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Commission hears utility operations update, substation repair and Central Middle School solar revisions
Summary
Department heads briefed the commission on ongoing utility projects: Business Highway 2 punch list, a cracked weld on a main 115 line requiring repair, reduced outstanding water meters to three, and revised solar-array drawings for Central Middle School with pending interconnection and MMPA tariff documents.
Commission staff provided a broad operations update at the June 17 meeting, covering multiple electric and water projects and the status of a school solar installation.
Todd Forester summarized work on the Business Highway 2 project and said Northwest Electric holds the punch list; he reported that roughly "30% of that material" for 2026 equipment had arrived and staff were aiming to finish procurement before an upcoming staff departure. On the Central Middle School solar project, Forester said the city received revised drawings from Ziggler and will ask for additional layout changes so the array better fits the site; staff are working on the interconnection agreement and the MMPA tariff documents needed for grid connection.
On electric operations, staff reported scheduled switching to take the industrial park substation offline for maintenance and that technicians discovered a crack in a weld on the main 115 line for a line the city owns; that will require locating a welder (staff mentioned Makota as a possible contractor) and scheduling an outage to complete repairs. Crews also found a stripped crank on a line ruptor; staff said parts are hard to find and may need to be machined.
Water operations updates included installation of another meter (reducing outstanding meters to three) and a new hydrant extension installed near Walgreens. Staff noted they are assembling easements and construction quotes for several forthcoming projects and are preparing 2027 budget numbers for the commission’s July 8 meeting.
Staff did not provide final construction schedules or specific funding breakdowns for the items discussed. Commission members asked no substantive follow-up questions during the report.
Next steps: staff will obtain quotes and finalize easements, pursue welding repairs on the 115 line, and continue work on the school solar interconnection paperwork.
