Durham City Council approves franchise renewal
Contributing writer
Kent Myers and Tom Sydow appeared Wednesday at the Durham City Council meeting, representing Westar Energy. They came to discuss renewal of the city's franchise with Westar and address any concerns about service.
"We've had more outages around here than anywhere else," Sydow said. "That's the bad news. The good news is the company has spent $140,000 to take care of the problems, so future service should be good."
Pete Sommerfeld moved to approve the franchise renewal. On a second from Reinhold Winter, the motion carried.
This month's meeting was postponed from the usual Tuesday meeting time because of the Lions Club hamburger fry Tuesday evening. That occasion included dedication of the new flag pole by the shelter house in the park and a memorial to Ben Goertz, who served Durham as mayor and council member for many years.
This was a light month for business. Mayor Glennon Crowther reported on a letter he had received from a communications company requesting permission to put an antenna on the water tower. He did not recommend allowing it, and the council agreed. He also mentioned that some trees the electric company had bulldozed out a few years ago were growing back and suggested mowing them off. Mike Sorenson volunteered to do the job with the city's tractor and mower.
The council approved payment of $690 for parts and labor to repair a pump at the lift station. Crowther asked Sommerfeld if it was working all right. He reported that the repairman had needed to make repeated calls to work on the pump. "I thought we had it all taken care of, but I checked this evening, and it wasn't working," he said. "I got it running again, and I think it will be OK. I'll just have to check it every day. When we determine that pump is working, I think we need to check the bearings in the other pump, before it goes out."
Sommerfeld also reported on an advertisement he had received from Environmental Consulting Service offering a visit from a consultant, who would advise on the operation of sewage stabilization ponds. "I don't know whether it is necessary or not," he said.
"I don't think there have been any problems out there," Anna Mae Goertz commented.
"I don't think we need to do this," said Sommerfeld, "but I just thought I'd present it." After some discussion, the council decided not to use the consulting service.
