ESTEVAN - The City of Estevan is looking at a replacement for the electrical and pumps for the Smith Street reservoir.
In a letter to council for the April 10 city council meeting, Shane Bucsis, the manager of the water and wastewater treatment plants, said the electrical and the pumps have to be overhauled, as they are long past their life expectancy.
"The system is badly corroded, and we are unable to run a pump with the constant speed drive as it blows the SaskPower pole fuse box every time it is turned on," Bucsis wrote.
The major components of the electrical system need to be replaced as most starters and cabinets have long been discontinued.
While looking at replacing pumps and motors, Bucsis said he had a study done on the south-side pressures/volume issues. With enlarging the water main on Second Street to 10-inch PVC and replacing the pumps at Smith Street to a variable-speed lead lag system, the city can improve the volume and pressure for the south side.
Bucsis sent out a request for proposals for the engineering of the project. Associated Engineering's tender was the low bid at $156,725. The current budget for the project is $600,000.
Bucsis said design and support should cost around 10-15 per cent, but the tenders received would be around 25 per cent. The budget for the project would need to be increased significantly to account for this, so Bucsis recommended rejecting the tenders.
Bucsis said he would like to reach out to the engineering companies and figure out a plan to reduce costs or determine why the costs were so high. If he's unable to bring down the costs, Bucsis suggested tendering individual parts of the project as a package and managing them himself, for which council expressed support.
"I have done design and co-ordination of individual parts of the project with other replacements within water and wastewater facilities," he said.
Bucsis stressed he already knows the pump costs and the pipe enlargement, and they will come in at $60,000 a pump. Electrical cabinets will be around $260,000. The variable frequency drives will cost around $30,000 each.
Councillor Travis Frank wanted to know why the costs were so high. Bucsis said travel is an issue. KGS, which also bid on the project, had to come inspect the welding. The expense for trips and site meetings adds up.
Councillor Tony Sernick wanted to know if someone local could do the work, and Bucsis said he would reach out to people.
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Fort Distributors was awarded the 2023 dust control tender for $126,000 plus tax. Norm Mack, the manager of the public works' road and drainage division, said Fort Distributors has supplied and applied the product the past few years.
The price is for two applications, one in the early summer and the other in the early fall, using magnesium chloride.
Mack noted the city is responsible for a number of gravel roads within city limits. Some roads require one application while others need two.
Frank pointed out the city would have to have three applications in some areas this year, such as Devonian Street.
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Council gave its blessing for a proposed SaskTel 5G tower at 298 Kensington Avenue.
Land development services manager Richard Neufeld said the division is processing a development permit application for the proposed conversion of an existing 4G communication tower to 5G.
The 35-metre tower would replace an existing 30-metre tower and would be constructed in the next year.
Neufeld said no responses have been received by land development services regarding this application, but he understands there are some concerns in the community about 5G, so he asked council to forward any correspondences they receive.
Neufeld said it is one of three towers under consideration. The others are on McDonald Road and near the Kin Hillside Playpark. And Neufeld expects another one to replace the tower at the SaskTel building on Fourth Street.
Tony Sernick wants SaskTel to hold an open house to ease concerns people might have about the presence of a tower in a residential area.
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One building permit, worth $50,000 and classified as miscellaneous, was issued last month, bringing the total for this year to four permits worth $390,000.
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Council gave second and third readings to the borrowing bylaw, which will borrow $2 million to complete capital projects in this year's budget.
The $2 million will include $500,000 for a water main replacement on Duncan Road and McLeod Avenue and another $500,000 to resurface those roads; $275,000 for the Smith Street reservoir electrical and $725,000 for a biosolids incinerator.
The city will pay down more debt this year than the $2 million.
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In the inquiries portion of the meeting, Coun. Shelly Veroba expressed concern with drainage issues on the service road adjacent to Highway 47 South. The road is in bad shape, according to one business owner. Veroba wanted a report on what can be done to rectify the issue.
Frank wanted to know if the city has a policy for snow hills that businesses pile up on their properties, and he knows there has been discussion about the issue in his area because of the amount of snow this year.
