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Council approves $61,719 emergency replacement for wastewater plant control system
Summary
Trappe approved an emergency $61,719 replacement of the wastewater treatment plant’s PLC/HMI control system, citing age and unavailability of parts; the council authorized use of sewer capacity reserves and will review related bids and design work at its March meeting.
The Trappe Town Council on Feb. 5 approved an emergency purchase to replace the wastewater treatment plant’s primary control system after Water Superintendent Shawn Lane reported repeated failures.
Lane told the council that the plant’s PLC/HMI — “the brain of the plant” that controls operations — is more than 20 years old and that replacement parts are no longer available. Micro‑Tech Designs submitted a turnkey quote of $61,719 for immediate replacement. Commissioner Jeremy Newnam moved to approve the emergency purchase using funds from the sewer capacity reserves; Commissioner Walter Chase seconded the motion and it was approved unanimously.
The council record says the purchase will be paid from the sewer capacity reserves account. No alternate funding source or phased repair option was presented at the meeting. The council did not condition the approval on additional competitive bidding because the vendor proposal was characterized as an emergency replacement for an obsolete, mission‑critical component.
The action follows other wastewater capital work on the council’s agenda: Town Attorney Lyndsey Ryan told the council a separate Planning/Engineering Report (PER) for an enhanced nutrient removal (ENR) upgrade has been issued and that related bids will be reviewed at the March 5 council meeting.
