By Greg Ellison

(April 14, 2022)  The Berlin mayor and Town Council reviewed roughly $3.5 million in FY23 capital budget requests on Monday for utility funds, including electric, water and wastewater.

Electric Utility Director Tim Lawrence said FY23 expenditures totaling $695,000 would be covered by estimated operating revenues of $458,000 and $237,000 from new development services and materials.

Lawrence said roughly $310,000 would be required for several power plant projects, which include $130,000 to replace a cabinet of relays that monitor the health of the transformers and delivery system.

“Some of this equipment dates to the 1950s or ’60s,” he said.

“It’s rusting through the top of the cabinet and water is getting in,” he said.

Lawrence said the structure was slated for replacement last year but funding was unavailable.

“We actually painted the top of the cabinet to try to keep it from rusting,” he said.

Replacing switch gear at the power plant is estimated at $60,000.

Lawrence said the current switch box, which dates back roughly a half-century, is rotting and would be eliminated in favor of burying it underground.

The cost of replacing substation transformer fans is estimated at roughly $50,000.

Lawrence said the fan system, which dates back several decades, helps cool oil that travels through transformers.

“On hot days, it kind of acts like an AC system for transformers,” he said.

Updating cooling tower valves that date back to 1999 is slated to cost $70,000

“We have to do that during the shoulder months when we’re not peak shaving because we have to de-energize the transformers,” he said.

Turning to power distribution, Lawrence said FY23 budget requests are roughly $330,000, with the bulk of these expenses later recovered from developers who cover costs for system installations.

Lastly, the electric department is requesting a Ford F250 4×4 truck for $55,000 to replace a 2010 Ford F150 with 110,000 miles.

Lawrence said the 2010 model has seating problems and mechanical issues.

“We would also have a snow plow with the vehicle,” he said.

In addition to snow clearing capacities, the F250 handles heavier duties, which Lawrence said would be useful when transporting larger materials such as transformers.

Town Administrator Jeff Fleetwood said Lawrence has taken measures during his dozen years in the position to significantly reduce power outages, while also noting costs per kilowatt that hovered around 18 cents in 2008 are currently at 12 cents.

Flipping the spigot to Water Resources, Superintendent Jamey Latchum said roughly $1.8 million in requested FY23 expenditures would be covered by $78,000 from estimated operating revenues, $438,000 from special connection revenues and $1.3 million in grants funds from the American Rescue Plan Act.

The tally includes $1.4 million for the water distribution department, with $1 million of that sum earmarked for upgraded water meters.

“We just got bids back,” he said.

Latchum said the water meter project would be on the agenda at a forthcoming mayor and Town Council meeting for approval to proceed.

Envisioned as a two-year project, the installation of a water crossing under Route 113 near Germantown Road is estimated to cost $300,000 in FY23 with a comparable sum required in FY24.

“Right now, the town is limited to water crossings on four [points] across 113,” he said.

Latchum said the additional crossing would permit looping to improve water quality.

Currently, Berlin has water traversing under Route 113 at Route 346 and Bank, Branch and Decatur streets.

Replacing water valves under Schoolfield, Elizabeth and South Main streets is slated to cost $120,000.

Valves located on Schoolfield and Elizabeth streets would be done prior to pending pavement work.

Latchum said the valves are aged and have become challenging to turn.

Water treatment costs include $300,000 to replace the well house on Powellton Avenue.

Latchum said the building dates to approximately 1946.

“The roof leaks and it is not effective for heating in the winter,” he said.

Mayor Zack Tyndall asked about previously allocated funding for the Powellton project.

Latchum said the building replacement had been requested in past years, while also noting previous funds for the project were used for emergency expenses.

Fleetwood, who noted the current site is inadequate for material storage, said the ideal would be to have a larger building constructed around the existing structure before the latter is razed.

“It would give us more room to store chemicals,” he said.

Switching to the wastewater department, Latchum said roughly $1.01 million in requested FY23 expenditures would be covered by $1 million in grants funds from the American Rescue Plan Act and $17,500 from estimated operating revenues.

The total includes $1 million to rebuild the lift station on Broad Street.

Latchum said the last updates were performed about 50 years ago, with plant blueprints dating the site to 1936.

“It doesn’t have breakers, it has fuses,” he said. “I don’t know when that was outlawed, but it’s still in there.”

In the same vein as the Powellton Avenue project, Latchum said $300,000 budgeted for the lift station rebuild last year was later reallocated for emergency expenses.

Also, Latchum said updating a SCADA (supervisory control and data acquisition) system would cost $17,500

The control system provides alerts for malfunctions and if not operational would require staff to be onsite at the treatment plant 24 hours daily.

“Pretty much this is the brains of the treatment plant,” he said. “If this crashes we would have to manually operate everything.”