Harrington authorizes up to $912,000 to replace failed wastewater blowers; public hearing set on CDBG emergency grant

Harrington commissioners voted to authorize the initial release of funds of up to $912,000 to buy two replacement blowers for the city wastewater treatment plant and scheduled a special public hearing on the city's CDBG emergency grant application.

The action follows the failure of both of the plant's primary blowers, which staff said are central to keeping wastewater moving through the biological treatment basins. A staff member told the commission the plant is operating on temporary commercial-grade air compressors that run on diesel and are expensive to operate.

The commission's authorization allows staff to place an order for two new blowers from the vendor listed in the agenda packet and to fund the purchase temporarily from the city's electric reserve fund while pursuing reimbursement through a Kansas Department of Commerce urgent-needs CDBG application. The staff member said Commerce and the city have discussed the situation and that Commerce indicated the replacement blowers likely qualify under the urgent-needs category of CDBG, which would allow later reimbursement.

Commission discussion and engineering updates said the failed blowers are old (original units were installed in the 1980s), had been rebuilt previously and recently had bearing work; one unit failed and the other failed soon after. Staff and the city's engineer, representing SMH, said the chosen replacement blowers are the same brand and model planned for the next phase of the plant reconstruction so they will later be installed permanently as part of the larger project.

The motion to authorize the funds and mayoral signature passed on a 3-1 roll call: Commissioner Scarf voted no; Commissioners Stets and Bell and Mayor Gares voted aye. The commission then approved a separate motion to hold a special meeting and public hearing for the CDBG emergency grant application on April 23, 2025, at 5:00 p.m. (publication of the hearing notice was confirmed by staff).

The city manager and utility staff said they expect a roughly five-week lead time on the blower order and emphasized the cost of continuing to run temporary compressors as a reason to expedite the purchase. Staff recommended drawing the money temporarily from the electric reserve fund and moving any CDBG reimbursement back into that fund when and if the grant is awarded.

Votes at a glance: "Authorize initial release of funds up to $912,000 to purchase two blowers from Azar; authorize mayor's signature" Motion outcome: approved; roll call: Commissioner Scarf - No; Commissioner Stets - Aye; Commissioner Bell - Aye; Mayor Gares - Aye.

The commission also scheduled the required CDBG public hearing and vote timetable so staff can submit the emergency grant application if the public hearing and the 15-day posting period proceed as required by Commerce.

The city and its engineers said design and financing for the larger wastewater plant reconstruction (phase 2) are ongoing with KDHE and other state programs; staff described the blower purchase as both an immediate replacement and compatible with the longer-term plant upgrade.