Mayor Says Grade Two Water Operators Are Hard To Come By

By Gordon HopkinsAt a meeting Tuesday evening, March 5, the Fairbury City Council voted unanimously to sign a three-month contract with People Service Inc., a company headquartered in Omaha that provides water and wastewater services. According to Fairbury Mayor Spencer Brown, the contract is necessary because of the difficulty in finding grade two water operators.The People Service Inc. contract will supplement the new water superintendent, Dennis Gaston, who is currently a grade three operator. The job of superintendent requires a grade two operator or higher. The People Service contract will provide those services that Gaston is not qualified to do, mostly involving Crystal Springs. The mayor told FJN Gaston was the only person to apply for the superintendent job.According to Mayor Brown, the contract is a stop-gap measure while the city searches for a qualified grade two operator to perform those functions.Brown told the city council, “Finding a grade two water operator is not as easy as you think. There are very, very few grade two and grade one guys in the state, especially ones that want to move to Fairbury. I’ve contacted many of them. There are some that live in Crete, Wilber, you know, kind of all around. I’ve called and asked questions and started conversations. We’ve had good support on a backup type of a situation but not somebody that wants to come in and just actually handle the duties and be listed as the as the great two water operator.” After the meeting, the mayor confirmed to FJN that the city does have one grade two operator on staff but he is currently on leave. Mayor Brown was not willing to discuss why that operator is on leave or if they are expected to return, indicating he will not discuss personnel matters.The cost of the contract is $2,250 per month for three months. Duties included in the scope of the contract are: Once a month in person visits to review logs, test results and operations. Operational oversight and certification compliance. Provide phone support for staff questions. Act as city’s liaison with regulatory agencies.Any work outside the scope of the contract will be an additional $150 to $250 per hour.

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