City staff and commissioners debated whether to continue a long-standing capital plan to replace about 310 manholes at roughly 50 per year or switch to a condition-based replacement program and reallocate funds to staffing and other urgent maintenance.
Mr. Freeman told the commission the 50-per-year program originated from a January 2023 meeting request by the mayor and has persisted in the capital plan. He also described the safety rationale for raising some manholes above flood levels: during the last "bridal surge" (storm event) the city experienced sewer geysers that pushed manhole lids off and caused sanitary overflows.
"We got hit up hard on the last bridal surge'you literally had geysers of sewer coming up through the manholes," Mr. Freeman said, explaining why the program began. Several commissioners argued a universal replacement of all 310 manholes is a hard sell and recommended replacing only units that demonstrably need it. One commissioner proposed reducing the current $250,000 manhole allocation to $150,000 and using the $100,000 savings to add another utility-maintenance position; staff also proposed reallocating $60,000 from a medical-benefit contingency to add a streets/stormwater position.
Commissioners discussed that some manholes in flood-prone locations had already been reprioritized and that staff can adjust out-year figures in the capital improvement plan. The commission directed staff to revise the capital figures and return with a plan that funds condition-based replacements while adding targeted field staffing.