Daniel Prince
Brush truck, garbage truck, street sweeper, and public safety vehicles to be purchased
Tuesday’s Union City Council meeting was brief, lasting just 20 minutes. They first recognized eight city employees for January work anniversaries. Melody V. Porter and Jennifer F. Price have both served in the Utilities Department for 23 years. Donald R. Robinson has 21 years of service with Union Public Safety. Reginald L. Young with the Water and Sewer Department was honored for 13 years. Thomas A. Willingham of Union Public Safety was recognized for 8 years of service. William C. Whisnant with the Water Plant has served for 7 years. Casie S. Gregory and Jonathe L. Jeter both have notched 6 years with the Finance Department. Mayor Harold Thompson said with so many longtime employees, “we must be doing something right.”
Council unanimously approved a resolution to make electrical upgrades and improvements to the water treatment plant. City Administrator Joe Nichols said the cost of the project has continued to rise as more things have been found that need to be replaced or upgraded. He said there were a number of capacitors they found that needed replacing, and they also need to replace a traveling bar screen at the river that stops leaves, branches, and other debris from getting sucked into the pump. The new estimated cost of the project is $1,350,000, including a required environmental review, engineering and project administration costs, as well as the construction work. The city is applying for a $750,000 grant from the Appalachian Regional Commission to help with the costs. ARC grants require a 30% local match, but the city’s contribution now will stand at approximately $600,000, which is 44% of the total project cost. It is noted that the Water Treatment Plant serves 5045 residential and 761 business customers in the City of Union and Union County.
Council also unanimously approved proposed expenditures of most of the remaining American Rescue Plan Act funds. In all, the city received $3,803,528. Some of that was spent on a credit to residential and commercial utility bills, recouping sewer system and water system improvement expenses, and providing two rounds of essential employee bonuses to the city’s employees. They used a little more than $15,000 for stormwater repair last August. They plan to spend $256,000 as a local match for the MycoWorks water and sewer grant, and they plan to spend $1 million to provide sewer to the new Buffalo Creek subdivision.
For the remaining $894,043, city staff proposed using the ARP’s Standard Allowance to recoup lost revenues from the COVID period. The city lost revenue in business licenses and in utilities, particularly natural gas, as many plants reduced capacity and were using half as much gas as they normally would have. As a result of the revenue loss, the city froze spending on vehicles in fiscal year 2021. City staff recommended buying a new street sweeper, a brush truck, a garbage truck, and up to four patrol vehicles with the remaining funds. Finance Director Laura Hembree noted that one of the city’s garbage trucks was involved in a vehicle fire and was declared a total loss. The city received an insurance settlement of $119,415, which would bring the new garbage truck’s cost down to $180,404. A street sweeper is estimated to cost $299,877. A brush truck is estimated at $194,229. The estimated cost of fully equipped Chevrolet Tahoes for Union Public Safety is $63,200 per vehicle. Three vehicles would run $189,600. That would leave a balance of $29,933 in ARP funds. Hembree noted the city has to have a plan for the remaining money by December 2024 and spend it by 2026. She said the city could buy an additional patrol vehicle with that balance, with the rest of the money coming from the general fund. It could be several months up to over a year before the city could take delivery on the vehicles based on the long lead times in ordering. City Council approved the expenditure of the ARP money as recommended. After public comment, city council adjourned.