NORWAY — A proposal from FDS Engineering & Electrical Services of Iron Mountain for $396,229 to upgrade and repair the programmable logic controllers on two hydro generation units has gained approval from Norway City Council.

Because FDS has a strong knowledge of the hydro plant, no other bids were solicited. During a storm last summer, the plant was struck by lightning that damaged the PLC components for units 2 and 4 of the plant. The existing components were installed around 2003 and are obsolete.

The PLC upgrades had come before the council at a previous meeting and were tabled due to the council being uncomfortable with the warranty FDS was offering on the project. City Attorney Grant Carlson reported Monday that he had worked with FDS on the issues and was now satisfied with the warranty offered.

Of the $396,229 project cost, $120,000 will come from an insurance claim from the lightning damage. The remaining $276,229 will be paid from the hydro budget and City Manager Dan Stoltman anticipates needing to transfer $150,000 to balance the budget.

Stoltman recommended that the council approve an additional 10% for contingencies, but council member Jeff Muraro said he was not comfortable with that.

“If we were going in trying to hodgepodge things together and it is a time and material situation, I would understand that,” Muraro said. “We paid an engineering company to come in and design a solution.”

The council went on to pass the proposal without any contingency funds. PLC upgrades to units 1 and 3 will likely be included in the next budget year.

In other business, the council approved the purchase of a truck bed to replace one that had rusted out on a 2008 F-250 public works truck. The cost is $3,250 from Global Parts Solutions of Crystal Falls, the most economical when the price of shipping was factored in from two other suppliers.

Jim Paul can be reached at 906-774-2772 ext. 229 or at jpaul@ironmountaindailynews.com.