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Falls City Council Approves Utility Expenditures

By John Nixon

02/17/2015

Falls City Power Plant Generator

(KLZA)-- It was an expensive night for the Falls City Council members Monday. Unanimous approval was given to the expenditure of nearly a million dollars worth of engineering services and equipment recommended by the Board of Public Works.

Late last year the Council approved the purchase of an additional engine to generate electricity at the Power Plant. The came with a price tag estimated at just over 11-million dollars. Monday night the Council approved a contract for engineering services with Lutz, Daily & Brain at a cost of $993,900. Third Ward Councilman Jon Vaughn who was not on the Council when the decision was made suggested it was a high cost when the City purchases power daily and does not generate it’s own power very often.

Utility Superintendent Alan Romine explained it would cost $10-million for the City to have OPPD improve the power line that serves Falls City, and that if the line goes down, we are at the end of the line and likely the last to get power back. It was also noted that about two years ago when the line did go down, one of the City generators broke down leading to rolling blackouts in the community. It was also explained the feeling was the City would be better off investing in something the City would own, rather than spending money on someone else’s equipment.

The next item on the agenda came with a price tag of $45,989 for a new comminutor for the Waste Water Treatment Plant. This is a large grinder. Everything coming into the plant goes through the comminutor first and is ground up. The current piece of equipment is nearly 10 years old. The company that made it sold out and repair parts are hard to come by. Romine said if you could find the needed repairs, it would cost in excess of $30,000 to fix the old piece of equipment.

City Clerk Gary Jorn said since going on-line the waste water treatment plant has not cost much in maintenance and with this purchase he expects another decade of low maintenance operation.

Mayor Jerry Oliver was granted authority to sign a certificate of participation and disclosure agreement between the City and Omaha Public Power District. This is required so OPPD can re-issue bonds for the Nebraska City 2, the coal fired power plant that Falls City invested in several years ago.

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