Engineer Says City Needs Qualified Operators
BOBBY ARDOIN
St. Landry Now.com Editor
Should the City of Opelousas spend $28 million for comprehensive water system upgrades without hiring qualified individuals to oversee the implementation of the program?
That’s the issue city engineer William Jarrell III presented to a Board of Alderman Budget Committee on Monday night.
Although Jarrell at this point cannot provide a comprehensive cost analysis, committee members agree they are interested enough with the concept to revisit discussions on perhaps employing a third-party company to provide operation, maintenance and training for workers who will operate the new water plant and upgraded water treatment facilities.
Jarrell reminded the Committee that the cost of the water improvements includes a new water plant, replacement of aging galvanized lines, new treatment and storage facilities, backed with funding through a Louisiana Department of Health loan program.
The city will be required to repay LDH for some of the loan guarantees, while other parts of the loan package are at this point forgivable, Jarrell said.
Customers have been paying increased monthly prices for water and sewerage in order to help offset some of the costs for improvements.
What has Jarrell concerned however is whether those city workers currently operating the water plants possess the necessary skill sets once the improvements have been completed.
“It’s like buying a new vehicle and continuing to run it without providing routine maintenance, such as oil changes. Eventually that new vehicle won’t run anymore,” said Jarrell.
Jarrell said he’s afraid the city will encounter a similar problem if the Board and city administration fails to realize the need to provide a higher level of employee to contend with the complexities of operation and maintenance.
“The employees you have now don’t have the technical ability, but I think they can still work if you can give them the necessary training,” Jarrell added.
Jarrell said the city should consider employing a private company that would provide technical assistance, operational knowledge and employee training.
“Operation and maintenance are the big problems that you have here. Right now your equipment is in poor shape. Some of it has been out of service for over 10 years. The city has never provided the funding to make the repairs,” said Jarrell.
LDH officials and the Louisiana Rural Water Association have access to hiring companies, said Jarrell, where experts are brought to municipalities in order to facilitate water operations.
“You wouldn’t want to bring in a whole team. That’s going to be expensive,” Jarrell said.
Jarrell added that it would be a financially-wise move for the city to continually set aside revenue that would be used to hire qualified supervisory personnel.
Jarrell said nearly all of the workers employed by the city in connection with the water and sewer departments have not taken advantage of opportunities that are available for them to become sufficiently licensed.
“It’s about accountability. None of them is working on certification. That’s because no one is forcing them to,” added Jarrell.
Alderman-at-large Marvin Richard, who is not on the Budget Committee, agreed with Jarrell that workers will need to increase their training.
“We need to get somebody that trains them, but we also need to do better, something different,” said Richard.
