Budget panel approves wastewater pay request, OKs Clean Water Fund loan request and recommends deferring generator purchase

On May 13, 2025, the Village of Jackson Budget and Finance Committee recommended the Village Board approve pay request No. 14 for the 2024 Wastewater Treatment Plant tertiary filters and disinfectant project and approved a Clean Water Fund loan request No. 11; the committee also heard staff recommend deferring purchase of a generator and adding it to the 2026 plant upgrade contract.

Committee members said the items came to the committee with a recommendation from the Board of Public Works. The pay request No. 14 covers work by contractor JH Hassinger in the amount of $224,165.80; a motion to recommend approval was made, seconded and carried with recorded “aye” votes. The Clean Water Fund loan request No. 11 for the 2024 Wastewater Treatment Plant project was approved by voice vote in the committee in the amount of $234,824.81 on a motion and second.

Jack, a staff member, provided the update on the proposed generator and explained why staff recommend postponing the standalone purchase and instead adding the unit to the 2026 contract for the plant upgrade. He said coordinating purchase and installation with the larger 2026 contract would place the warranty start date at installation rather than delivery and would avoid doing an initial hookup, a disconnect and a later rehookup when electrical work (including MCC and VFD panel replacement) occurs. "I am recommending that gets pushed off to the contract for the 2026 year," Jack said.

Jack also told the committee the vendor quote had gone over the previously approved amount, that successive quotes had been dated or affected by tariffs, and that lead times for the generator are expected to match lead times for the MCC and VFD panels planned in the next phase. He said the generator had been planned to be paid from the D and R replacement fund but that whether it would remain cash-funded or be rolled into a borrow in 2026 "depends upon where we're at at that point." Jack said staff and finance will finalize cost estimates and Ehlers will present funding options to the Board.

The committee took no formal vote to purchase the generator at this meeting; members were informed of the staff recommendation not to proceed with the purchase at this time and that the item would be coordinated with the 2026 contract and future Board action if required.

Next steps noted in the meeting: staff will refine 2026 cost estimates and Ehlers will provide funding options to the Board; the pay request and loan recommendation will move to the Village Board for final approval.