https://twitter.com/MVHannigan/status/693117314095403008/photo/1
By Michael V. Hannigan/HCNow
After a week of division and debate, the Athens City Council came together Friday to act in the face of critical issues confronting the water and sewer system.
The council unanimously approved hiring KSA Engineering, Inc. for two separate projects:
– conducting a multilevel design project to remedy low pressure in the water distribution system; and,
– conducting a multilevel design project to remedy deficiencies in the North Wastewater Treatment Plant.
Combined, the estimated cost for the two projects is about $747,000.
A majority of council members also voiced support for completion of a comprehensive study and analysis of the water and sewer system. City officials say they expect plans for that study to come before the council for approval sometime in the next couple of months.
Before voting, the council heard from several citizens and business owners, all who backed completing a study.
Athens resident Bob Morton speaks to City Council arguing for council to vote for study.
— Michael V. Hannigan (@MVHannigan) January 29, 2016
Kevin Lilly, who owns McDonald's, saying a boil water notice is "devastating" to his business. Wants longterm fix.
— Michael V. Hannigan (@MVHannigan) January 29, 2016
Jerry Vaught Sr. speaking to council arguing in favor of a water study. Says people in his area can't even shower because of low pressure.
— Michael V. Hannigan (@MVHannigan) January 29, 2016
Two residents called city hall asking for their comments to be read in favor of a water study.
— Michael V. Hannigan (@MVHannigan) January 29, 2016
Director of Development Amy Williams also spoke to the council, saying, “I am unclear how we arrived at our existing situation, but the current status of our water distribution system can be described as critical. Not only does the city have isolated low water pressure issues that are nearing the (Texas Commission on Environmental Quality) boil water notices, it has also been discovered that our current elevated storage tanks may not even meet regulations and that could result in the city not only receiving regulatory enforcement, but also losing its coveted superior drinking water status. In addition, it’s possible that our city and our city citizens our paying a high insurance rate due to the fact of our potentially inadequate fire flow suppression capabilities. This is a matter of public safety.”
When the council discussed the low water pressure issue in a meeting on Monday, Williams said the problem had plagued the city for 10 or more years.
Friday, Williams told the council the trickling wall at the North Wastewater Plant was leaking and needed to be replaced, adding that she believed the sewer issue to be just as important as the water issue. She also told the council that the sewer plant was badly out of date and that plans for the plant were unavailable because of its age.
On Friday, council members continued to debate the best way to approach fixing the water and sewer problems, but all of them agreed with Williams’ characterization of the issue as critical and the word “emergency” was used by several councilmen.
Councilman Charles Elliott said the difference between Friday’s action and a meeting last Monday when the council deadlocked over a request for a study of the problem is that Friday’s vote ensured projects are now underway to fix the emergency.
This is not the first time this particular council has been surprised by problems in the water system. In July 2015 it was reported that all seven of the city’s water storage tanks are out of compliance with the state for maintenance issues.
((Tweets were posted live from Friday’s meeting.))
The only question I have is why do we need to hire an engineer to do the study when Amy Williams was hired, in part, because she is an engineer that is experienced in these areas.
If the new engineer is going to draw engineer salary, she should be doing engineer work. If she is going to outsource the engineer work, they could have hired anyone and saved a lot of money.