Holly Springs Utility Department report

City consultant Michael Watson reported on progress, projects and recommendations regarding the Holly Springs Utility Department at the November 22 meeting of the Mayor and Board of Aldermen.

He asked the board to approve a proposal to advertise for a request for proposal to hire right-of-way contractors.

Atwell & Gent engineering consultants will prepare the advertisement to trim some circuits in the eastern half of Marshall County and western part of Benton County.

The money to pay for the right-of-way clearing will come from a $500,000 grant from the Mississippi Legislature to TVA (Tennessee Valley Authority) to be used for right-of-way clearance obtained through the efforts of District 5 representative John Faulkner.

The board of aldermen passed a motion to advertise for RFPs.

AMI system

Watson said the 10-year-old Advanced Metering Infrastructure system installed by General Electric is no longer functional. The price to replace the system is estimated to cost between $4 million to $5 million, Watson said. He recommended the city hire Greg Johnson, owner of Katama Technologies, who has a business relationship with Watson, but owns a separate company to handle the AMI projects.

Watson said he has known Johnson 20 years and is one of only a few companies in the country that has the skill set and experience to handle the project.

Johnson is a consultant who works with electric cooperatives all over the country, Watson said.

Southern Electric crews

Watson reported that a new crew hired by HSUD to handle new service requests and outdoor lighting repair had boots on the ground starting the second week of November. The board of aldermen approved a motion to add another Southern Electric crew at the November 4 meeting. He said the second crew built about eight services. The other onsite crew set 33 poles in October, half of which were three-phase poles that were replaced hot, he said.

“It takes more time to work hot,” he said.

Each pole replacement costs $2,604, Watson said. Ward 3 alderman Jim Moore asked about progress on replacing unreadable AMI meters with 2,000 working meters found in the warehouse at HSUD.

Watson said the meters have been tested to be functional and HSUD is ready to start the project.

In other business, mayor Charles Terry said the leaf truck needs a motor. Two brush trucks that can be used to haul leaves need repairs, he said.

Meanwhile, HSUD is preparing one of the dump trucks to pick up leaves, he said.

Alderman-at-large Dexter Shipp expressed concerns that red lights are not working on some streets and he wanted to know who is responsible for putting them back in order. He said non-operable traffic lights are creating a traffic hazard.

Shipp also reported five street lights out of order on West Boundary Street and two out on Hudsonville Road.

Ward 4 alderman Patricia Merriweather expressed concern that the street lights at the intersection of I-22 ramps both directions are “unbelievably dark.”

Striping of lanes by Loves at the Walmart entrance need replacing, she said.

Terry said the traffic lights on Craft Street are the responsibility of the city.

District 1 alderman Sandra Hodges said a sign at the Police Department needs to be put back up.

Shipp asked for an update on the soft spot on Craft Street that causes loud rumbles when heavy trucks pass through. He has expressed concern that the street may fail in that location.

Terry said he would call the Mississippi Department of Transportation to let them know the city’ concern that the street could collapse.

Terry praised Tracy Reynolds and other city employees for locating and stopping the water leak on Compress Street that has been reported leaking by resident Jim Smith for a year or more.

He apologized to HSUD customers for complicated electricity bills. He said the utility is trying to get the billing on a 30-day billing cycle. Customers are having to sit with customer service representatives for 30 to 45 minutes while the CSR studies and explains to customers what is going on with their bill.

“We are working to get this back on schedule,” he said.