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Council gives first reading to consolidated water and sewer ordinance, approves pump repairs and equipment purchases
Summary
Council gave first reading to a substantially rewritten Water and Sewer Use Ordinance, approved reallocating $100,000 between funds to pay for a replacement pump, authorized purchase of a replacement Regency lift-station pump (cost not to exceed $47,800), and approved repairs to two raw-water pumps with repair estimates provided; other routine purchases and a mutual-aid agreement were also approved.
The Baldwin City Council approved a string of infrastructure and maintenance items, including the first reading of a consolidated Water and Sewer Use Ordinance and multiple equipment purchases and repairs.
City staff introduced what they described as a comprehensive consolidation of the existing water-and-sewer code, saying the rewrite brings decades of amendments into a single, more user-friendly document and reduces the ordinance from nearly 150 pages to roughly 34. The rewrite updates discharge limits to match the city's current permit and clarifies system-connection rules, including removing a requirement that some unconnected septic customers pay sewer charges if they are not physically connected; the ordinance was approved for first reading.
Council then considered several operational approvals: a modification to a mutual-aid agreement for fire services (which removes the prison's ability to respond in an apparatus but allows personnel responses when available) and authorized the fire chief to execute the agreement. The council approved budgeted replacements for SCAG mowers at the water and wastewater plants, noting the purchases exceeded the administrative $5,000 threshold.
On utility infrastructure, the council approved transferring $100,000 previously committed from system-connection fees into the O&M reserve to allow funding for a replacement pump at the Regency lift station and two raw-water intake pump repairs. The council authorized the Regency replacement pump purchase with a cost not to exceed $47,800, to be expensed from the O&M reserve fund.
City engineering staff described the raw-water-intake pumps as three 350-horsepower units (installed in 1987) that move roughly 2,000 gallons per minute; two pumps required major rebuilding. Staff provided estimated repair quotes (reported in the meeting packet as approximately $52,800 and $58,425 for the two pumps) and said rebuilding is substantially less costly than full replacement (which staff estimated could be roughly $175,000–$200,000 per pump). Council approved the repair work and associated funding allocations.
Other items approved included a roads improvement contract award from the bid opening and a mold-remediation contract for the community room (ServePro was selected; the remediation cost was described as just under $3,000 and will be funded from the M fund; in-house staff will handle drywall and door replacement).
Votes: motions described in the meeting carried by voice vote and were announced as carried unanimously; individual roll-call tallies were not recorded in the transcript.
Next steps: the water-and-sewer ordinance will return for a subsequent reading; the pump purchases and repairs will proceed under the authorized spending limits.
