The city of Jefferson sewer and water crews will have a “new” tool to clean sewers, lift stations, manholes, catch basins and drains. The Jefferson city council at its Oct. 28 meeting approved the purchase of a 2016 Freightliner jet vac truck at a cost of $275,000. With the purchase, the city will no longer contract for sewer cleaning at a cost of between $30-$40,000 annually. Payback for the purchase is seven years.
The city currently has a sewer jet to clean blockages using a high pressure stream. The truck includes a vacuum feature that will make cleaning more efficient, in addition to doing the tasks listed above. The crew will do a routine cleaning of one-fourth of the sewer lines in the city each year.
“It makes sense from the financial side of things. It really makes sense from the customer service side of things,” city administrator Scott Peterson said. “We’ll be able to provide better service than we can right now.”
Council member Chad Sloan, a member of the council’s sewer committee, called the truck “an impressive piece of equipment…. When we have a lot of rain and drain issues, now we’ll be able to take care of it instead of calling other companies.”
“It’s a lot of onney but it will be a benefit to a lot of citizens,” he added.
The cost of the truck will be split, with $175,000 coming from the sewer capital fund and $100,000 coming from the water capital fund. Lifespan of the truck is 25-30 years.
The council approved the hiring of Henry Pohlmeyer as city finance officer. Pohlmeyer came to the city as assistant park & recreation director. He recently finished his Master’s degree in Business Administration and hopes eventually to become a city administrator. His annual salary as finance officer will be $50,000.
The city is now looking for a new assistant park & recreation director.
The council approved using Kyle DeMoss as an affidavit operator for the water distribution system on a month-to-month basis at a cost of $400 per month. It is a stop gap step until the city can hire a Grade 3 operator.
The entire meeting lasted less than 19 minutes. The first regular meeting of November will be held Nov. 11, despite that being Veterans Day and a city holiday.
