Jun. 27—JAMESTOWN — The Jamestown Fire Department responded to 25 calls related to the severe weather on June 20-21 that downed many trees and caused power outages throughout Jamestown, according to Fire Chief Jim Reuther.
Reuther said at the Jamestown Police and Fire Committee meeting on Thursday, June 26, that firefighters responded to fires, power outages and fire alarms. He said some alarms went off when the power was restored at some businesses.
He also said firefighters responded to power lines landing on top of the roofs due to the high wind.
Reuther said the Jamestown Fire Department helped the Jamestown Rural Fire Department with a call west of Jamestown. He said a barn collapsed with 12 horses in it and eight horses were rescued.
Two storms moved through Jamestown Friday evening and early Saturday. The storms caused power outages and downed multiple trees in the Jamestown area.
City department officials reported on their response and work during the meetings of the Jamestown Police and Fire and Public Works committees.
Scott Edinger, chief of police, said four Jamestown police officers and a detective responded to calls during the severe weather. He said they also made sure power lines weren’t down in areas where people were outside.
He said the Jamestown Police Department had five patrol vehicles that were damaged from hail. He said two of those patrol cars will need new windshields.
City Engineer Travis Dillman said Joseph Rowell, water superintendent, and his team worked hard to ensure the city of Jamestown did not lose any water service after the severe weather. He said it’s important to be able to produce water and get rid of waste water.
“I can’t understate how important it is to keep the water system up and running,” Dillman said.
Shawn O’Neill, sanitation foreman, said there is still lots of traffic at the city baler and landfill drop-off site where residents bring tree debris.
“This afternoon, there were still people hauling out logs and stuff and trees,” he said.
He said the drop-off site has received about 10% to 15% of the trees that were downed in Jamestown.
Councilman David Steele said a lot of tree debris is coming from outside the city of Jamestown.
“I don’t know if we have to ask the county for assistance with the grinding or if they need to try and find a site to put their own trees in,” he said. “This is going to be a huge cost to us to get these things taken care of.”
The Jamestown Public Works Committee unanimously recommended approval to create a district for the Drinking Water State Revolving Fund lead service line replacement project.
The district will include the entire city of Jamestown but only properties that need the lead service line replaced.
The city of Jamestown is initiating a project to replace private lead water service lines with new high-density polyethylene pipe throughout the city, according to a preliminary engineering report for the project. The majority of the lead service lines that need to be replaced are in older neighborhoods located in the central part of Jamestown and adjacent to the railroad corridor. Homes outside of those areas were primarily built after the 1960s when copper and PVC pipe became the most common service line material.
In related business, the Public Works Committee unanimously recommended approval to file an application with the North Dakota Department of Environmental Quality for a loan under the Drinking Water State Revolving Fund to aid in the construction of the lead service line replacement project.
The committee also unanimously recommended approval of the engineer’s report and cost estimate for the project, which is $5.76 million, according to the preliminary engineering report.
The report says the project is expected to be funded through a loan from the Drinking Water State Revolving Fund that is administered by the North Dakota Department of Environmental Quality. Up to 75% of the total project cost is eligible for loan forgiveness under the Drinking Water State Revolving Fund’s disadvantaged community and lead removal incentives.
The report says the local share of the project — 25% — will be recovered with special assessments benefiting property owners.