More electric poles may need to be replaced
Staff writer
Crews doing work on Marion’s electrical system will need to replace more poles than originally thought.
City administrator Mark Skiles told council members Monday that workers had encountered more poles in rough shape and outside the scope of the $4.15 million project.
“The poles that will be considered for replacement are in a state of deterioration such that they are no longer safe,” Stiles said Tuesday. “They are structurally inadequate to continue to bear the load of the transformers, the wires, and the wind.”
Skiles did not have an estimate on the number of additional poles but said he would come back to the council with that number and a projected cost.
The project to update Marion’s electrical system began in January. The company doing the work, Integrated Electrical Services Commercial and Industrial in Holdrege, Nebraska, notifies the city when workers “become aware of a situation that warrants our attention,” Skiles said.
“City staff has done an in-depth survey of the poles in the area that is being upgraded,” he added.
Work is expected to take about a year and is being done in partnership with Kansas Power Pool.