Public Works Director Dwayne Allen told city council June 25 that the Infrastructure Improvement fee imposed last year is beginning to give him wherewithal to address longstanding problems, plus pay down the bonded indebtedness.
Allen said his crews have searched for leaks in the water delivery system and have been able to keep pace, but there is a lot left to do and he wants to make faster progress by hiring an outside company to survey the system and identify where leaks are. He expects a cost of $25,000 for such a survey.
Allen said the outside company he has in mind has equipment he simply does not have. Branson, Mo., reaped an identifiable positive result from a similar water audit. He said the city could keep plugging away as it has been or get further ahead on this initiative.
Alderman David Mitchell said he supported a survey of the system, but wanted better results than they got by replacing water meters. He said he hoped the study would lead to a schedule of repairs and identifiable results. He also mentioned it should be up to the mayor, not council, to authorize use of I&I funds as intended.
Alderman Terry McClung said using $25,000 to identify where leaks are would save the city much more in the long run, and he wanted to know what council needed to do to get the ball rolling.
Mayor Butch Berry said he would work with Allen on implementing a water system audit.