Jasper Utility Service Board meeting: November 16, 2015

The Jasper Utility Service Board met for their regular meeting and took the following actions:

-Approved Gas/Water Manager Ernie Hinkle to accept the low quotes on chemical supplies for 2016. Hinkle stated he would provide the Utility Service Board with a list of the approved suppliers and the respective chemicals at the next meeting.

-Wastewater Manager Ed Hollinden asked to take the quotes for a lift generator for the Wastewater Department under consideration. They opened two quotes: Cummins Crosspoint LLC of Evansville with a base quote of $15,212.04 and EVAPAR of Evansville with a base quote of $15,960.

-Approved the purchase of three Break Safe and Load Pickup Jumpers used to pick up and break electrical loads temporarily for $9,467.04 from HD Supply Utilities Company. A recent incident in which a jumper failed caused an outage and the new units will allow crews to see a potential failure before it occurs.

-Approved the low quote from Hopf Equipment for a new loader backhoe for the net quote of $13,018. The front end loader had a base quote of $96,318 and a trade-in allowance of $83,300.

-Approved taking the utility department capital expenditure plans for 2016 under advisement for potential approval at the December meeting after committee review. The Electric and Wastewater Committee meeting will be held on Friday, December 4 at 8 a.m.; Water and Gas Committee meeting will be held on Wednesday, December 9 at 8 a.m.; and the Finance Committee will meet on Thursday, December 17 at 8 a.m.

-Approved Gas/Water Manager Ernie Hinkle’s request to contract with dive company Evoqua Water Technologies for a transportation screen inspection and maintenance at the water plant for $6,985. The USB requested that Hinkle solicit other companies for quotes and he received two from other companies. According to Hinkle, the quotes could not be compared due to the scope of the project and Evoqua’s expertise.

-The Beaver Lake Dam spillway elevation project is on track to be completed by the January 7th completion date depending on the weather.

-Approved the renewal of the Identity Theft Prevention Program with the Utility Services Billing Office. This is an annual contract.

-Approved splitting the cost of the Wavescan software upgrade 50/50 with the civil city. The upgrade will cost $26,500; utilities will pay $13,250. The Wavescan software is a document management system. It needs to be updated from the Windows XP version to a current version. The new server being installed with the city needs to be completed prior to the update occurring.

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