PUBLIC WORKS & OPERATIONS UP-DATES

MESSAGE FROM THE OPERATIONS MANAGER Mark Vainio

Public Works Crew

Water service leak on Dawson Drive – we will repair as soon as we are able – water main is shallow and in frost. We’d like to hydroexcavate this to avoid more damage. We are operating perimeter valves to be able to isolate the break if something bad happens during the repair.

We’re snow clearing, pulling streets and hauling when able.

We are short-handed, so please be patient.

We’ll be posting for a Full-Time Landfill Operator/Bylaw Enforcement Officer right away.

4 of our crew recently completed Water Treatment Level 1 training. One more will be taking the course soon. We will have two certified Water Treatment Operators. 3 that took the training are unable to get certification (though they passed the exam) because of insufficient hands-on hours in our Water Treatment Plant.

Next training will be Cross Connection/Backflow Assembly Tester

Certification. This is necessary as we have many backflow assemblies through our water system and most of our buildings. The training will be in Whitehorse, so we’ll only be sending two people for this. Also, Waste-Water Collection Level 1 which can now be completed online. These training courses provide a level of comfort to our Regulators that we are maintaining our systems to the required standard.

Gardening Crew

We will be posting for vacant positions soon. We’ll be looking for a Seasonal Assistant Gardener, Seasonal Part-time Assistant Gardener, Mature Student and Students again this year. Marissa Piercey will be joining us again as our Head Gardener.

Flowers and material have been ordered for this year, so we’ll be preparing the green-house to receive those.

Dena Cho Trail Improvements

– CDF Grant

Final reports are completed and submitted. Trail is cleared and broken all the way to Ross River. Bridges and cabins are all in good condition. We’ll be making an extra effort to support annual maintenance to this trail and others as well.

Community Services Building

We’ve been storing some material and equipment inside. Some deficiencies have been corrected. Many have not. This will be a process before we can move in.

Communications tower, door locks, card locks all need to be corrected before we can move in.

Phase 2 Construction

Norcope had requested a meeting with the Town Mayor and Administration prior to the season Startup in an attempt to address some of our concerns from last year. This should happen before the end of March as they were unable to attend the previously scheduled meeting. Construction start-up meeting will be in late April or early May several weeks before the project actually begins.

2013 VACTOR 2112 PLUS FAN Canadian Community-Building Fund

The Town of Faro recently purchased a used Vactor truck. This is a very important purchase and will increase the amount of work the Public Works Crew is able to complete to our Waste Water System. The track is well equipped to complete a number of jobs around Town including:

Sewer/Storm Main Cleaning, 70 gal/min at up to 3,000 psi with 600’ x 1” hose;

Water & Debris Tanks Joined, this means we can fill water tanks by sucking it up from a pond into the debris tank with the vacuum hose (want clean water and clean debris tank). Great for remote site work (such as clearing culverts). 12 cu.yd debris tank, 1,300 gal water tanks;

Air Purge, or draining water in colder conditions. Drain valves everywhere;

Winter Insulation Package, Cold weather recirc at 250 GPM;

Wireless Controls for Vacuum and Rodder, Also, lighting packages for winter work;

Jet Rodder Accumulator, for punching through blockages;

Hydro-Excavator, for exposing utilities and cleaning for repairs or new service installations with 800,000 BTU water heater;

Hydraulic Tool Package, for jackhammers, wrenches, impacts;

Extras We Ordered, new suction tubes, clamps, nozzles, elbows, tiger-tails, and roller guides (to protect hoses from sharp edges going into manholes and mains), Jetscan camera (fits on rodder hose and will camera our sewer/storm mains to identify trouble areas) and onsite operator training for our crew.

If this truck was new, it would cost (as dressed) $700,000. We were very fortunate to be ahead of the curve finding this truck as other larger municipalities are just now starting their shopping for these trucks and there is a high demand. Town of Faro Council is well aware of the magic these trucks can do and I really excited to be involved in bringing this unit here. This truck would not be possible without super strong Council support and probably not at all without Gas Tax Funding.

If this truck is working in your neighborhood this summer and you notice your toilet gurgling, please notify the operator immediately so he can dial it down. We don get the job done. We where we need to keep the pressure down so we can mark it on our mapping and not have any repeats.

Doing laundry is most likely part of your every day routine. But did you know how important taking care of your clothes dryer is to the safety of your home? With a few simple safety tips you can help prevent a clothes dryer fire.

 Do not use the dryer without a lint filter.

 Make sure you clean the lint filter before or after each load of laundry. Remove lint that has collected around the drum.

 Rigid or flexible metal venting material should be used to sustain proper air flow and drying time.

 Make sure the air exhaust vent pipe is not restricted and the outdoor vent flap will open when the dryer is operating. Once a year, or more often if you notice that it is taking longer than normal for your clothes to dry, clean lint out of the vent pipe or have a dryer lint removal service do it for you.

 Keep dryers in good working order.

 Make sure the right plug and outlet are used and that the machine is connected properly.

 Follow the manufacturer’s operating instructions and don’t overload your dryer.

 Turn the dryer off if you leave home or when you go to bed.