Water plant, street project both experience setbacks

Five years have passed since the City of New Rockford's application for water system improvements was first submitted to USDA-RD.

Yet, work still remains at the city's water treatment plant.

Wade Senger of Interstate Engineering, the project manager, told city commissioners during their Tuesday, July 5 meeting that he had gone through the plant that afternoon and identified several punch list items yet to be completed.

"Hopefully throughout the next two weeks we will work on getting those things wrapped up," he said.

"Not as of this moment," Senger replied when asked if the reverse osmosis treatment units were operating. Installation and operation of the two units has been fraught with challenges over the past several weeks. The units started treating water again in mid-June, only to be shut down two weeks later due to continued setbacks. A thorough cleaning of the expensive filters on both units was scheduled for later last week.

"Regular cleaning of the membranes has to be completed," Senger said, as they will need to be backwashed on a regular basis. The city should get seven years of life out of the filters if they are maintained properly, he added.

Water quality continues to vary throughout town. For example, generally clear water flows from the faucets at the Transcript office, while residents report brown water in some of the residential areas. In fact, two commissioners who live no more than a few blocks apart have experienced different water quality in recent weeks.

The new potassium permanganate treatment process that is in operation does remove a lot of the naturally-occurring iron and manganese, according to Senger, so he believes the present water condition is not related to the treatment process, but rather the distribution system.

Senger recommended that they flush in a systematic path, starting at the water treatment plant, bringing clean water and isolating each run until they identify and eliminate issues.

Commission President Stu Richter mused, "It seems to be getting drug out crazily."

"Everybody has the same frustration," Senger replied. "I think Sentry (Crane) has been doing a good job. Their vendors have been team players along the way."

The city approved Sentry Crane's Progressive Estimate #17, a total of $13,136 for work completed in May. Senger said $297,027 remains to be paid, which is a significant enough sum to encourage Sentry to complete the project.

The general contractor for the street project, Bituminous Paving, informed Senger that they will not be on-site to start concrete until the week of July 18, which is two weeks behind their originally scheduled arrival date. The completion date is Nov. 1, 2022, and per the contract the contractor will incur a $1,500 fee per calendar day in liquidated damages if the project is not completed on time.

One of the issues is that their material source is underwater, according to Senger. However, if they do get behind schedule, they said they can pull in additional paving crews to help.

The city has been broken down into seven sections. The plan is to work from west to east towards Hwy. 281, so they don't drive heavy machinery down completed roadways. There will be ongoing surveys throughout the summer as the project progresses.

President Merita Aldayel, president of the Eddy-New Rockford Library board, delivered her annual report to the commission. She cited several statistics about usage of the library. A dashboard of those statistics is at right.

The library has added 28 new patrons in the past year, and there are 20 children enrolled in the summer reading program. A generous donation from the Eagles Club was put to use to purchase prizes for the reading program, as well as new books for the middle grade fiction and non-fiction area.

The long-term goal, according to Aldayel, is to update the young adult collection and get more large print books for those patrons who love to read but have vision challenges.

A building permit and a Renaissance Zone tax incentive application were approved for Amy Ellingson and Robert Cudworth. The pair plan to build a new dental clinic in downtown New Rockford, on the north side of the 700 block of First Avenue North.

Public Works Superintendent Bruce Hirchert recommended that the city consider increasing the fee they charge for bulk water purchased from the water plant. It costs more money to treat water with reverse osmosis than with the prior lime softening system, he noted. Currently the city charges $5 per thousand gallons of water, which is low compared to other cities. Velva charges $10 per 1,000, according to Hirchert. The commission took no action, but did say they would consider the request.

Commissioners approved the new contract presented by Waste Management for garbage removal. The new contract is more favorable to the city than the current one, which was subject to automatic renewal as of July 1 (within 90 days of the contract's Sept. 30 expiration date).

The new agreement "may be extended" upon mutual agreement of the parties at the end of the three-year term. This is softer language than the current contract, which states that the agreement "shall" be subject to automatic renewal unless terminated at least 90 days prior to the end date.