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Failure at Mississippi River Power Corp was an electrical issue and over the next several weeks they conducted a number of tests on the electrical equipment and meters. “After performing every test we could think of we eliminated electrical and ¿gured it might be mechanically,” said Newton. The investigation then switched to looking at the turbines, which according to Newton is a fairly big deal. The turbines are actually 15 feet underwater. On June 13 they brought in a crane, which allowed them to dismantle the turbine enclosure to access the turbine directly. “We did that and had the turbine inspected and everything looked good,” said Newton.
By TIFFANY LEPACK tlepack@perfprint.ca
“With the pressure of the water it folded the steel pipe up blocking the Àow of water and creating a vacuum inside the rest of the pipe,” said Newton. “That caused the rest of the pipe to fold within itself.” Approximately 100 feet of the penstock was damaged and during the inspection a startling discovery was made. “It was determined that the other one was in a similar pre-failure state,” explained Newton. “We shut it down as a precaution until that section could be brought up to the standard of the way it was designed.” Newton noted that he is unable to divulge the suspected cause. All of the details of the case are still under investigation.
A member of the inspection team examines the penstock pipe and a portion of the 100-foot damage is visible in the foreground of the photo. amount back. At the opening of the plant it was revealed it was set to make approximately $2 million in revenue annually. The town owns 100 per cent of the shares and all of the pro¿ts from the company go directly to the town. Town of Mississippi Mills mayor John Levi thinks it is an unfortunate situation but notes there’s always a possibility in failure in anything manmade.
“We are well on our way to solving it and we feel (we) are fully insured,” said Levi. “We hope to be back up and running in the very near future.” Newton explained that in April they discovered a sudden drop in production in one unit. “The generator was running at full capacity and suddenly within a second it went to half capacity,” said Newton. Initially, they suspected it
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Municipal Matters November 22, 2012
UPCOMING MEETINGS: R0011760745_1122
Nov 29 @ 6:00 pm F & A (Budget) Dec 3 @ 6:00 pm Council Dec 3 @ 7:00 pm Rec & Culture Dec 4 @ 6:00 pm Roads & Public Works ROAD CLOSURE
Please be advised that the following temporary road closings will take place to accommodate the Christmas events in downtown Almonte and Pakenham on December 7th, 8th and 9th, 2012: December 7th - Light up The Night – Mill Street to Bridge Street will be closed to vehicular traffic on Friday December 7th , 2012 from 12 p.m- 11 p.m December 8th - Pakenham Santa Claus Parade – a portion of McFarlane Street from the Stewart Community Centre, right to Jeannie Street, right to Highway 29, right to Renfrew Street, right to McFarlane Street to the Stewart Community Centre will be closed to vehicular traffic on Saturday December 8th, 2012 from 1 p.m to 1:45 p.m December 9th - Almonte Santa Claus Parade – a portion of Bridge Street from the Almonte Community Centre, turning left at its intersection with Mill Street and continuing down Mill Street to its intersection with Main Street West and continuing down Main Street East to its intersection at Queen Street and turning right onto Queen Street continuing onto Bridge Street and finishing at the Almonte Community Centre will be closed to vehicular traffic on Sunday December 9th, 2012 from 5 pm to 6:00 p.m.
BRIDGE CLOSURE NOTIFICATION
YOUTH NIGHT
The Town will be closing the Bridge on Concession 6D located approximately 1.5 km North of Clayton Road, along Concession 6D to allow for Engineering Review of the structure. The Closure will take place between, 8:00 am and 6:00 pm on Wednesday November 28th, 2012. For Further information please contact Cory Smith, Public Works Technologist, (613) 256-2064 ext. 229.
The Town of Mississippi Mills Youth Night program has started up once again. Please find the list of activities over the next few weeks. For more information on the program please feel free to contact Calvin Murphy Recreation Coordinator at 613-256-1077 Ext: 24. Friday December 7th– The Youth Nights program will be cancelled on this particular evening due to the annual Light Up The Night event at the bottom of Mill Street. Friday December 14th – Christmas Pizza Party!! (7:30 p.m – 9:00 p.m) Come on out for our last Youth Night session of 2012!! Free Pizza for everyone!! Our Youth Nights program will commence again on Friday January 11, 2013. See you all in 2013!!
MUNICIPAL GRANT APPLICATIONS The Town is accepting applications from organizations seeking financial assistance in 2013. Application forms are available for pickup at the Municipal Office or on the Town’s website at www.mississippimills.ca. All applications must be received by Friday, November 30, 2012.
EMPLOYMENT OPPORTUNITY Pakenham Branch Library – Part time Circulation Assistant (2012 hourly rate $13.32 – $15.29) The successful applicant must have experience in dealing with the public, extensive computer skills, some post-secondary education, and access to a vehicle. Must be available to work Wednesdays, Thursdays, and Fridays from 3pm to 7pm, and occasional Saturdays. Resumes must be received by 4:00 p.m. on Friday, November 30, 2012 and can be dropped off at the Pakenham Library Branch at 128 MacFarlane Street, emailed to mcaswell@mississippimills.ca, or mailed to: Branch Head Pakenham Branch- Mississippi Mills Public Library Box 250, Pakenham, ON K0A 2X0 View the full job description at www.mississippimills.ca
NOTICE OF A PUBLIC MEETING – TAXI LICENSING The Town of Mississippi Mills intends to pass a by-law for licensing, regulating and governing operators and drivers of taxi cabs. The changes implement new requirements imposed by the Integrated Accessibility Standard (Ontario Regulation 191/11) and other housekeeping amendments. The draft by-law is available on www.mississippimills.ca or upon request at the Town Office. A public meeting will be held on Thursday, December 13, 2012 at 6:00 p.m. in the Council Chambers (3131 Old Perth Road) during the Committee of the Whole meeting to allow members of the public to provide comment. Written submissions can be sent to the Clerk at rtremblay@mississippimills.ca or by calling 613-256-2064 xt. 226.
REQUEST FOR PROPOSAL The Townships of Beckwith, Drummond-North Elmsley and Montague, and the Towns of Carleton Place and Mississippi Mills are inviting interested qualified contractors to submit
proposals for the provision of: RECYCLABLE MATERIAL COLLECTION, PROCESSING and MARKETING SERVICES Proposals shall be received until 11:00 am on Tuesday November 27, 2012 Effective noon on Tuesday October 30, 2012, RFP specifications will be available at the Carleton Place Town Hall for a non-refundable fee of $100.00. For information contact: Wayne Fraser, Public Works Development Coordinator Town of Carleton Place Phone: (613)257-6203 E-mail: wfraser@carletonplace.ca
SOLID WASTE COLLECTION TENDER The Townships of Beckwith, Drummond-North Elmsley and Montague, and the Towns of Carleton Place and Mississippi Mills are inviting interested qualified contractors to submit tenders for the provision of: SOLID WASTE COLLECTION SERVICES (MUNICIPAL WASTE GROUP) Proposals shall be received until 11:00 am on Tuesday November 27, 2012 Effective noon on Tuesday Oct. 30, 2012 - Noon, tender packages will be available at the Carleton Place Town Hall for a nonrefundable fee of $50.00 (includes HST) Prior to the closing date and time, the submission must be delivered to: Dave Young, Director of Public Works Town of Carleton Place - 175 Bridge St. Carleton Place, Ontario K7C 2V8 For Information Contact: Wayne Fraser 175 BridgeStreet, Carleton Place, Ontario K7C 2V8 Tel: 613-257-6203 wfraser@carletonplace.ca
HALL RENTALS AVAILABLE IN ALMONTE AND PAKENHAM. TO BOOK YOUR RESERVATION NOW, CALL CALVIN MURPHY, RECREATION DEPARTMENT 613-256-1077 THE EMC - A/CP2 - Thursday, November 22, 2012
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Submitted photo
UNIQUE
EMC News – The Mississippi River Power Corp is completely shut down. One of the penstock pipes has sustained damaged and the second was shut off as a precautionary measure. Scott Newton, general manager at Mississippi River Power Corp, says he is hopeful that repairs will commence shortly. He notes there has been no affect on the town’s power supply. At this time he has no idea the cost of the repairs but admits the repairs will have a signi¿cant price tag. He is con¿dent it will be entirely covered by insurance. “It’s very frustrating for us but it is a process we have to go through,” said Newton. “We are doing all we can to assist the insurance company to speed up the process. It is quite unexpected and extremely disappointing to have this happen. We invested a decade into planning, constructing and a lot of hard work.” The plant opened in April 2010 and cost $19 million to build. It has a generating capacity of 4.6 megawatts nearly doubling the capacity of the previous station. The Power Corp has an agreement with Ontario Power Authority and is paid for whatever they produce. There is no minimum or maximum. Newton says they have accrued an estimated loss of revenue of $300,000 since the shut down in June. This loss of revenues is also part of the insurance claim and he expects they will get the entire claim
The next possible issue was to look at the penstock pipe, which is 10 feet in diameter and carries the water from the intake facility to the generator. This was done on June 15. “That is when we found the cause of the problem. The number two penstock pipe was signi¿cantly damaged,” said Newton. “At that point we informed our insurance companies and various parties involved in construction of it just over two years ago.” Unfortunately, the warranty of the pipes is only covered for one year. Since then until present an investigation and negotiations have been ongoing. Damage A section of penstock number two had a piece of pipe that came apart.