Water plan needed for infrastructure projects

At Monday night’s meeting of the Odessa Town Council, the six-year water plan for the town was explained and clarified by Kennet Bertelsen, an engineer with USKH, the Spokane engineering firm with which Odessa has a contract for such services.

Bertelsen said the six-year water plan is a requirement of the Department of Health, and its purpose is to identify strengths and weaknesses of the towns water supply system and lay some of the groundwork for related future capital projects. An updated plan must be in place in order for the town to qualify for grants and low-cost loans from various governmental agencies.

Covered under the plan are updated maps, identification and acquisition of water rights, determination of storage capacity, information on rates to be charged to users to help the town meet its obligations. The plan also includes recommendations on water needs for future six and 20-year cycles and on what projects ought to be implemented and when.

The current plan addresses concerns about the water supply to the Odessa Industrial Park, for example. A booster station currently supplies sufficient water pressure to supply the existing businesses in the park. But engineers have determined that the booster station will likely have reached the end of its service life before the industrial park has reached its expansion capacity. The size of the water mains leading to the park was also of concern in terms of allowing adequate water pressure for fire-fighting at the site and for additional businesses that may locate there.

New piping may have to be installed and/or a new water reservoir may be needed just for the park itself at some future time. These consideration must be included in the six-year water plan, and an engineer certified in the state of Washington must sign off on the plan.

4th Ave. funding denied

Mayor Doug Plinski reported to the council that the Fourth Avenue roadway rebuilding project has been denied funding by the state Department of Transportation. Plinski will try to find out the reasons behind the decision. In the meantime, he said, the town had included about $10,000 in its new budget for stopgap repairs that should allow the town more time to plan for roadway reconstruction.

New hire at PW

Public Works director Rod Webster announced the hiring of Gerald Greenwalt for the open maintenance position.

Greenwalt grew up in Odessa and still has family members living in town. He has the experience and background the department had been looking for, Webster said. He will start work December 19.

Work on a replacement fire hydrant on south Division Street is nearly complete. The hydrant had been damaged during the creek-bed fire earlier this fall.

Webster also reported leaks at the booster station feeding the industrial park. The leaks were fixed, but rust had developed in the piping and Webster expected that new piping would have to be installed in the spring once the danger of frost was no longer an issue.

Webster, public works employee Jim Williams and town council members Lynn Schmidt and Frank White all attended “grinder pump school” in Odessa under a sewer-system specialist brought in for that purpose.

ADA lift at pool

Compliance with the Americans with Disabilities Act becomes more of a reality every day, said pool committee chairperson Lois Harp. An ADA-approved lift for the main pool has been ordered. A permanent mounting fixture will be installed at poolside, but the lift itself can be removed and stored indoors over the winter months. The lift operates via a remote control, allow people in wheelchairs full access to the swimming pool.

Police

After the mayhem reported at the previous council meeting, police chief Helen Coubra appeared relieved to be offering a brief recounting of the past two weeks’ activities, with nothing more serious to report than vehicle prowling, verbal disputes and calls to assist other agencies.

Of the two suspects involved in the vandalism, burglary and malicious mischief earlier in November, one has been charged and is in custody. Information on the other suspect has been forwarded to the Lincoln County prosecutor’s office.

Next meeting

The next meeting of the council will be on Monday, December 10, and it will be the last meeting of 2012. The council’s first meeting of the new year will be January 14, 2013.