The unusually hard freezes this winter had the Village of Parks concerned about the possible need for spare equipment.
Mayor Kevin Kately spoke about the issue at the March 13 Village Council meeting. Kately said that a pump motor quit due to extra strain on the system. An extra one was on hand, so no real emergency occurred.
During that time, however, the system was dependent on that one pump. Had the worst case scenario occurred and that pump motor failed as well, thousands of Parks Water System customers would have been without water.
Kately said that other purchases planned in the coming months were going to be put on hold to allow for the purchase of a second spare pump motor. “For two weeks we had no plan B, so 15,000 customers were dependent on that single motor,” he said. “We need to see to it that we have adequate back-up equipment for our water system.”
In other business, the vote on a $1.2 million bond for a new city hall was tabled until next month at the request of the bond attorney. Council member Myra Yvonne Narcisse suggested that the village consider applying to the parish library board for a new library building to be placed beside the new city hall when it is built.
Kately and the council plan for the new facilities to be built on property adjacent to Cecile Rousseau Poché Memorial Park.
