Meadville aldermen OK pipe upgrades

The Meadville Board of Aldermen voted on Tuesday, Oct. 11 to authorize the replacement of a section of aged pipe impacting the quality of drinking water along a portion of Oak Street between First and Second streets.

“It is a problem because we have five houses and the library on this line and the water (quality) is terrible,” Alderman and Mayor Pro Tempore Charles Calcote said during the old business portion of the session.

“The people down there are having a time in having to buy (bottled) drinking water and boiling their clothes ... I’ve been down there several times and have seen the water. It has been going on for near about a year and wasn’t something that started yesterday.”

In fact, the issue was carried over from the previous month’s town business session with Calcote saying something had to be done sooner rather than later to address the situation.

In an effort to try to control the extent of the corrosion problem for impacted customers, an ongoing effort has been made to flush standing water from the line regularly to keep fresh resources cycling through the pipe.

To this end, Calcote noted the town’s public works department has reported roughly 30,000 gallons being discharged monthly and he placed the sale value of the commodity at around $3,700 per billing cycle.

Board attorney Will Halford asked what the overall plan was to address concerns with the water line. Calcote said two quotes had been obtained for the job of replacing the existing iron pipe with PVC along with two quotes for associated materials and supplies.

For the construction work, the town received quotes from Forman Utility Services LLC, for $4,500 and from Preferred Services for $5,300.
“For (the low quote of) $4,500, the contractor can do the work the last week of this month and we’ve been told this will cure the problem,” Calcote added. “The plan is to start at the lower end and dig up the old pipe up and replace it with two-inch Schedule 40 PVC pipe. A blow-off valve will be placed at the end of the line to allow us to drain it if we need to (in the future).”

The low quote for materials to be used in the construction was $844.44 from Home Hardware Center in Bude, but Calcote noted the town has some pipe supplies already in stock and would utilize those materials before going to purchase anything new.

A separate quote for materials and supplies from Consolidated Pipe came in at $935.65.

Alderman Kay Scott then asked if the town had received, in writing, an assurance that the pipe replacement effort would resolve the water quality issue.

Calcote said he, town water service personnel and a representative with the town’s engineering firm of record have looked closely at the situation and were of the belief that the pipe replacement would address the concerns in that neighborhood.

“What we have in place is an old, two-inch cast iron pipe that must be completely full of rust,” he continued.

Scott also asked if any of the problems discussed by Calcote were coming from old water lines associated with nearby Main Street, which she indicated were also having quality issues that have been brought to her attention.

“Sometimes (the water) is clear and sometimes it’s not,” she went on to say. “When it’s not, the situation is pretty bad.”

Calcote characterized the proposed work along Oak Street as a simple line replacement, but said Scott’s aired concerns about water in the location she mentioned could potentially involve the town having to engage its engineering firm to look at the extent of those issues.

“We don’t know exactly what the problem is there,” Calcote said to Scott.
In regards to Oak Street, Calcote said the scope of work will require the new two-inch line — as is the existing cast iron pipe — to be tied into the existing six-inch PVC water main running along First Street running from Belle’s Bliss florist shop westward to in front of the post office.

Alderman Josh Scott, in saying he didn’t object to addressing the problem, asked where the funds for the work would come from as town leaders have spent a great deal of time working with a financially tight revenue stream.

Calcote replied the Oak Street upgrades would come from the municipal water budget and not the town’s general fund.

Alderman Bart Jones said he would like to see the issues along Oak Street addressed because of the town’s resources — including chemicals to treat the water, electricity to pump it and other associated costs — being used to keep the corroded line flushed.

“If we got it fixed, it wouldn’t take long to make back some of what we have been losing in pouring treated water out on the ground,” Jones continued.

In the end, the panel voted 4-0 to proceed with the project with Alderman David Scarbrough not present for the session.

In other action, the Meadville Board of Aldermen took up the following business:

• Approved the payment of $2,683.11 to purchase new tires — replacing wheels that were 23 years old — on the town’s fire truck.

In addition, a reported blowout involving one of the older tires resulted in damage to the wheel-well of the truck and exposing wiring underneath.

Town officials said they would have look at the situation with the truck to determine what steps needed to be taken to make those repairs — most notably if it would be covered under the town’s insurance policy on the vehicle.

• Discussed the town’s need for a certificated water and wastewater operator following the resignation of the person who previously held the position.

• Approved a sewer adjustment totaling $127.47 for Bill Halford related to a water leak, which was not processed through the municipal sewer system.

• The monthly police department report noted a number of traffic accidents throughout town and additional shoplifting cases at the Dollar General store on Main Street.

• The Meadville Volunteer Fire Department responded to six calls during the previous month, according to Chief Bo Sullivan.

• There were 11 past-due utility accounts during September in the municipality, according to Town Clerk Leslie Thompson.

• Proclaimed by resolution the observance of Pedestrian Safety Month during October.

The next meeting for the Meadville Board of Aldermen will be held at 5:30 p.m., Tuesday, Nov. 8 at town hall.