[MissoulaGov] Odor Study- RE: Committee Update 12-16-09

Thu Dec 17 08:43:21 MST 2009

If you would like to read the EKO/Waste Water Treatment Plant Odor Study
conducted by Morrison-Maierle Inc. you can do so on the Health
Department's Air Quality Webpage.  

http://www.co.missoula.mt.us/airquality/AirQualityTopics/Odors/OdorsWWTP
andEKO.htm

Thank-you, 

Mamie Colburn, M.S, REHS

Air Quality Specialist

Missoula City County Health Department

310 W Alder St. Missoula, MT 59802

Phone: 406-258-4755; Fax: 406-258-4781

colburnm at ho.missoula.mt.us <mailto:colburnm at ho.missoula.mt.us> 

www.co.missoula.mt.us/airquality
<http://www.co.missoula.mt.us/airquality> 

________________________________

From: missoulagov-bounces at cmslists.com
[mailto:missoulagov-bounces at cmslists.com] On Behalf Of Bob Jaffe
Sent: Wednesday, December 16, 2009 11:11 PM
To: missoulagov at cmslists.com
Subject: [MissoulaGov] Committee Update 12-16-09

Greetings,

In public safety we bought a fire truck and reappointed Ross Miller to
the Health Board.

In conservation we got a run down on the status of a bunch of parks
projects. The one thing that sticks in memory was a discussion about the
new Pineview Park. Marilyn mentioned that this was a good example of the
kind of park design that she has been asking for where we take advantage
of native trees and some mulching instead of just using turf. We also
discussed the revisions to the garbage ordinance addressing bear issues.
The referral with more info is here:
http://www.ci.missoula.mt.us/DocumentView.aspx?DID=2228

They did a cool presentation showing all the places where the radio
collar bears have been. They stay up in the woods in the summer and then
come down to town in the fall. They are all over the Rattlesnake and
Grant creek. They also pointed out how the grizzly bears are not all
that far away either. They are really only a ridge or two further out of
town. The new ordinance will establish Bear zones where folks will need
to take better care of their trash. No leaving it out the night before
without a certified bearproof container and no storing it where bears
can get access. We set a public hearing for late in January.

We skipped PAZ today and moved into A&F where we approved Mike O'Herron
for a position on the Missoula Urban Transportation Board. Dick voted
against him.

We also voted to allow the Mayor to apply for grant funds through the
Big Sky Trust Fund as a pass through to MAEDC. They are putting a deal
together to help Intermedia Outdoors locate in Missoula. Intermedia
purchased the local firm Barrett Productions and they are considering
making Missoula the corporate headquarters. Locating here would create
49 new jobs. MAEDC is trying to sweeten the deal with the $350,000
grant.

Then in Public Works we learned more details about the sewer line
replacement bid from last week. The rfp specs called for a prebid
conference to discuss the bypass aspect of the job. The low bidder,
Becco contracting, did not attend the conference. Their subcontractor,
who would be performing the bypass work was present. When it was time to
open the bids and read them, all the bidders were present. The staff
engineer, I missed who it was, made a decision on the spot that Becco's
bid should not be opened as they were not present at the pre-bid
conference. They opened the other bids and Advanced Earth Works was the
lowest bidder. Folks left and a few minutes later, the staff got nervous
and called Nugent. Jim said that having a sub at the conference was a
minor technicality and they should open the Becco bid. They did, and it
was $40,000 lower.

When the Advanced Earth Works guy heard about it he cried foul. His
attorney sent the city a letter. Nugent maintains that the bidding
process is primarily for the benefit of the tax payers and not the
bidders. Our RFP language indicates that the we may chose to waive minor
details and there was no question that the bid was authentic. So we
approved it.  

Jon Wilkins voiced some frustration about awarding the bid to an out of
town company since we need the jobs locally.  Becco is based in Phoenix
with an office in Butte. Nugent pointed out that Advanced Earthworks
also wasn't local and to get to a local company we would have to pay
about $75,000 more. But Advanced Earthworks is from Hamilton so I'm not
sure if Jon would have considered them local. 

The idea of providing for some kind of local preference has come up
before. I'm not sure if it something we can do but I would be interested
in discussing it again.

Our next item was the Odor Study we commissioned to find out what could
possibly be smelling so bad out in the vicinity of the sewer plant.  It
turns out to be sewage.  Some of the sewage stinks real bad when it
comes into the facility. They identified two areas where about 30% of
the stink originates. We already have plans under way to upgrade those
parts of the facility.  After we are all done with the sewage we put the
liquids back in the river and send the solids over the fence to Eko
Compost.  Another 30% of the stink comes from the poop when it is on
their side of the fence. A bunch from where they leave it sitting around
when they first get it; Another bunch from when they are actively mixing
it up into the piles. Eko also has plans under way to mitigate for the
odors. The odors are in violation of health department air standards so
the environmental health division is keeping some pressure on the
entities to move along as quick as is practical in implementing
solutions.

After that we had committee of the whole were we got an update on the
Emergency Operation Plan from Bob Reid.  He started his presentation
with a quote from the movie "Tremors" which is apparently about giant
wormlike creatures that attack people. There is a scene where these
folks are in their shelter and the guy says "five years of food, water,
and ammo stored up in the basement and we get attacked by subterranean
monsters." I think this is disaster preparedness humor.  

There are all sorts of rules about what our disaster plan document is
supposed to be so they are working on getting it all put together. Pam
is our rep on that committee so she will be bringing us updates.

We finished up early so we would have the opportunity to go to the
commissioners meeting to give comment on the plan to shut a bunch of
polling places.  It was a full house but their meeting space is small.
There may have been 30-40 people there.  I had to get back to work so I
only stayed for a little while. I commented something along the lines
that we could save money by consolidating precincts but removing polling
places is a bad idea. Especially, at least for the urban precincts,
where they are getting rid of the precincts that serve the largest
populations of people who don't own cars. I'm pretty sure we can find
other solutions to some of the problems that were raised. 

For instance, primaries at the UC center can get so few voters that it
raises privacy issues. That is because they happen in June when no one
who lives on campus is actually there.  Instead of getting rid of the
whole polling place why not just hold primaries over at Paxson. The law
does allow for having the primary and general in different places under
extenuating circumstances. We could try to get that law clarified at the
legislature.  Or possibly we could just report that precinct combined
with another to avoid the privacy issue?

A reason given for closing the court house precinct is that people get
confused because it is crowded. Since a few people wait in the wrong
line and get too tired to vote we are going to close the whole thing and
make it harder for hundreds of people to vote.  Which is the lesser evil
here? Even though the commissioners endorsed this plan in the paper the
other day prior to the public hearing,  I'm hoping they take the
comments made today to heart and reconsider.     

Thank you,

Bob Jaffe

Missoula City Council, Ward 3

1225 South 2nd West

Missoula, MT 59801

(406) 728-1052

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