FARMINGTON – Commissioners approved an overhaul of the Franklin County Detention Center’s heating and ventilation system controls and the installation of a septic system at a Madrid residence at Friday’s meeting.
The jail’s climate is currently controlled via a pneumatic system that utilizes a compressor to open and close valves. That system is 30 years old and unreliable, due to leaky air hoses and failing components. As a result, Jail Administrator Maj. Doug Blauvelt said Tuesday, staff were finding it challenging to keep the various zones within the acceptable temperatures.
A project to update the system with modern, digital controls was put out to bid last month, with the county opening two bids at the Oct. 4 meeting. Commissioners requested that the two companies that submitted bids attend Friday’s meeting in order to better explain the work they would be doing.
Representatives from Mechanical Services, the jail’s current service provider, and Thayer, Inc. said that their proposals included replacing the old pneumatic valves with digital ones which would allow for great control of the system. Mechanical Services also included a bid alternative which would install variable frequency drives that would allow the system to scale back energy usage when conditions allowed.
Commissioners unanimously approved the Mechanical Services bid with the alternate at the cost of $69,100. The company will apply for Efficiency Maine rebates associated with the VFDs. Thayer’s bid, without the alternative, was $79,760.
The commissioners also approved a $17,450 septic system project in Madrid, using a combination of Department of Environmental Protection Small Community Grant program funding, funds out of the Unorganized Territory undesignated account and private money from the landowner. The above-ground system will be constructed on behalf of a private resident near a stream. The residence has created an ongoing environmental issue, commissioners said Friday, and the system will allow the family to stay in their home.
A single company, CCC Construction of Augusta, bid on the project. A total of $11,000 will be provided by the DEP grant, $1,100 will be provided by the landowner and the remaining $5,350 will be paid by the county out of U.T. funds. If approved by the state, County Clerk Julie Magoon said, tax increment financing funds could be used to cover the county’s cost.
Commissioner Charlie Webster of Farmington questioned the cost of the project, noting that only one company had submitted a bid. An engineer working on behalf of the DEP reviewed the bid and found it reasonable, given the above-ground nature of the project and the inclusion of a pumping system. Commissioners Gary McGrane of Jay and Clyde Barker noted that the system would correct an ongoing environmental issue and voted to support the awarding of the bid. Webster was opposed.
Communications Director Stanley Wheeler updated the commissioners on the ongoing efforts to utilize a 197-foot tower on Mosher Hill for emergency communications. The county acquired the tower from Tri-county Emergency Medical Services and has been in the process of removing several components in order to install its three antennas.
According to Wheeler, the county’s contractor, Hussey Communications, has become concerned with the tower stability and refused to remove a final component from the tower–a large microwave dish. The county had previously inspected the tower but proceeded to conduct a structural analysis, determining that the guy wires no longer met the state’s Class 2 specifications. Those requirements relate to wind load, specifically that it be able to survive 90 m.p.h. winds for 3 seconds.
The tower has been standing for 30 years, Wheeler said, and is structurally stable. It may be grandfathered before state regulations changed, something that county officials will investigate further. Additionally, the county is removing significant weight from the tower as a result of the project.
In the short-term, the solution appears to be the utilization of a crane to remove the microwave dish. Webster suggested using the crane, while on site, to also install the county’s three antenna. That would satisfy Hussey Communications’ concerns, and complete the installation.
Farmington Fire Chief Terry Bell had determined that renting a crane for 8 hours, including 4 hours of travel time, would cost $2,800. Commissioners asked Bell to check into having the crane company stay a few additional hours to complete the antenna installation and authorized Wheeler to undertake the installation.
That is really good. Reminds me of this version.