Going into the October 27, 2020 council meeting, the minutes of the Wisconsin Biosolids Facility Commission meeting included in the city packet shed some light on facility operations and figures. Held remotely via Go to Meeting due the pandemic, the meeting covered mostly routine business, with an update.

Starting the meeting out, a motion was made by Greg Engeset and seconded by John Bond to approve the bills amounting to $120,519.34, while a separate motion was made by Engeset, seconded by Ron Growth to approve the July 23 meeting minutes. From there it was into the financial and facility report.

Regarding the financial report, it was stated that year-to-date revenues exceeded expenses by some $129,000, little else being detailed in the minutes. With a motion by Bond, seconded by Engeset the financial report was approved.

Moving into the facility report, it was stated that BOD in the centrate had dropped “significantly,” while both gallons and pounds were both slightly ahead of 2019. BOD stands for Biochemical Oxygen Demand and refers to the amount of oxygen needed to render suspended solids inert. Meanwhile, the facility’s report also showed that the Alfa centrifuge is leaking oil and will need to be diagnosed, while the Rotary lobe pump is 11 years old and will need to be replaced. The Screener was repaired and re-installed on August 19.

For Old Business, the truck scale was reported as re-tested, passed and certified, with discussion taking place on eventual replacement. River Falls and Somerset were reported as the only two members communities not to have turned in a 15-year contract extension, and discussion on non-member contract renewal was also held.

Moving into new business, there will be a request for qualifications to hire a new computer network administrator, while planned improvement projects for 2021 to include a mixing chamber due to cost an estimated $80,000, along with redoing some odor control and pipe work in the facility basement. HVAC upgrades for the office building are also planned.

As to the Alfa centrifuge, the machine is 20 years old “and may need to be replaced if the repairs are too costly,” with an estimate to be sought. Discussion was made of holding the annual meeting at Ptacek’s Event Center in Prescott on November 19th this year.

Following New Business, a motion was made by Growth and seconded by Engeset to adjourn.