City commission approves water department purchases

The Fort Scott City Commission approved various improvements that will benefit the city's water department.

During Tuesday's meeting, Water Plant Supervisor Michael Mix appeared before commissioners to request a few items geared toward improving the department's equipment and services.

Mix's first request was for the purchase of two Variable Frequency Drive (VFD) motors for the Davis Lift Station located at 404 N. Hill St. Mix said station is the main sewer pump station into which all wastewater for the entire city flows and supplies the wastewater to the treatment plant.

"It's a critical station," he said.

The station has four pumps that are each equipped with a VFD motor which controls motor and pump speed based on the incoming flow. Mix said the existing VFD's are 14 years old and various electronic components have begun to fail in two motors. Existing units are obsolete and parts are no longer available.

Mix said the purchase would replace worn out or obsolete units at the lift station.

Commissioners approved the $28,000 purchase from SMC Electric Supply for two VFD motors for the lift station. Mix said there are only two suppliers in the area that have the VFD's with the requested specifications. The city also received a quote from MAC for $29,500.

"This is just replacing those that are damaged and/or not functioning," Mix said.

Mix also said the water plant uses a small fork lift for unloading chemicals at the plant. The existing unit is 14 years old and its circuit board has recently gone out. Mix said he recommends complete replacement of the unit.

Mix said a replacement with the same capacity as the existing unit -- 2,000 pounds -- would cost about $10,000. He presented the option to purchase, at a cost of $14,000, a used 2003 Nissan PJ02 fork lift truck with a 5,000-pound capacity, which will allow the water department to handle all chemical deliveries.

Mix said currently, the department has to get a backhoe from another department or wait for one to unload deliveries. The current forklift can only lift 2,000 pounds. Mix said the new lift truck would save time, increase efficiency and be more versatile than the smaller walk-behind units.

Commissioners approved the $14,000 purchase of the fork lift truck from Kansas Forklift, Inc., of Wichita, for operations at the water treatment plant.

Mix also reported having recently spoken to a business manager with Westar Energy to review the city's electrical service accounts. Mix said he realized the city could potentially see an annual savings of more than $11,000 by switching the type of electric service agreement at two sites --the water treatment plant at 910 Burke St., and the Davis Lift Station. He said these two sites have backup generators and can continue to operate on generator power if the Westar utility is unavailable.

Under the GSS, the city can remove its facilities from the grid at the request of Westar in the event the company is temporarily having difficulty with demand.