Ava City Council Approves Replacement of Waste Water Treatment Filter

by Michael Boyink / mike@douglascountyherald.com

On Tuesday, July 9th, the Ava Board of Aldermen convened for a business session at 5 p.m.

City Finances

Ava Treasurer Peggy Porter reported that the City had around $2.2M in funds at the end of June. 

The City did transfer $125K to the General fund and $25K to the Park fund, both from the Water/Sewer fund.

Newly-created reserve funds are still in place and untouched.

Proposed Ordinance – Conflict of Interest

The Alderman unanimously approved Ordinance #1052, which was to re-adopt Ordinance #998. This is the Conflict of Interest ordinance that needs to be re-adopted every two years. None of the wording of the ordinance changed.

Fire Station Paint

Mayor Loftin reported that although the City had advertised for bidders to do some painting on the Fire Station, no bids were received.

Treatment Plant Bonds

Mayor Loftin said that the wastewater treatment plant has three filters in need of refreshing. The system is working, but the process takes longer due to the filter age.

Replacing two filters would cost approximately $230K. Loftin said the City has bonds that will be paid off in 2023, which would free up funds to address the issue completely. 

The Aldermen voted unanimously to replace one filter in fiscal year 2020, and wait to replace the other two until after the bonds are paid off.

Carl Brown Water Study

Loftin said that water analyst Carl Brown would attend the next City Council meeting to summarize his recent survey of the system.

Brick Pavers

Loftin reported that the City expects to start laying the memorial brick pavers at the end of the month or the beginning of August.

Airport Card Reader

The city expects to begin the installation of the new card reader on July 16th. They’ve scheduled tech support from the supplier during that time.

Valley Avenue Electric

Mayor Loftin said that the City had discovered the need for electrical infrastructure repairs on Valley Avenue. The City Electric department is beginning to collect the various parts the job will require.

Attendance

Councilmen present were Billy Stewart, Noel Dye, Keith Jones, and Stan Lovan.

Video

Video from the Ava Board of Aldermen meeting will be posted to the Douglas County Herald’s website at douglascountyherald.com.

Next Meeting

City officials and Aldermen will reconvene on July 22rd at 5 p.m. at City Hall. Meetings are open to the public.