Town Manager’s Report to Mayor and Town Council

August 15, 2011

Fiber Optic Project at the Police Department

As Chief Mike Roberts has reported the last several months, the Town has received grant money from the Department of Criminal Justice Services (DCJS) to install a fiber optic system as a backup for the computer system vat the police department. The town had received $12,000 last year (which we matched with $4,000) and $10,000 this year for this project.

Assistant Engineer Todd Long and Internet Technology Consultant Chris King had approached American Electric Power (AEP) to begin the process of hanging the fiber from the Town Hall to the Police Station on AEP poles. After contacting AEP Personnel AEP said that they would charge around $10,000 for this service. Todd and Chris thought this cost to be too high and contacted the Chief and me about this issue. I contacted Ms. Mary Begley, Manger of External Affairs for AEP, and set up a meeting.

On August 4, 2011 we met with Ms. Begley and two other members of her staff, one local and one from Charleston, West Virginia. The distance between the town hall and the police department spans 23 poles. As I understand it two new poles will have to be installed with support wires. Additionally, AEP will have to relocate their wires on three poles to allow the placement of our fiber. AEP stated that their initial cost to do this work was $9,000. However, during the meeting they stated that they would waive the engineering charges and the traffic control charges. By doing those reductions AEP said they would reduce their charges by $2,000 to $7,000.

AEP further added that while they were not charging relocation fees on the three poles mentioned above, other utilities with services on those poles may charge. Those utilities are Century Link and Comcast. AEP said their charges should be negligible. Chief Roberts stated that the $7,000 charge from AEP could be allocated against this year’s $10,000 grant. It is my understanding that Chris King and Electrical Technician Jerry Breen will hang the wire.

Submission of Grant to Mt. Rogers Planning District Commission (PDC) for Meter Replacement

I submitted a grant to the Mt. Rogers PDC in July through their Southwest Virginia Water and Wastewater Fund. The fund has approximately $600,000 in it this year and is appropriated by the General Assembly. They stated that the average award for last year was in the $75,000 to $100,000 range. This program has been around for several years and we have received $100,000 for the water treatment plant upgrade in 2005, and will receive $100,000 for the wastewater treatment plant upgrade in the near future (from last year’s application).

The grant I submitted was for the meter replacement program. The grant calls for a 50/50 match and I asked for an additional $40,500 to go with the budget amount we allocated for this fiscal year for the meter replacements. I tried to document the need for the project by including various Health Department Letters in the packet citing the minimum 30% water loss goal. I also cited our year to date water loss documentation and a random testing sheet done by the engineering department that showed an average inaccuracy of 23.5% at flow of six and two gallons per minute.

This grant was sent to the Mayor and Water Committee. If you would like a full copy please let me know.

Bids on Dump Truck

Bids were received for the Dump Truck on August 10 at 2:00. The specs were complete by the Purchasing and Public Works Departments and advertised in the Smyth County News on July 27 and July 30. They were also mailed directly to eleven dealers, including both dealers in Marion.

We had two bidders submit bids on August 10. They were Goodpasture Motor Company of Bristol and Smokey Mountain Truck of Kingsport, Tennessee. The bids were extremely close. Goodpasture bid $85,100 and Smokey Mountain $84,500. Purchasing Agent Billy Hamm is looking at the specs on who meets the qualifications the closet and for operational costs. The Equipment Committee will receive these findings on August 15 and will make a recommendation to Council on August 15.

If possible, Council needs to make a recommendation at the August meeting authorizing the purchase. One dealer is saying 90 to 100 days for delivery and the other is saying mid-November delivery. Council’s next meeting will not be until September 6 and that will further push the timetable for delivery into the winter.

As far as the budget, we estimated the cost of the truck at $92,553. We were going to amortize this truck over a four year period. As soon as we get authorization from Council we will solicit bids from Marion Banks and finance the vehicle.

Briefly

Street Painting- We began street painting the week of July 25. Unlike last year we did not have to take a member of the meter reading crew to do this work, and as a result we will not have to estimate a couple of books next month. We have five crew members on the job. We anticipate getting done by the end of this month or the first of September at the latest, unless rainy weather slows us down. We are done with all the parking stalls and are now working on the white median lines. Last year we worked overtime on two Saturdays, primarily on North Main Street, because of limited traffic on those days. We anticipate working one or two Saturdays again this year.

Old Police Department / Train Museum- The Appalachian Spirit Gallery began work on the Old Police Department basement on the corner of Sheffey and Main Streets the end of July. They removed the double doors in the back and that let us take the old generator. We have some parking meters in the building and will remove them in the near future. We will also install some handrails on the sidewalk immediately to the west of the building, as requested by the Gallery, a distance of about twelve feet, in order to eliminate a trip hazard.

Opening at the Senior Citizens Center – Ms. Kelly Grice, our permanent part-time Program Assistant at the Senior Citizens Center has left to take a full time job in Abingdon. Kelly held that position since November, 2010 and did a fine job and we will miss her. We advertized this position in the Smyth County News on August 10 and August 20 with a closing date of August 26. I believe this would be an excellent opportunity for a semi-retired person or for someone who needs work but not full time.

Pre-Construction Meeting at Sewer Treatment Plant (STP) – A pre-construction meeting was held at the sewer treatment plant on August 9. Our engineers, Thompson and Litton, went over various aspects of the project and the additive alternatives. They also conducted an onsite walk through. I was impressed by the number of contractors at the meeting according to the Sign In Sheet. There were seven contractors or subcontractors at the meeting, including the contractor who got the bid on the STP Phase 1 Project.

Completion of Work at the Senior Citizens Center – Work was substantially competed at the Senior Citizens Center the end of July and District III began actually cooking at the site on or

about August 3. For the first week or ten days after substantial completion they continued to bring food into the Center from Southwestern State Hospital. We have received all invoices for this work, except one from a plumbing, heating and air conditioning contractor that is still outstanding. The invoices received show a cost of $13,880.21 for the work. Thanks are extended to the multitude of the town staff who pitched in to make this project a success.

Respectfully submitted,

John E. B. Clark, Jr.

Town Manager