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City approves $50,000 in unplanned wastewater control upgrades, citing alarm reliability concerns
Summary
Big Rapids approved unplanned control‑system upgrades at its wastewater treatment plant — a software-based dialer replacement (~$30,000) and a PLC/control‑panel replacement (~$21,000) — to restore detailed alarm notifications and compatibility with new equipment; staff said the total unplanned cost is roughly $50,000 and the contractor Topline is under contract for this work.
City staff and the plant’s system contractor told the commission that two unplanned but necessary upgrades are required for reliable operations at the wastewater treatment plant.
Scott Hall (project representative) explained that the facility’s existing alarm dialer is incompatible with the upgraded phone service and no longer allows staff to acknowledge or diagnose specific alarms remotely. He estimated the replacement dialer, including license and system support, at about $30,000. Jake, a plant operator, said the current dialer yields generic calls ("wastewater alarm") that force staff to respond in person to determine the issue; a modern software dialer would allow previewing alarm details and potentially reduce unnecessary overtime calls.
A second issue was a legacy PLC/computer in a control panel that cannot reliably communicate with a newly installed UV disinfection system; that replacement was described as roughly $21,000, bringing total unplanned costs to approximately $50,000. Staff told commissioners Topline Electric has an existing contract for instrumentation and controls, and that cheaper alternatives lacked the needed functionality.
Commissioners asked about getting multiple quotes and whether less expensive options had been evaluated. Staff responded that Topline is the contracted vendor for this type of work and that alternative options had been considered but lacked required features. The commission approved the resolution to proceed with the upgrades under the existing contract.
Staff said the upgrades will allow more actionable alarm information, on‑call staff to triage problems remotely, and the ability to add alarms for new lift stations as the system expands.
