HomeMy WebLinkAbout2007-04-10 - MinutesCity Council Water & Sewer Meeting Minutes
April 10, 2007
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Member Aldermen
Mayor Dan Coady Ward 1 Position 1 — Adella Gray
V10
Ward 2 Position l - Kyle rt Cook
CityAttorney Kit Williams � 1 Ward 3 Position 2—Robert Ferrell
Ward 4 Position 2 - Lioneld Jordan
City Clerk Sondra Smith ARKANSAS
City of Fayetteville Arkansas
City Council Water & Sewer Committee
Meeting Minutes
April 10, 2007
A meeting of the Fayetteville City Council Water & Sewer Committee was held on April 10,
2007 at 5:15 p.m. in Room 326 of the City Administration Building located at 113 West
Mountain Street, Fayetteville, Arkansas.
MEMBERS PRESENT: Alderman Kyle Cook, Chair; Alderwoman Adella Gray;
Alderman Lioneld Jordan, Alderman Robert Ferrell
OTHER ALDERMEN PRESENT: Alderwoman Shirley Lucas; Alderwoman Nancy Allen
STAFF PRESENT: Ron Petrie, Tim Conklin, Gary Dumas, David Jurgens, Paul Becker
OTHERS PRESENT: Billy Ammons, OMI
Chairman Kyle Cook called the meeting to order.
1. Approval of the minutes of the March 13, 2007 Water/Sewer Committee Meeting
Alderman Jordan moved that the minutes of the Water & Sewer Committee meeting held on
March 13, 2007 be approved as submitted. Alderwoman Gray seconded the motion and it
passed unanimously.
2. WSIP Update
David Jurgens presented the percentages of completion on the WSIP contracts. He said these
numbers were published last week and we have since received several more invoices. He said
Brasfield & Gorie will now be hitting over 50% completion on the West Plant. The East plant
under the Archer Western contract will hit 90% with the invoice that came in yesterday. We are
continuing to make progress. WL -1 and WL -3 are very close to the end. The last stretch of pipe
to be laid on WL -1 is from Sweetbriar Park to the Old Wire Road Lift Station. Not much pipe
has been laid yet on WL -4, but all the crews will be moved fromWL-3 once that is completed
and they will hit WL -4 hard. He said the Hamestring Lift Station is going well. Bids were
opened on WL -7 on March 20 but only one bid was received and it was too high. We are
rebidding the project and he believes the date for the bids to be opened is May 3 (note: actually
bid opening will be May 8). He said the project was estimated at $1.5 million. The one bid came
in at $2.1 million. He said we lost one bidder because they were awarded the Beaver Water
District plant expansion project. There are also two other major projects in the area being bid at
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this time that may be pulling bidders away. Once those two jobs are bid, we hope those
companies who don't get the contracts will come back and focus on this contract
In response to a question from Alderman Cook, David Jurgens said we are soliciting bidders in
eight to ten plans rooms. We are also putting the word out to everyone who works in the region.
a. Subproject EP -1, Noland WWTP Wet Weather Improvements
David Jurgens said we opened bids on this on Thursday, April 5. The low bid was from Wilson
Brothers at $1.3 million. This is the first time this firm has bid on any of these projects and we
are doing a complete reference check. Based on discussions with Black & Veatch it appears
Wilson Brothers will meet all the requirements for award of the bid. They are well within their
bonding limit. They have done some work with linings such as this before but they have not done
much municipal -type work. Mr. Jurgens said he will be gone on military leave for the next three
weeks and would like to have this item approved to go forward to the Council at the second
meeting in May so he can be here through the agenda and Council meetings.
Alderman Jordan moved that this item be placed on the Council agenda for the 2"d meeting in
May. Alderman Ferrell seconded the motion and it passed unanimously.
b. Beaver Lake Watershed Nutrient Reduction Study
David Jurgens said Sarah Wrede in Engineering is the project manager on this study. She is
currently out on maternity leave so there is no new information at this time.
Ron Petrie stated that the City has received a draft contract from the consultant and we are
evaluating the contract.
c. Subproject WL -7, Gregg Avenue Lift Station
David Jurgens said this project was discussed earlier in the meeting. We are rebidding the
project and soliciting more bidders.
d. WSIP Farmington Area Work
David Jurgens said staff met with Farmington today to discuss the financing on this project. He
said he has the value engineering comments and he can provide that report to the Committee.
Some of the recommendations will save money and will be incorporated into the design.
Alderman Cook requested a copy of the comments.
3. Sanitary Sewer Rehabilitation Project Update
a. Basins 1-5, 18 & 19 Sewer Rehab
David Jurgens said we have continued to have discussions with the Arkansas Highway
Department regarding the permit for the old Doc Murdoc's building. They don't like the fact that
the alignment on the project goes across College Avenue at an angle but in this case it has to be
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done. He believes the issue has now been resolved. Work should begin on this in the next few of
weeks.
b. Farmington Area
David Jurgens said we are advertising sewer rehab in the Farmington area and the bid opening
is scheduled for May 8. Farmington is planning to pay their portion of this with revolving loan
funds.
4. 36" Water Transmission Main Rehabilitation
David Jurgens said the surge tank has been painted with the exception of the floor. We did get
three quotes for the work on the floor. One quote (the low bid) is being evaluated because the
material is not exactly the same as specified. If the product is determined not to be appropriate,
staff will go with the second low bid. He said a great deal of work has been done in installation
of the flow control mechanisms inside town. Old Wire Road was closed down intermittently
during Spring break and a couple of times last week cutting a valve in to better isolate where our
flow control structures are going in.
5. Scheduling Next Water & Sewer Committee Meeting
David Jurgens suggested that the next Water & Sewer Committee meeting be scheduled on
Tuesday, May 8 following the Council Agenda session.
Supplemental Agenda:
1. WSIP Contracts
a. Subproject EL -4, Lift Station Upgrades Generator Purchase
David Jurgens said our NPDES permit now requires back-up power on all of our lift stations.
We are providing back-up power generators for all the WSIP east lift stations on which we are
doing work. He presented the bids for three of those generators. These are natural gas generators.
In this case we will not take the low bidder, United Engines, because he didn't meet the
specifications. Our specifications asked that the generators run at 1800 rpm while United
Engines generators run at 3000 rpm. Since their generators would run a lot faster, they would
also wear out faster and we want ours to last a long time. The next lowest bidder that meets
specifications is Riggs Power Solutions.
In response to a comment from Alderman Cook, David Jurgens said we will use natural gas
generators because it is a lot cheaper and is more reliable. If we had an area wide ice storm and
had to run on diesel or bio -diesel, we would have to fill them up every twenty-four hours. That
would mean trucks would have to be running out to each of about 50 different locations every
twenty-four hours in difficult driving conditions. The natural gas system is a better solution.
Alderman Jordan moved that this contract be forwarded to the Council in the 2"d meeting in
May. Alderman Ferrell seconded the motion and it passed unanimously.
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b. Subproject EP -2, Noland WWTP Renovation
David Jurgens said he got the final document in for Change Order Number 2. We are adding in
some asphalt. Most of the work is being dictated either by what makes sense between this project
and the last phase which will be done once the West Plant comes on line or things shown on the
as-builts that didn't match what was actually found once they dug underground. The change
order is for $115,000 but one segment is a "not to exceed" that is time and material based.
Therefore the net effect of the change order will be less than $115,000. He said the change order
has been vetted through the engineer, OMI, his own and Lynn Hyke's review. He believes it is a
valid change order and is well within the contingency. This project is now at 90% completion.
There will be a final "reconciliation" change order #3 to change any unit quantities and make any
final adjustments.
Alderman Cook said he does have some issue with the 57 days extension.
David Jurgens said we were optimistic on Change Order #1. He said it is 57 calendar days and
many of those are the result of the amount of time it took to find a water leak that pretty much
shut down their construction. He said staff looked for about three weeks to find the leak and
work could not be done during that time. When Change Order #1 came through, they were so far
ahead of schedule that the delay wasn't addressed. He said the major component of the project
that is not fully operational is the bar screen. He said there is one inlet structure that has to be
built but all the water is still coming into the plant. He said this delay is not going to affect the
operation of the plant. It will not force us to treat any less water and therefore has no operational
impact.
Alderman Ferrell asked if the provision that the time extension will not have any impact on the
start up of the plant could be included in the change order.
David Jurgens said that provision was in the contract anyway in terms of the operational
capacity of the plant. He said they have been working around the existing process flow. If they
were doing the work in a dry plant, they would have been done eight to ten months ago.
Alderman Cook asked what the unforeseen conditions were that required the change in regard
to the junction box.
David Jurgens said the pipe that we thought didn't have any water in it had a lot of water in it. It
was all underground so we couldn't tell until the pipe was dug up and the end cut off. Instead of
being a dry pipe that could simply be removed, it was flowing half full of water. That caused a
change in the design and layout of the junction box.
Additional Discussion
David Jurgens distributed an updated "rainbow sheet" outlining the status of all the WSIP
projects. He also distributed an updated easement acquisition sheet. He said we are anticipating
having to go to court on one easement on the west side. This is in the hands of the City Attorney.
On the east side, the first contract to be awarded is for EL -1 and El -2 which will be packaged
together. We have seventeen more easements to go in these areas. Some of the people have lived
where they live for 40 to 45 years and they have bad memories from 1967 when the 36" line was
put in. He said we will offer to take the landowners to see what the contractors are doing today
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and the finished product anywhere that we have done the work so far. It is not the same as it was
in 1967. We did get two easements in last week and we are putting a push on trying to talk to all
the other owners. In regard to the "rainbow sheet" he said the Fayetteville area project total
remains the same. There is still a $7.2 million contingency total. That contingency is a moving
number as we award bids and as we close out jobs.
Alderman Cook asked what would happen to the money if every project goes perfectly and we
have money left in contingency when everything is completed.
David Jurgens said we could pay off the bonds earlier and not use the money. However, he said
some line work that was recommended in the 1997 report was deferred. The money could
possibly be used for that work. It would be the City Council's decision.
In response to a question from Alderman Cook, Paul Becker said the only stipulation of the
bonding agents would be that the work must be folded into the project as the project was initially
defined. The money could also be transferred to the debt service fund to pay off the bonds faster.
Mr. Jurgens said staff is continually evaluating things to try to save the City money. He
distributed information regarding an alternative dissolved oxygen injector that has been tested
out at the Wastewater treatment plant. He explained that one of the ways that wastewater can
impact the environment is by putting a demand on the oxygen in the stream. If there is not
enough oxygen in the water, the fish in the river can die. He said this equipment would be a
capital expense of $66,000 and it would save money in operations. The payoff is estimated to be
around five years. The idea is that it injects pure oxygen into the water rather than just air so you
don't have to put in as much volume.
Billy Ammons said this is a new application for relatively old technology and makes more
efficient use of liquid oxygen. This is a local company. He said use of this method would serve
to help the environment as well as save money. He said this should be a 15 to 20 years asset. The
cost savings come from the amount of oxygen used, which is about 1/8th of what is currently
used.
David Jurgens said he is not looking for any decision on this yet. He will put it on the agenda
for the next meeting. He encouraged the Committee to contact Billy with any questions they
might have.
In response to a question from Alderman Ferrell, David Jurgens said he believes the quote of
$66,000 is good for 60 days.
Alderman Ferrell asked if there was consideration of this during the design phase of the project.
Billy Ammons said that this is brand new. It has only been perfected for commercial use in the
last few months.
In response to a question from Alderman Cook, Billy Ammons said the bulk of the installation
work will be done by the vendor. We have an existing system so there will be a little bit of
transition that OMI will have to be involved with.
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In response to a request for information about the Noland Plant from Alderman Cook, Billy
Ammons said the numbers for last year have come in lower than the year before except on
hydraulics. The organics are slightly higher (at 4 to 4.5%) for 2006 than they were in 2005. So
far this year we are running about steady. We had a really bad January but February and March
were pretty good. We are meeting our permits and are getting by relatively well at this point.
David Jurgens said Billy Ammons is scheduled to give the annual WWTP report at the agenda
session on May 8.
In response to a question from Alderman Ferrell, David Jurgens said that the rehab on all the
lines in Fayetteville is a continuous process. A lot of things cause the pipes to fail or leak. About
85% of the City will have been rehabbed when both plants come on line. We are rehabbing
Farmington this year. Also some manholes in the center of town going south are being done
because they were not done when some of the pipeline work was completed there fifteen years
ago. Nothing has been done in Greenland yet and that is pretty much next on the list. Once all
this is done we will start the cycle again based on the flow monitors that are in the ground. The
areas with the largest I & I problem will be evaluated.
Alderman Ferrell said with the rehab that has been done and the installation of the flow
monitors, he could see that it would probably be a little easier to determine where the hot spots
are and to stay on top of the situation.
David Jurgens said that is absolutely correct. He spoke about the decisions ahead regarding
operation of the wastewater treatment plants. A decision will have to be made about whether to
continue contracting out the operations as we do with the Noland Plant or whether to take on the
operations in-house. OMI's contract ends in 2008 and can only be extended one year. He will
recommend that contract be extended the final year and allow us time to better define the scope
of work since the new plant would have then been on line for a full year. That issue will probably
be brought forward to the Council simultaneously with the budget for next year.
There being no further business, the meeting was adjourned.
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