WESTFIELD – The City Council took no action on a proposed $1.85 million bond request following a meeting of the Finance Committee at which city officials were requested to narrow of the scope of the spending.
The bond was requested by Water Resource Superintendent Dave Billips to improve the energy footprint of the plant, which consumes electricity in large amounts because of the heavy reliance on electric motors.
The bond was submitted to the City Council for its review under the title of a “bond authorization for $1,850,000 to pay costs of replacing Turblex Blowers” for the wastewater treatment plant, but includes other equipment replacement to increase energy efficiency.
Billips said the problem with the present turbo compressors is that they are too efficient, because they are too large for the plant. Replacement of the blowers, which aerate effluent as part of the treatment process, will result in a minimal energy savings of $31,000 a year, although Billips said that is a conservative estimate.
Ward 5 Councilor Robert A. Paul Sr., a member of the Finance Committee, questioned a number of other energy-saving items rolled into the bond request, suggesting that many of those items could be accomplished independently of the bond. Paul requested that the bond be restructured to exclude about $300,000 of the energy management system technology and equipment.
In other business, the City Council did approve an appropriation of $326,170 from the stabilization account, which requires a super majority of nine (9) votes, to allow the Purchasing Department to enter into a one-year contract, with two option years, with Siemens for maintenance of the energy-efficiency equipment recently install in municipal and school buildings.
The appropriation was approved by a vote of 11-2.
The funding was originally included in the Purchasing Department 2015 fiscal year budget, but was cut by the council, at the request of the Finance Committee, June to allow City Purchaser Tammy Tefft time to seek more competitive bids for the maintenance contract.
At-large Councilor David A. Flaherty, who voted for the appropriation, said he was “not excited” by the single bid resubmitted by Siemens.
“I realize we need to get this work done, but I was hoping we could find a cheaper way to do it with local vendors,” Flaherty said.
Ward 6 Councilor Christopher Crean, a member of the Finance Committee which gave the appropriation a 3-0 positive recommendation, said that Tefft did “reach out, but there were no other bidders, so I don’t know what else we can do. It was changed from a five-year to a three-year contract.”
Paul said the contract “protects our assets and gives us time to find a more efficient way of doing it.”
At-large Councilor James R. Adams said the maintenance contract protects the city because it keeps equipment guarantees valid until another maintenance option is in place.
The city is assessing the option of creating a new Building and Ground Maintenance Department which would perform maintenance of the energy-efficiency equipment.
