By JIMMY LAWTON

OGDENSBURG – Ogdensburg City Councilors are expected to vote on a service agreement with the Development Authority of the North Country to assist with operations at the Wastewater Treatment Plant.

The agreement will cost in the ballpark of $100,000.

An agreement that has been in the works for months has been reviewed and will be available for discussion at the council meeting, according to the public update release by the city manger.

Last month, councilors Jennifer Stevenson and Timothy Davis toured wastewater plants in Carthage and Clayton that have similar agreements with DANC. Also taking part in the tour were City Manager Sarah Purdy, DPW Director Scott Thornhill and employees at the city’s WWTP and DPW.

Under the proposed plan, DANC would provide a licensed, degree-holding employee to oversee operations at the wastewater treatment facility. This operator, would coincidently be a 4a operator, but would not be the operator of record.

The operator of record is Tim Adams, who though retired, has agreed to stay on until a replacement is found. Thornhill the operator of record will not be replaced by DANC, as it is mandatory that the operator of record is a city employee.

According to the plan, city would use the money set aside for two of the unfilled positions to pay for the DANC contract, which would give the city a second 4a operator who would oversee operations and help implement needed upgrades at the plant.

The city would maintain the five positions that it has and may fill a remaining vacant position that is in the budget.

Supporters of the DANC agreement say it would streamline communication between the city and DANC and open up an opportunity to seek grants and plan for future expenses that could offset costs for the city down the road.

This comes as the city is faced with a mandatory $5.3 million upgrade at the facility and an additional $5.2 million in long-term upgrades.

City Manager Sarah Purdy said DANC could likely help the city find financing for those long-term improvements.

Employees at the WWTP have expressed concerns regarding potential job impacts.

Ogdensburg’s wastewater facility has the capacity to process 6.5 million gallons of water per day and currently only processes about 3.2 million gallons. The facility saw major reductions in processing when the cheese plant closed several years back.