Apr 24, 2008

An ordinance certifying April 8 election results was accepted and declared valid Tuesday evening during city council, a formality which allowed Judy Lovan, west ward, and Ric Engelhardt, east ward, to take the official oath of office and assume their position at the council table. Councilman David Norman was elected president for the year, and 2008-09 annual appointments were accepted as follows: Larry Tyrrell, city attorney; Peggy Porter, treasurer; Jennifer Lakey, collector; Larry Smith, chief of police; Eddie Maggard, fire chief and building inspector; and, Lane Lakey and Cindy Rains were reappointed to planning and zoning commission. Council members and city administrators were extremely attentive Tuesday evening when an electrical system update was given by Dean Parks and Lincoln Duncan, electrical engineer con¬sultants with Barnes, Henry, Meisenheimer & Gende, Inc. (BHMG) of St. Louis. Both consultants had joined city officials for a meeting with Copeland representa¬tives earlier in the day and had spent time discussing the Sho-Me Power rate increase. It was noted to be a productive meeting. Parks said Copeland was willing to work with the city on the issue, and that the company was already putting ideas in place to reduce electrical use hoping to set a new standard for reducing internal costs. Parks noted it was important for the City and Copeland to keep communication channels open and consult with each other about the wholesale power rate issue so changes or actions implemented by either party weren't counterproductive to overall efforts. However, Park reminded everyone the full impact of the rate increase will not completely register until August. Several questions were posed by council members, and Park tried to respond in terms everyone would understand, so the consequences of any action taken by the City or Copeland would be fully understood. Park conceded more than once the issue is complicated. In terms of Copeland, the option of conjunctive billing or regrouping meters was mentioned as a possible venue for decreasing electrical costs. Parks explained the option could be accomplished one of two ways –– a physical change at Copeland's expense, or an electronic change through the city's billing system. However, the downside of physical change would require 1-2 years for completion. Circumventing the system and altering Copeland's meters to function at a different demand level of kilowatt usage would provide a savings of $220,000 per year to the firm; but, it would also leave the City responsible for the $220,000 loss in revenue. And according to Parks, "the city runs an efficient system, there isn't anything else to work with to replace the lost revenue stream." The only way to make up the difference would be to charge other city users an additional $16 per month. One of the problems the City continues to come up against is that the electric system is maxed out. Even though the system runs efficiently, it is outdated and overloaded, and unfortunately, there aren't any margins for change. This factor is also a hindrance in finding options or solutions to the Sho-Me Power rate increase. Lincoln Duncan, a consultant with BHMG, gave council members a brief overview of the electric system study completed by the firm. Duncan said Ava's demand has more than doubled in the last 10 years and the strain on the physical distribution line has exceeded it's capability. Duncan said the City's distribution system has four overhead circuits, and the system has approximately 23 miles of circuits. The report noted there are certain segments of the distribution system near the substation that are periodically overloaded, and much of the distribution system has been in service in excess of 40-years, with some portions reaching the limits of design life and capacity. Poles are in poor condition, jacketing on old conductors have deteriorated to the point of falling off, and some parts of the system need redesigned. Duncan recommended the City upgrade the distribution system near the substation, focusing first on the substation feed to Copeland which is an industrial circuit with two lines to N.W. 3rd Street and one to N.E. 5th. Construction and engineering costs for the project were estimated to be $300,000. The second phase would replace the substation circuit to Wal-Mart, a distance of 1.5 miles. A cost estimated to be $380,000. The third phase would be an overall upgrade of poles and jacketed copper conductors, for a cost of $874,000. Both Duncan and Parks emphasized the city's need to make improvements before the system has reliability issues. Parks said "small municipalities will sometimes get into a death spiral they cannot get saved from." The implication being the time for improvement is at hand. According to the report, the system is degraded and has some parts 60 years old. Consequently, the consultants projected it is only a matter of time before complications occur. After a brief discussion, council unanimously approved phases one and two of the project. Completion of the first two phases will take approximately two years according to projections. Parks said projects are generally broken down into increments with 6-8 months for design and planning; 2-3 months for legal review and bids; and then the construction work begins most generally with two crews of 4 or 5 in each crew, with work taking 6-8 months. Director of Development Janice Lorrain reported the planning and zoning commission had decided to allow loft apartments on the square and a public hearing will be held on the issue Friday, May 9, 10 a.m. at City Hall. Lorrain also informed the State Revolving Loan Fund for water improvements has been announced and Ava was included in the list for 2009. Mayor Leon Harris updated council on recent repairs at city well no. 5, located at 5th and 3rd Avenue. Harris said the motor had burned out, consequently, a new motor had been installed along with 84 ft. of galvanized steel pipe. The emergency repairs cost $9,789. Aldermen in attendance for the meeting were Burrely Loftin, Ric Engelhardt, Judy Lovan and David Norman.