Serving Gogebic, Iron and Ontonagon Counties
Serving Gogebic, Iron and Ontonagon Counties
By TOM LAVENTURE
Ramsay — The Gogebic Range Water Authority on Thursday approved a job description and classified advertisement for a part-time administrator.
The current administrator, G. Jean Verbos, said her goal is to have the board identify and hire the best candidate so that she can spend time working with the individual to train him or her on all aspects of the job over the course of one year.
“It's a huge system and require a lot of babysitting,” Verbos said. “It's not just clerical duties.”
Verbos said then she would retire from the job she has performed for over 30 years.
Her drinking water operator license is valid through 2023 and she plans to renew it just in case.
“They’re going to have to know the water system, said water authority chair Walter Rickard of the potential candidates.
The board approved the job description and advertisement 6-0. Members Neal Nelson, Adam Zak, Jim Spencer, Jerry Niemi and James Simmons were not present.
February water sales totaled $35,930. This includes Ironwood Township ($4,953); Bessemer Township ($16,147); the Walmart store ($1,376), and city of Bessemer utility ($18,729).
In her report, Verbos said the Michigan Department of Environment, Great Lakes, and Energy has requested that she attend an May 13 informal meeting of township and city boards along with water operators.
The meeting is to provide information for municipalities that need to regionalize their water systems, she said.
A $10,000 project to replace three pressure gauges and repair two leaking water bladders in a tank was recently completed, she said. The funds were budgeted through long-term capital improvement accounts for each of the districts, she said.
“When this happens we are prepared to deal with our problems,” Verbos said.
A bid is being prepared to install onsite generators at pump stations that are using portable models, she said. The onsite generators are also fixed with alarms to alert technicians when there are sudden changes of pressure or a power outage.
Darren Pionk, the water authority engineer from CZAE, said that pressure testing of the system will occur at the same that hydro-flushing of the lines. The testing is to make sure the system's hydro model is realistic.
The board accepted the annual state insurance review. The provider letter said that liability exposure is adequate for present day operations with minor recommendations to help reduce costs.
