in the pipes and that puts a burden on the anaerobic digestion process. There is a need to clean those tanks which are original equipment, there are four (4) tanks, two million gallons each, this scope of work will upgrade two of the primary anaerobic digestors, get rid of the accumulation of grit in the cone of the tank, change out the mixing systems which no longer function and improvement the process for the destruction of volatile organic solids so that they end up with a by-product that is useful for farm application, beneficial reuse of bio-solids is the green way that they process the residuals from the plant. He stated that they have a good pre-treatment program that removes heavy metals and mostly what is left in that bio-solid material is a nitrogen fertilizer that is valuable on crop land. He stated that in order to clean those tanks is about a million dollars, so when we do the cleaning and they really need cleaning now, we might as well get on with the rest of the improvements to the mixing systems and other process equipment. The last category is to do design plans and specifications for future projects under the CSO long term control plan. He stated that they have plans for these projects, but they would like to pick up the pace on design so that they can actually have firm contractor bids by the time the next revenue bond in the series is issued next year about this time. Councilmember Henry Davis stated that he keeps asking the same question over and over again, and is looking for an actual answer. When we are doing projects like this and they are as big as they are when we are switching over to a brand new administration, is it in our best interest as a Council or even as the Public Works Director to enter into these agreements not knowing when and how the new administration is going to take over, what their philosophy is and what there mission is. He understands that EPA has mandated regulations but there was a window to complete it. So, its not like it has to happen tomorrow, six months from now or maybe a year from now. Are we putting ourselves in a bad predicament or making it very difficult for the next administration to function based upon these agreements that we are making now. Mr. Gilot stated that he did not think so. He stated that the Council if following the plan, the Council approved rates that had four (4) steps and had a capital improvement plan associated with those four (4) steps and this is implementing that plan. Changes of Administration will happen over the next twenty (20) years but there needs to be continuity toward the implementation of that plan. He stated that they cannot change it every time there is change in the Mayor’s Office or the Council make-up. This is a series of projects that would be base lined to any program that the City would do in the future. These need to be done. 7