By MICHAEL ANICH

The leader-herald

JOHNSTOWN – The Gloversville-Johnstown wastewater treatment facility is working on a request for funding for a sludge dryer, which officials say could cost more than $ 8 million.

Sewer plant officials alluded to the need for such heavy equipment during an April 16 tour of the facilities by state and federal officials.

Plant manager Wallace Arnold recently reported to the Gloversville-Johnstown Joint Sewer Commission that he had provided a “letter of interest” through the Fulton County Center for Regional Growth to the Northern Frontier Regional Commission. The commission is a federal-state partnership for economic and community development in the most troubled counties of New York State, Maine, New Hampshire and Vermont.

Arnold said the letter concerned possible available funding for a sludge dryer or pyrolysis equipment to reduce residual sludge, thereby reducing truck trips to the Fulton County landfill.

The Northern Frontier Regional Commission requires a State Economic and Infrastructure Development App, or SEID. Arnold told the council he was working to fill out the required form.

Elsewhere before the board, Arnold provided an update on emergency power outages. He said progress had been made since a major power outage when a pipe bank collapsed in April. The supplier High Voltage Electric Services pulled the damaged electrical wire from the collapsed conduits.

Arnold said Adirondack Septic Services provided a video inspection of the ducts and marked problem areas. PVC pipe was installed to replace an obsolete fiber conduit. New manholes were drilled for the piping, concreted in places and covered with backfill. Arnold said the project is expected to be completed within two to three weeks.

The trenches will be filled with clean backfill provided by the contractor, Arnold said. Council members have agreed to authorize the transportation of excess dirt from this project to the Town of Gloversville.

The board has accepted the retirement of the sewage plant’s financial manager, Donna Renda, effective July 3. She is retiring after 31 years of service.

Board members discussed a membership brochure submitted by CRG. Council members refused to join the CRG because the sewage treatment plant is already a branch of the City of Gloversville, a sponsor of the CRG.

The facility’s Communicable Disease Disaster Contingency Plan, Section 6, has been revised to include legal counsel’s comments on paid sick leave for employees subject to mandatory quarantine. The revised policy has been approved by the Teamsters Union.

Arnold noted that a new rotor assembly ordered to repair a fan would cost around $ 66,000, not $ 144,000, as was reported at the board meeting in April.

The plant manager indicated that CFI Contracting had completed all repairs to the UV disinfection system. Trojan Technologies performed an inspection and verified that the repairs were satisfactory. Nine bulbs and a ballast were replaced under warranty.

Council members authorized the disposal of three 55 gallon drums of mixed antifreeze from RH Crown Co. of Johnstown at a cost of 11 cents per gallon based on the size of the full drum.