Public works budget is reviewed

Senior Staff Writer

Line items under the umbrella of the Williston Public Works director were scrutinized by the Williston City Budget Committee Wednesday.

All expenditures proposed under the preliminary budget are to be presented to the community and the public during a hearing at 7:30 p.m. on Sept. 9 at City Hall. Residents are encouraged to review the proposals at City Hall prior to the meeting and to give their comments.

A $21,000 plotter scanner for the engineering department remained in the 2009 line items. The equipment is used to make copies of prints and plans for city engineers.

The committee kept a $550,000 sand storage structure within the budget for the street department. The item holds the sand/salt mixture for the city during snow and icy conditions. Williston Public Works Director Monte Meiers said the structure is mandated by the Environmental Protection Agency.

The wash bay for the city also is getting a new heater under the budget proposal at a cost of $2,500.

The committee gave the nod for a $165,000 rear-loader garbage truck for the sanitation department and tentatively gave $75,000 for new garbage containers. Many new containers are needed because of the expansion of the city.

Williston City Commission President Ward Koeser identified a number possible street and infrastructure projects for the 2009 construction season.

“There is a tentative project on West Broadway for four blocks between Fourth and Eighth streets,” he said. “It will require $350,000 for new sewer lines, $375,000 for new water lines and $385,000 for a new street, curb and gutter.”

Koeser said about one-third of the work is to be paid for by the adjacent property owners through special assessments and the balance is the city’s share.

A special assessment district also was pitched for the Pheasant Run area for streets and alleys. This must go before the affected property owners. The cost of the street and overlay work is $625,000.

He added that a city seal coat district is also proposed for $200,000.

Koeser said the city’s share of a Fourth Avenue West federal aid project is $250,000. That amounts to about 20 percent of the entire cost of the work that is planned near Williston High School. It consists of surface work and upgrading the water lines.

Another $850,000 is included to complete the city’s water meter conversion project. The new meters allow city officials to monitor water use by using a drive-by radio scanner system. This cost involves switching out the old meters with the new units.

Pump replacements along 11th Street also are part of the water distribution budget at a cost of $700,000. Also requested for this department is a tandem truck for $120,000.

Koeser said the purchase of a new loader for the the landfill is planned at a cost of $140,000. He said it would be purchased through an equipment buyout plan which involves a trade-out system.

Several items also were removed from the budget Wednesday. Nixed were: