Posted: 7/5/06
City to upgrade ailing electrical system
By Jane Palen
Managing Editor
The City of Caledonia will spend up to $135,000 to address immediate problems with its electrical system, and another $7,000 for a study to determine how it can upgrade its system to meet future demands.
Tom Nigon and Chuck Gustafson of PowerPlus Engineering in La Crosse attended the June 26 meeting of the city council to discuss electrical issues.
A summary presented to the council outlined a plan to install approximately 5,000 circuit feet of 3-phase underground feeder cable to replace the existing cable at a cost of $213,000. The cable was installed between 1968 and 1974.
However, Nigon told the council that replacing the cable may not solve all the problems that have plagued to city recently. In fact, he said, of the eight outages that the city has experienced since October, only three or four are directly attributable to the cable. The others have been traced to the equipment connected to the feeder cables.
ìWeíd like to take another look,î said Gustafson.
Councilman Paul Fisch expressed his concern that the public is frustrated with the outages and does not think the city is doing enough to prevent them.
ìWhat you are doing is due diligence,î Nigon responded. ìIt is exactly what you should be doing.î
After a lengthy discussion, the council agreed to replace two of the six feeder lines that come out of the substation behind city hall. They are known as the sewer plant circuit and Sunset Hill circuit for identification purposes.
In addition, the city will fund a study by PowerPlus Engineering to determine a four year plan for the city. The study is expected to cost about $7,000. An alternate recommendation will be made to the city within 60 days.
The engineers noted that the cityís other substation, the Wild Turkey substation located in the Ma Cal Development west of the highway, is not capable of serving the entire city.
The recabling work will not be bid because the city considers it an emergency. The work will be performed by Push, Inc. of Rice Lake, Wisconsin. The company has the material on hand to perform the work and is currently on a project in the area.
The funds will come out of the electrical department, which has a fund balance of $2 million.
In a related matter, the city gave PowerPlus permission to create new GPS maps that show the location of all electrical lines in the city at an approximate cost of $24,000.
Water main improvements tabled
The council also discussed proposed water main improvements. Three areas are being considered for upgrades. Cost estimates are: the west side of Highway 44/76 and south, $110,195; the east side of Highway 44/76 to Old Highway 44 $62,125; and the water main connection across Highway 44/76, $29,275. Total estimated cost is $202,395.
New position approved
The council gave its approval to a new position in the city clerkís office. Stephanie Mann has accepted the position, which pays $15.50 per hour. The position is non-exempt, which means that overtime will be paid, but also confidential and not eligible to part of the Caledonia Employee Labor Association.
Rental agreement
In other business, the council agreed to rent space from Brad Jilek for storage of the new ladder truck. The rent is $100 per month when the garage is unheated, and $200 a month heated. The city will pay the balance of any heating bill over $200 in the event of extreme weather which requires additional gas usage.
The city also approved a bill for $500 to cover its share of the cost of the fluorescent bulb collection and disposal coordinated by Houston County Environmental Services.
Caledonia Argus
314 West Lincoln St.
P.O. Box 227
Caledonia, MN 55921-0227
507/724-3475
E-Mail: editor.argus@ecm-inc.com