By JIMMY LAWTON

OGDENSBURG -- Ogdensburg city councilors and city employees will tour facilities in Carthage and Clayton to speak with municipalities who have wastewater treatment agreements with the Development Authority of the North Country.

In December DANC representative Carrie Tuttle highlighted how the city could benefit by signing a wastewater management agreement with DANC. While the exact details of the proposal would have to be hashed out by the city council and DANC, the plan is estimated to cost around $125,000 and save the city about $85,000 in the first year.

The plan drew concerns from the Civil Service Employee Association’s white- and blue-collar presidents at the wastewater facility, due to a perceived potential reduction in jobs and a change over in management.

While city council was receptive of the potential savings, several councilors expressed concerns about bringing DANC in to run the city’s wastewater plant and more specifically how it would impact union employees.

With hopes of learning more and alleviating concerns, city councilors and union members will tour DANC run water treatment facilities in Clayton and Carthage.

This will give union employees a chance to talk with other unions who experienced a similar changeover and allow the council to learn advantages and disadvantages associated with an agreement with DANC.

No date was set on when the visit would occur, but DPW Director Scott Thornhill and City Administrator Sarah Purdy were directed to set it up.

Mayor Wayne Ashley also expressed concerns as to whether or not the DANC agreement would violate contracts with the union. City attorney Andrew Silver is expected to review any contract prior to city council action.

Deputy Mayor Michael Morley and councilor Dan Skamperle both questioned if the city may lose some control over the facility a contract is signed with DANC.

Under the proposed plan, DANC would provide a licensed, degree-holding employee to oversee operations at the wastewater treatment facility. It would also 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.

The DANC employee, at least temporarily, would fill the role of Tim Adams, the chief operator, who plans to retire in January.

The DANC employee would also provide additional services as a licensed engineer. These services could provide a potential savings for city as getting engineers to sign off on work at the plant often costs the city between $35,000 to $50,000 annually.

At the Monday council meeting, Thornhill said the Chief Operator Position held by Adams would eventually be filled with a new city-employed operator, who would work under the DANC employee.

Thornhill estimated a rough savings of $85,000 for the city in the first year.

The council agreed it would not act on any such deal before more discussion took place with the union.

The wastewater facility currently has five employees. This is down from the eight employees it had approximately two years ago. However, those jobs have not been officially eliminated. Thornhill says they continue to remain in the city budget despite being vacant.

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.

The most recent retirement was one of the operators, which Thornhill says the city attempted to fill unsuccessfully.

He said the other vacancies are a result of retirements and that the city has been working to determine how many positions are needed at the wastewater facility and what specific jobs would be the most beneficial at the plant moving forward.

Thornhill says the DANC contractor could likely help the city determine answers to those questions.