Plains passes emergency resolutions

The Plains Town Council unanimously passed seven motions at last Monday's regular monthly meeting, including three emergency measures to quickly get a water main at the east end of town repaired.

Mayor Dan Rowan announced as part of his report that the town pumped 5.867 million gallons of water over the last four weeks, but sold only 3.227 gallons, losing 2.6 million gallons, much of which was lost through a hole or holes in a main pipe behind the Dew Duck Inn. The council first voted in favor of a resolution to declare an emergency, followed by a resolution to fund repairs and a resolution to waive competitive bidding for the repairs, followed by an emergency water budget amendment.

The break was discovered about three weeks ago by the owners of the Dew Duck Inn, although Rowan said it's unknown how long it's been leaking. Rowan and Shari Johnson, the town's contract engineer, looked over the two bids they received for the project last week. Traver's Excavator Service, Inc. of Thompson Falls won the bid at $103,194. Rehbein Enterprises of Plains and Polson bid $115,000.

Members of Traver's Excavator Service were scheduled to begin work on the project Monday. Rowan was told it would take about a week to complete the project, which is located in some steep and rocky terrain. Rowan said the leak came about after tree roots penetrated the asbestos pipe. Rowan said they will probably replace between 650 and 750 feet of pipe and take down several trees. In addition, the Dew Duck Inn has a small building over a portion of the pipe, which means a small amount of extra pipe to go around the building. "It's not really much of a problem or cost to go around it. We don't wish to tear down the building when there are alternatives. It's part of being a good neighbor," said Rowan.

The town council declared it an emergency situation because the work needed to get done quickly in order to avoid residents going without water and to stop further water loss. Rowan said that had the council not made it an emergency, the town would have had to conduct a competitive bid process required by state law. "We need to replace the whole section now before the ground freezes as we get into the winter season," the mayor said. Cost of the project will come from reserve funds generated by water fees rather than the general fund.

The mayor also reported at the meeting that wastewater is now flowing to the new lagoon as of that day. He said it will take about 45 days for the cells to fill and by then the new VFD parts on back order will be delivered and operational. Council also approved the hiring of a new attorney, Loren Fitzpatrick, and approved the updated Emergency Operation Plan, managed by Bill Naegeli of the county's Emergency Management Office in Thompson Falls.

The mayor also told council that the town received thanks from the Plains Ambulance Service for the paving of Farmer and Blake streets. "One of the ambulance crew was very thankful and mentioned the road was smooth enough that he didn't need a kidney belt or extra-hold Poligrip for his dentures for a trip down the block anymore," said Rowan, who won the election for commissioner and will be resigning his mayor post at the end of the year.