:: Our History
For several years prior to 1938, there was considerable talk in Carrollton, Missouri advocating municipal ownership and operation of the electric and water utilities. Contracts with the private corporation serving the town were to expire in January 1939.
With this stimulus, a mass meeting of citizens in early 1938 appointed a committee to lay before the town council a petition requesting an engineering investigation and report on the subjects of a municipal-owned water system to be operated in conjunction with the electric utility.
After receiving a favorable report from a firm of consultants, an ordinance was passed on August 30, 1938, calling for an election on September 27, 1938 to authorize the issuance of bonds in the amount $220,000.00 for purchase or construction of an electric and water system. The bond issues carried and the offer of a 45 percent P.W.A. grant was received, the only federal funding in the history of the utility.
In 1938, the town council consisting of Matt Drake, Elmer Daniels, J. Will Smith, Otto Steele and W.L. Beams, under the leadership of Mayor Harold M. Austin acted under appropriate statutes and appointed the first Board of Public Works with A.C. Smith as president and Charles L. Graham, Hiram Wilcoxson and D.B. Ashbrook as members.
By October 1941, construction of the electric generating plant was completed and ready for business. On October 27, 1941 at 12:01am the Carrollton Municipal Utilities power plant went into operation with E.E. Barton as Superintendent, Raymond Anderson, Line Foreman, Wilfred Green, Chief Engineer and Mrs. J. L. Burruss, Office Manager. During the first few months of operation just nine employees handled the production and distribution of electricity, maintenance and clerical work.
The plant consisted of three Worthington diesel units, with a generating capacity of 1,056 kilowatts. In 1942, the first full year of operation, the plant furnished electricity to just 1,200 customers and generated 2,200,000 kilowatt-hours. The first year’s peak load was 800 kilowatts.
Just a year after the utility began to manufacture power, the water plant went into operation. When the utility took over the water plant, the average monthly consumption of water was about 7,000,000 gallons furnished from two wells.
During the following years Raymond Anderson became Superintendent followed by Lowell L. Anderson. During these years 6 more generators were added for generating power making the plant a 22Mw plant. Also in 1968 Capacity was increased at the water plant. After the 1993 flood a new water plant was built above the flood plain and dedicated “L.L.Anderson Water Treatment Plant,” a 2.5 Mgd lime softing plant.
Through the years a Million Gallon Ground Storage tank, 500,000 Gallon Fluted Water Tower, SCADA System and Security System was added. CMU now has a storage capacity of 2.5 Million Gallons in reserve. |
