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Council approves funding moves for SCADA upgrade and wastewater change orders
Summary
Council approved using utility contingency funds to pay Wallace Controls & Electric for a SCADA upgrade the city said will cost about $120,000–$130,000 (higher than a prior budget estimate of about $62,000), and separately approved roughly $118,000–$119,000 in change orders to Alliance Electrical for wastewater plant electrical and site work not covered by a grant.
The McGregor City Council approved two utility-related funding items: an upgrade to the city’s aging SCADA control system and payment of change orders for the wastewater treatment plant electrical work.
Staff told the council the SCADA system’s human interface modules and PLCs are aging and becoming obsolete and that Wallace Controls & Electric is effectively a sole-source vendor because they installed the existing system. Staff said the SCADA upgrade was budgeted previously for roughly $62,000 but that the invoices and scope now total closer to $120,000–$130,000. Council approved moving the expense to the utility fund contingency to pay the vendor.
On the wastewater treatment plant item, staff said a grant funded the bulk of the project (described in the packet as roughly an 80/20 arrangement), with $450,000 covered by the grant and a city match of $50,000. Three change orders exceeded the grant coverage and staff requested use of utility contingency funds (estimated at about $118,000–$119,000) to pay Alliance Electrical for the additional electrical trench/backfill work, extra electrical replacements requested by staff, and driveway replacement needed for chemical deliveries. Council approved the funding.
Staff said these measures address immediate reliability and safety concerns and that the contingency funds are excess utility revenues rather than a transfer from the general fund. The council approved both funding requests by voice vote.
Next steps: staff will process vendor invoices, complete the upgrades, and report on project completion and final costs to council.
