Looking for a new job and willing to commit long term?
If that’s you, we have news.
The city water department has an opening after recent hire Quinton Howell announced his resignation, due to moving out of state.
The council approved posting for a replacement at the Monday, Feb. 16 council meeting, the public works department post with emphasis in the water department starting at $25 an hour. A fringe benefits package is also included with the position, focused on carrying out the day-to-day operations of the public works department in a safe and efficient manner. See ad on page 3 for more information and application details.
Also in city water department news, the council heard in committee of the whole from Tia McCarthy of CBS Squared, who asked the council what projects they wanted to have as priority for principal forgiveness purposes with the DNR.
“The DNR has two drinking water programs, one for sanitary and one for drinking water projects,” she said. “What we’re talking about today is drinking water projects. Because there are three of them that are submitted and DNR’s program only allows up to $1.6 million in principal forgiveness to go to a community each fiscal year.” Drinking water projects submitted for the current fiscal year included Maple Street, Well 3, and the central water treatment plant. Of these Well 3 and the central water treatment plant ranked highest. The city had maxxed out principal forgiveness in the current year, but putting off the central water treatment plant application for next year could allow a potential $1.6 million in principal forgiveness, the city carrying the interest in the meantime. Qualifying for principal forgiveness requires that the city to have enough revenue to cover 125 percent of the debt.
McCarthy laid out the principal matter at issue.
“So the question from the DNR is, on their funding list, are the projects they rate the highest the ones you want principal forgiveness on?” she said. “Or would you want to withdraw one of these applications, move it to the next fiscal year, so that one of the projects lower down gets some of that principal forgiveness?”
“Is that like a guarantee or just possible?” Wards to 7 and 9 alderperson Laurie Foster asked for the DNR program.
“Nothing is ever guaranteed, but I can tell you that on safe drinking water’s list, 79 projects got principal forgiveness, and this project scored number 12.” DNR was not expecting a drastic cut in funding for next year, meaning it was possible the project could again score high in priority and obtain principal forgiveness.
Wards 4 to 7 and 9 alderperson Aaron Dickson asked about principal forgiveness on the well project, answered in turn by McCarthy.
“So the well because on its own its a much less expensive project, it’s just under $820,000. So that is eligible for half principal forgiveness or $410,000. You’d get the $410,000 for the well, and then you’d get $900,000 for Maple.” The present year would be less than $1.6 million, but the two years put together would be more than a single year forgiveness.
A main question affecting the city’s decision was the impact putting off the central water treatment plant would have on the PSC rate case, the answer unknown as of Monday.
“I don’t know how it affects our rate study,” Mayor Mike Henke said. “How soon do you need an answer?”
“The sooner the better, but I think realistically if it needed to wait a month or two,” McCarthy said.
The city will reach out to the PSC on the matter in the meantime, no answer given Feb. 16.
Also brought meanwhile on Monday was the possibility of DNR funds for emerging contaminants, the agency looking to add manganese to its list.
Manganese is present in local geology but removed with water treatment. If manganese gets added to the DNR list of emerging contaminants and the city applies it could lead to $3.2 million in principal forgiveness, equivalent to a grant. McCarthy said CBS Squared was looking into it but that it was “much less certain” than the $1.6 million in principal forgiveness.
Last in news from the water department meanwhile, council members voted in consent agenda to approve attendance of Ben Blair and Dave Mendoza at the Wisconsin Rural Water Association (WRWA) Water Certification training, held in two installments on March 2 and April 1 respectively. With each day costing $125 per person the training will. The certification training to be held March 2 in Plover is also $125 per person.