On Tuesday, the Board of Public Utilities took action both on site and in the office to push forward its plans for a new hot water generator.
Adjacent to the future site, board members and BPU staff wielded ceremonial shovels as they pushed a little dirt. It was the third such event in recent days for the community, as SKF Aeroengine embarked on its new facility and the city commemorated work on the Erie Lackawanna Depot on Monday.
Said Mayor Teresi, "Anytime that we are turning dirt, we are building, and building means progress."
The new BPU heat facility, when completed, will directly serve the downtown corridor that uses its district heat system.
"Construction of this new generator means a lot to us and our 72 district heating customers," said David Leathers, BPU general manager. "It will provide heat source redundancy and operating flexibility for this division and, most importantly, continued reliability for our district heat system."
In an official release the BPU states the system operates by taking water heated at the Carlson power plant and pumping it underground through pipes to deliver thermal energy to customer facilities. The peak thermal load of the system occurs on cold winter and is approximately 70 million BTUs per hour.
Project Manager David Gustafson said the new unit will supply 1,700 gallons of hot water per minute, at a sustained temperature of 250 degrees Fahrenheit. The foundation of the generator house will be poured starting today, he said. Located at the Carlson plant, an existing gas pipeline will be diverted to supply the new unit.
The building structure will be going up in September, and in the early part of November the site will be ready for the construction of the new generator.
CHANGE ORDER
Following the ceremony, the board headed to its monthly session. One of the agenda items required a tweaking of the project budget.
Leathers explained the Chadakoin riverbank soils presented some unexpected challenges for the foundation work.
The BPU will increase its payment in a modified contract with GL Olson Inc. of Dewittville in order to remove the unsuitable earth around the foundation. The size of the footer will also be increased. In the resolution passed, the added expenses will not exceed $28,000.
"We don't like change orders coming out of the gate on a project, said Leathers, "but this one is really important because it involves the foundation work, and we want it to get done properly."
He said the project was originally pegged at $4.2 million, but has been adjusted to $4.3 million.
"We remain within budget, actually in a much modified budget than when we started," Leathers added.
