Franklin authority approves rate hikes for water, sewer

In addition, according to city manager Tracy Jamieson, the sewer portion of the budget included an increased debt service of $19,000 per month which the Authority must start paying back on loans for the recently-completed 15th Street combined sewer overflow (CSO) Project.

Other than that, the 2023 budget “is pretty much straightforward,” said authority chairman Tim Dunkle.

In other business at Tuesday’s meeting, the authority approved several grant submissions to be used on upcoming projects.

Two of the grants were Small Water and Sewer grants in the amounts of $425,000 and $319,872 for replacing several sections of water pipe in the city and for replacing a catwalk, some concrete and the influent valve at the wastewater treatment plant, respectively.

The authority also approved two H2O grants for a new water treatment plant at Barrett Flats and an emergency generator for the wastewater treatment plant.

Fritz said his estimate for the cost of replacing the Barrett Flats plant and hooking up the well fields was about $9,886,500, although he added it could turn out to cost less as he had “padded it heavily with everything that’s going on.”

The authority is applying for $4,943,250 in grant funding from the H2O program to help with that cost, he said, and the authority will have to match the grant 50/50 and supply the other $4,943,250 for the total project cost.

“It will be a pretty straightforward plant because the water quality is so good here,” he said.

The total estimated cost for the wastewater treatment plant emergency generator would be $882,000, and the authority is applying for $441,000 in H2O grant funding for that, he said.

In another matter, Scott Stoltenberg of the water network said the water crews had repaired a severe leak in an older water line on Monday near the Franklin Professional Building on Prospect Avenue.

Utilities director Kurt McFadden noted that the leak sprung right next to an old repair in the pipe.

“Tim, when you said we’re ‘fixing fixes of fixes,’ that was exactly what happened up there,” he added to Dunkle.

Jamieson clarified after the meeting that the flow meters, which monitor conditions under which combined sewer manholes overflow, are required by the Department of Environmental Protection.

The authority is currently paying $4,030 per month for flow meter reading, Dunkle said.

After seeking feedback from meeting attendees, Dunkle said the authority could put out a proposal to see if other companies would read the meters for a lower price.

In another matter, the authority approved the use of leftover funds from the completed legacy waterline project to go toward a new waterline from 15th Street to Big Oak Drive in Miller Heights.

The waterline had formerly been part of the 15th Street waterline and pump station project.

In addition, the authority approved a collaboration with the City of Franklin for the 15th Street waterline and pump station project to lay a new waterline from Old Mercer Road to 16th Street and Sibley Avenue.

The work would be completed in conjunction with the city’s project to improve the storm sewer system in that area.

These alterations in the projects will save the authority about $208,000 because of cost-sharing, Dunkle said.

Jamieson said utilities coordinator Eric Fenske, who also did GIS (Geographic Information System) mapping for the authority, had resigned.

She said she had asked Michael Gorman, who does IT (information technology) work with the city, if he’d be interested in learning the GIS system, and he had agreed.

“We can combine the jobs into one and the city will pay half and you guys can pay the other half,” she told the authority, “and we both save money that way.”

That cost savings was included in the budget, Jamieson said.

Dunkle welcomed Gorman aboard, to which Gorman responded that it was “nice to be on board.”