Albany Utility Board approves multiple equipment purchases and repairs totaling about $289,000

The Albany Utility Board voted Oct. 9 to approve a slate of equipment purchases and repairs for fleet, water and wastewater operations, approving contracts and purchase orders that staff said address aging infrastructure and immediate reliability risks.

Collectively the board approved purchases and repairs that staff listed at roughly $86,012.72 for replacement fuel dispensers (two high-speed diesel and two regular diesel at a public works site and three twin dispensers), $44,710 for a Benshaw-series soft starter for blower No. 3 at the wastewater plant, $46,930 to replace the pump at Well 13, $58,683.92 to repair a large wastewater-plant pump and $53,276.81 for a 6-inch Godwin trailer-mounted pump procured under a Florida Sheriffs Association cooperative contract.

Staff said Barber Equipment of Albany will supply and install the fuel dispensers; Fleet staff told the board the city’s existing dispensers are 20–25 years old, parts are increasingly unavailable, and Barber has an existing performance history with the city. Operations staff said the fuel-dispensing equipment includes access controls to prevent unauthorized fueling. The board asked about warranty coverage; staff confirmed a one-year manufacturer warranty for the dispensers.

At the wastewater plant, staff recommended installing a three-year-warranty Benshaw soft starter for blower No. 3 after ESG, the maintenance contractor, recommended replacement. Staff explained the decision not to bid that item in the open market: ESG holds a maintenance contract and provided the vendor recommendation, which staff then reviewed for reasonableness.

Well 13’s pump failed diagnostic testing that staff said showed the unit could not be repaired, prompting staff to seek an immediate replacement from Donald Smith Company of Hedland, Alabama. Staff described that the well and pump have undergone several previous rebuilds (major well work in 2003, a rehabilitation in 2017) and said the pump life expectancy is roughly 30 years. Commissioners pressed staff on why the work was not competitively bid; staff said the vendor responded quickly, there was a near-term service risk for downtown and the hospital service area, and that timing/urgency justified the single-source approach.

For a wastewater-plant pump, staff recommended repair by Waco Electric Supply at $58,683.92, noting replacement would be about $200,000. Operations staff said the repair should extend the pump’s service life by about four to five years, and that routine rebuilds are standard practice when repair is less than half the replacement cost.

Fleet also requested purchase of a 6-inch Godwin pump from Xylem Dewatering Solutions of Cartersville, Georgia under a cooperative contract, a procurement method staff said the city uses to expedite purchases and reduce costs. The department asked for the existing unit to be declared surplus upon delivery.

All procurement and repair motions were moved, seconded and approved in roll-call votes. Board members on the rolls responded in the affirmative during each vote; the meeting record shows unanimous approval for the listed measures.

Next steps: staff will finalize purchase orders and coordinate delivery and installation schedules; the city will declare the replaced unit surplus when applicable.