BELLE — The Belle Board of Aldermen approved the purchase of a $1,929 replacement nozzle for the city’s sewer jetter during its Oct. 13 meeting, following a sewer blockage on Bel Air that required assistance from the city of Vienna. Aldermen also discussed repairs to an access hatch on one of the city’s water towers, with plans to seek additional bids before proceeding.

Mayor James (Pudd) Mitchell told aldermen that city employees spent an entire day attempting to clear a sewer blockage on Belair Street but were unable to remove the obstruction using the city’s existing equipment. The blockage was causing sewage to back up into a basement.

“We couldn’t leave it because it was flooding another basement,” Mitchell said.

After speaking with Jimmy Zumwalt, Mitchell contacted a worker from Vienna who agreed to assist. The worker arrived with another employee and additional sewer-cleaning equipment.

Mitchell said the Vienna workers cleared the blockage within approximately 15 minutes of arriving and completed the job without charging the city.

“I do want to publicly thank the city of Vienna for them, their guys coming over here and helping us,” Mitchell said. “And they never charged us a dime.”

Mitchell said he offered to return the favor if Vienna ever needed assistance from Belle.

The incident prompted city officials to examine the condition of the nozzle on Belle’s sewer jetter, which is used to remove roots and other obstructions from sewer lines.

“As far as I know, it’s never been replaced,” Mitchell said.

The city had already ordered parts to rebuild the existing nozzle so it could be retained as a backup. Mitchell recommended purchasing a new jetter head at a cost of $1,929.

The board voted to approve the purchase.

During his staff report, Jim Goben, public works director, provided additional information about sewer maintenance throughout the city, including cleaning work performed along Taylor Street and Belair.

Goben said crews had also repaired a leak in the jetter itself after taking the equipment to Honse Welding.

He explained that the aging nozzle had made sewer-cleaning work more time-consuming, requiring crews to refill the equipment’s water tank multiple times while working on blockages.

“Once we get our new head, it’s going to make life a lot easier, a lot quicker,” the employee said.

He estimated that work requiring several tanks of water with the existing nozzle could potentially be completed with one tank using the replacement equipment.

Water tower access hatch needs repairs

In other infrastructure business, Mitchell presented aldermen with a quote for repairs to the access hatch on the city’s white water tower.

The hatch, which provides access for maintenance work, needs to be rebuilt and reinstalled, according to the mayor.

“It needs to be fixed,” Mitchell said.

Mitchell told aldermen that the city had received only one quote for the project and indicated that additional bids could be sought.

The board then voted to pursue additional bids rather than move forward with the single estimate presented at the meeting.

No final contractor selection or repair cost was announced during the discussion.