CALLED
MEETING - CONSULTATION WITH ENGINEER
A
special called meeting of the Lawrenceville Town Council was called to order on
Mayor
Keith W. Clarke; Council Members: Joyce D. Bland, H. B. Brockwell, Jr., Harry S. Holman, Scott E. Martin and Esther
B. Sanderson; Town Manager, C. J. Dean; and Administrative Assistant, Wanda
Johnson. Also present Jeff Wells, District Engineer, VDH; Mac Bugg, B & B Consultants and Tommy Johnson.
Absent:
Council Members, Vanessa Y. Jones, Robert F. Pecht,
III; and Alice B. Talbert, Clerk.
Roll
was called.
Mayor
Clarke stated the purpose of the special called meeting is for a consultation
with an engineer on proposed water plant capital upgrades. Legal notice
of the meeting has been given as required. Mayor Clarke further stated
that the proposal is actually for the Town of Alberta and that it will impact
the Town of Lawrenceville. Council members were given copies of a section
of the B & B recommendations for Alberta that include information on chloramine disinfection and a bubble aeration system.
Mr.
Dean gave a review of the monitoring of TTHMs by the
Town of Lawrenceville and the Town of Alberta that began four years ago on a
quarterly basis. Operational changes that were made in 2005 resulted in
reduced TTHMs to acceptable levels in Lawrenceville
and lower TTHM results in Alberta. Water temperature and time are two
things that affect TTHMs and create higher
levels. The Timmons study made recommendations that included
Lawrenceville taking two tanks out of service and flushing lines. One
tank has been taken out of service and consideration is being given to the best
way to take the second tank off line. B & B Consultants had
Lawrenceville conduct a tracer study last year to determine how long the water
stays in the system. Last week, Mr. Dean
received two chapters out of the draft PER (Preliminary Engineering Report)
from B & B for Alberta. He consulted the Water Committee Chairman,
who suggested a called meeting for all Town Council members to learn about the
proposal.
Dr. Bugg discussed the options suggested for treating the water
for Alberta and the process of Alberta’s grant application to VDH.
The deadline is this Friday. Alberta has not been in compliance with TTHM
results and is under a consent order from VDH. The tracer and computer
models indicate that water is in the Alberta system at the farthest point for
over 23 days. The Town of Lawrenceville is involved as the supplier of
water to Alberta. It is recommended that the ammonia feed be installed at
the Lawrenceville WTP where skilled operators will be more available. Dr.
Bugg answered questions from the Mayor, Town Attorney
and Council Members. He would like permission from the Lawrenceville Town
Council to conduct the 90 day chloramine disinfection
test. The test would show VDH that the two towns are working on the
problem. This would be included in the preliminary engineering report
that must be submitted with the application. Lawrenceville could pull out
of the test after 90 days if results were not good for Lawrenceville.
Lawrenceville could require Alberta to be responsible for all costs incurred.
Mr.
Wells stated that VDH has a consent order for Alberta. The Lawrenceville
Town Manager and Water Operator have worked to bring Lawrenceville in
compliance but this has not been enough for Alberta. This pilot would
determine if the options would work. This would be a live test to
determine if this method would work, not a lab study.
Mr.
Dean expressed concern that Timmons was paid for a report and not all the
Timmons recommendations have been followed. He also expressed concern
about possible increased corrosion problems with chloramines and that
Lawrenceville not be burdened with expenses for the pilot study that are not
budgeted.
Mayor
Clarke commented there should be no expense to Lawrenceville for capital or
chemicals, only the staff monitoring.
Mr. Outten stated Alberta would have to bear the costs.
There
was discussion but no action taken. Mayor Clarke stated the matter can be
put on the agenda for the regular April Town Council meeting. This will
give all council members time for further consideration.
There
being no further business, the meeting was adjourned by a motion from Mr. Brockwell and a second by Mrs. Sanderson.
_______________________________Mayor
______________________________Attest