Amador County – Jackson City Council voted 4-0 last week to approve a contract extension for professional services with Stantec Engineering for a wastewater compliance project at the city’s sewer plant.
City Manager Mike Daly said the work “is as significant an undertaking as anything we’ve been doing with wastewater these days.” It “will design new facilities for discharge,” and costs “can be wrapped into USDA funding for the big project.” The council authorized additional phases of work with Stantec Engineering and a contract not to exceed $159,000.
Councilman Wayne Garibaldi asked if they should open it for competitive bidding, though it is not required for professional services. Daly said the council could consider the value of Stantec’s “historical knowledge” of the system and not go to bid, or try to get a better deal with bidding.
Stantec, as Eco:Logic, started working for the city in 2000, renewing the plant’s National Pollutant Discharge Elimination System permit. Vice Mayor Keith Sweet said a previous firm used Stantec’s work to get up to speed, and Stantec even assisted. The council voted 4-0 to continue with Stantec.
Sweet said it was a “pretty straightforward” issue, and asked why it is taking so long to get Regional Water Quality Control Board actions for the Wastewater Treatment Plant permitting.
Stantec’s Harold Welborn said “nothing about the projects that we have been working on is straightforward.” He said the Regional Board has been short-staffed, and while Stantec was trying to get their assistance with Jackson, the Regional Board was also dealing with major Sacramento issues.
Welborn said “they put us on the back burner,” and “there is only so much you can do as a consultant or city council member.”
The Council also OK’d a new filter frame at the wastewater plant costing $44,000. Daly said the total project cost is $112,000 and “is within our budget.”
Plant Chief Operator Eric Neuschmid said the filter improvement project has been digging into an aluminum frame for all four sand filters at the plant, and found extensive deterioration. The frame was installed in 1985, and replacing it will give the system new sand filters.
Garibaldi asked about the remaining validity of a “beneficial use attainment study” and said he thought the process was taking longer that it should.
Daly said some data may need updating. The study was done to satisfy California Fish & Game, which wanted to look at removing effluent from the creek. First indication is they will not object to effluent removal, Daly said.
Story by Jim Reece This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.
