Amador County – The Amador Water Agency Board of Directors voted 3-0 Monday to authorize its Board President Terence Moore to sign a construction contract with Mountain Cascade Incorporated to begin the Plymouth water pipeline project. In the same vote, the board directed AWA General Manager Jim Abercrombie to issue a “Notice To Proceed” on the project. They also authorized staff to complete the project, “not to exceed the estimated project cost of 10,661,694 Dollars. But approval of the project’s cost was subject to review by the new AWA Board of Directors. District 1 Board Member-Elect George W. “Bill” Condrashoff questioned the project cost being authorized by the board, saying the number seemed to differ from the amended agreement with the city of Plymouth. John Swift presided over the meeting and he and Madonna Wiebold and David Thomas took a break to have Finance Manager Michael Lee print the cost breakdowns. Abercrombie said the “not to exceed” clause in the wording was used similarly in starting projects of late such as the Buckhorn Water Treatment Plant and the Amador Transmission Pipeline, and if the cost was to go over that total amount, he would approach the new AWA board.

The new board is to take the oath of office at 11 a.m. Friday at the AWA office under the direction County Registrar Sheldon Johnson. Condrashoff said he was concerned that the “total project cost” in the agreement with Plymouth was $8.5 Million Dollars, but the board was considering approving the amount of $10.6 Million dollars. Abercrombie said a “big chunk of that” is Plymouth’s $1.3 Million Dollar participation fee. Lee said the difference included contingency costs, construction management and easement costs. He said “the agency’s costs will not be known until the project is completed.” Condrashoff said he would like further details of the “sunk costs,” and asked that it be placed on the soonest agenda possible. Abercrombie suggested the board approve the completion of the project, and advise him to come back to brief the new boards. On board direction, he said he would place the cost briefing for the Plymouth Pipeline on the January 8th agenda. The board meets once this month, December 11th and Abercrombie said that agenda is full of items. Story by Jim Reece (This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.).