During Tuesday’s monthly meeting, the committee overseeing Trenton Municipal Utilities (TMU) discussed several key topics but did not take formal action. The meeting lacked a quorum as only two members, John Dolan and Marvin Humphreys, were present. Absentees included Duane Urick and Tim Meincke, with non-member Glen Briggs also attending.
Utility Director Ron Urton highlighted a discussion initiated by Briggs on revising the policy for inserting materials into TMU’s monthly bills. This review, necessitated by the transition to a third-party bill preparer, will be further examined at the upcoming Monday night council meeting. A point of interest for Briggs, as stated on his Facebook page, is the inclusion of a Hope Haven insert in TMU bills, encouraging donations for curbside recycling services.
Urton also informed the committee about the electric department’s next project, which involves upgrading overhead 2,400-volt lines near NCMC properties to 13,200 volts (13.2KW) for improved distribution.
Additionally, the city plans to request construction bids for the second phase of a water main replacement project. This phase will extend north from the completed section at 10th and Kerfoot, aiming to eliminate dead-end lines and increase pipe diameter towards the Park Lane apartments.
The meeting also covered a proposed upgrade to the TMU billing and financial software, Incode 10, offered by Tyler Technologies. The $60,000 quote covers software and migration services, enabling net metering and potential future time-of-use configurations. TMU currently has approximately a dozen net metering customers using solar panels for electricity generation.
Comptroller Rosetta Marsh reported on the nearing completion of TMU’s new Tantalus electric and water meter installations, with about 85 meters still requiring manual readings.
The meeting concluded with reports from TMU department heads in the electric, water, sewer, and distribution sectors.
