By John Howell Sr.
A discussion among Batesville city officials during their March 18 meeting about the proposed construction of a natural gas pipeline to serve Lehman-Roberts Company provided a backdrop for commendation of Gas Superintendent William Wilson.

 Lehman-Roberts is seeking the fuel from the city-owned franchise for manufacture of paving asphalt at its Farrish Gravel Road plant. Providing the fuel would require construction of a 1.8 mile long pipeline to the plant located south of Highway 6 and east of Batesville.

 “The City of Batesville has for the past four years maintained virtually no gas loss,” Spencer stated in a letter to city officials.

“I commend the Batesville Natural Gas Department as a whole with a special Bravo-Zulu to William Wilson who has and continues to operate and maintain a first class natural gas utility,” Spencer continued.

(Bravo-Zulu is a navy flag or voice signal for “well done.”)

“The reason we stress gas so much is that we can make some money to do things for the city and don’t have to go up on taxes,” Mayor Jerry Autrey said.

“Lehman-Roberts will be another (summer user) — when it(consumption) does slow down in the summer, this will be picking it up,” the mayor said, referring to gas demand stabilization between seasons.

“This is very unusual to have no unaccounted-for gas, how do you go about that? Just steady inspections?” Alderman Bill Dugger, who worked with natural gas for 39 years before retiring from Tennessee Gas Pipeline, asked Wilson.

Wilson said regular inspections and prompt leak repair prevent gas loss. “If we find one, we go ahead and fix it,” Wilson said.

Gas not accounted for “cannot be recovered,” Spencer’s letter stated, costing the city in lost revenue.

“We bought less than we sold,” Wilson told the mayor and aldermen last week.

CPA Bill Crawford of Will Polk and Associates, said that Wilson is right. During the fiscal year that ended Sept. 30, 2013, preliminary figures show that the city had billed for .0004 percent more gas than it purchased, the CPA said. The explanation comes not from “voodoo economics,” Crawford said, but from gas loss so low that expansion from temperature changes more than makes up for the infinitesimal leakage.

Spencer in his commendation of the Batesville utility also cited successful compliance with regulatory agencies including the Dept. of Transportation’s Pipeline and Hazardous Material Safety Administration and the Miss. Public Service Commission.

“Management and correct operations of a system ensures a winning combination, both for the customer and the city,” Spencer stated.

Wilson, 55, has worked for the city gas department for 34 years. He became superintendent in 2002. Aldermen voted unanimously to spread a copy of the letter on the meeting minutes and to place a copy in Wilson’s personnel file.