BERLIN – Town officials agreed to use some of the municipality’s federal relief funds to cover the cost of smart meter installation.
When the lone bid for installation of smart water meters came in more than double what the town budgeted, staff recommended using relief funds previously targeted for a wastewater treatment plant replacement to get the meters installed. The council voted unanimously this week to approve the recommendation to use the American Rescue Plan Act (ARPA) funding for the project.
“Within the Town of Berlin’s ARPA spending plan, there isa $1 million allocation for a wastewater treatment plant upgrade,” Mayor Zack Tyndall said. “The projected cost of a wastewater treatment plant upgrade was projected to exceed $2.5 million at the time the ARPA spending plan was adopted. The Water Resources Department, in conjunction with the mayor’s office and DBF, have been in discussion about ways we can increase the capacity of our existing wastewater treatment plant to reduce the projected $2.5 million expenditure on our customers, which are ultimately the citizens.”
Tyndall told the council this week that the town received one response when it issued a request for proposals for smart meter installation. The bid, from Goody Hill Groundwork, totaled more than $776,000. The town had budgeted $300,000 for installation. There is, however, $1 million in American Rescue Plan Act (ARPA) funding the town allocated to go toward a projected $2.5 million wastewater treatment plant upgrade. Tyndall said he and staff recommended using a portion of that to help cover the cost of the smart meter installation.
The recommendation comes as staff have been working with Davis, Bowen and Friedel regarding ways to increase the capacity of the existing wastewater treatment plant.
“After analyzing the infiltration and intrusion of our wastewater system, it was determined the Town of Berlin could potentially extend the operating capacity of our existing wastewater treatment plant by approximately five to 10 years by changing the location of our metered effluent,” a staff report reads.
The town is currently working with the Maryland Department of the Environment (MDE) to change the location of metered effluent to Bottle Branch Road, which would reduce the infiltration and intrusion created by the spray site lagoons against the capacity of the treatment plant.
“We do want to stress that there is no change to the treatment of the wastewater or our wastewater treatment plant’s operations,” Tyndall said. “The only change will be made to the location of the metered effluent used to calculate the Town of Berlin’s wastewater treatment capacity.”
Jamey Latchum, water resources director, said that when the town first established its spray sites decades ago, the metered effluent location was moved to the spray site from Bottle Branch. Because of that, rainfall impacts capacity.
Latchum explained that once the treatment plant hit 80% capacity, officials had to start planning for an expansion. Right now, the town’s plant is at about 70%. Latchum believes if the capacity currently taken up by rainfall could be recouped, the town’s capacity level would drop to 60% or so.
“That would give us a little more time,” he said.
Tyndall said it would also give the town more time to pay down its debt so it would be in a better financial position when the upgrade was needed.
“There is no change to operations,” Tyndall said, adding that the meter location change would simply ensure rainwater did not work against the town’s calculations.
Latchum agreed.
“It’s very complex,” he said. “What we’ve asked MDE is, we’re not asking for changing a whole lot but just our meter location. What it would cost to upgrade the plant, we didn’t feel it was a burden the taxpayers should see right now.”
He added that the $2.5 million cost estimate was from two years ago and had likely increased.
Town Administrator Mary Bohlen said that in addition to not spending the $2.5 million or more on an upgrade, if the metered effluent location was changed the town would also have the benefit of more capacity, meaning more EDUs (equivalent dwelling units) would be available for purchase. The additional capacity could extend the operations of the existing plant by approximately five to 10 years.
According to Latchum, the bid from Goody Hill for the smart meter installation will also include some of the lead testing the town is required to do. The town has until Oct. 16, 2024 to do an inventory of all lead service lines that pre-exist 1972. The town has 1,022 meters that will have to be “test-pitted,” a practice that requires workers dig on both the public and private sides of a meter.
Bohlen said some of that inventorying would take place during smart meter installation.
“We’re able to combine some of that work with the installation of smart meters rather than doing this at two different times,” she said.
The council voted unanimously to approve the reallocation of the ARPA funding and to accept the bid from Goody Hill Groundwork.