Sewer contract flushed

City terminates engineering contract, will look for new wastewater engineer

Wednesday, April 13, 2011

— After twoand-one-half hours of intense discussion, the Gravette City Council last Tuesday night voted to terminate the city’s contract with a Fayetteville engineering firm which had been hired to engineer a sewer project.

The vote, 5 to 1 in favor of the action, culminated several months of discussion with Mc-Goodwin, Williams and Yates, the firm which has been working on the project for the past three years.

Council members Jimmy Denver, Melissa Smith, John Rambadt, Tena Crose andLarry Stidham voted in favor of the action. Former mayor and present council member Bill Howard was opposed.

The special meeting was the result of an action taken a week earlier when the council had approved the action by a similar vote which resulted in setting the hearing pursuant to an agreement with the firm.

Carl Yates, spokesperson for MWY, spoke at length to the council, noting the many years the firm has been involved in city projects, the most recent, the new water tower.

“I’m not going to try to convince you to stay with us,” he said.

His remarks detailed the work the firm has done on the project after MWY was contracted as the city’s engineer in September, 2007.

Cost factors for the project have been a continuing topic of disagreement and frustration for the city during the past year after it was determined minimum residential sewer rates were expected to climb more than $50 per month.

According to a study provided by MWY, the increase would be required to finance payments on a loan of up to $9,000,000.

Voters earlier had approved a three-quarter cent sales tax which was also determined to be necessary to make the annual bond payments.

Numerous attempts had been tried to see the cost of the project lowered from the expected $6 to$7 million-plus cost. The lowest cost estimate was to transport Gravette’s effluent for treatment at the Decatur treatment plant.

Following a peer review estimate by another engineering firm which estimated the project cost at $4,500,000, negotiations with McGoodwin, Williams and Yates dropped their estimate to $5,281,000. However that cost eliminated several project items which would have been the city’s responsibility.

During the past six months, several representatives of the city have been involved in visiting other treatment facilities in an effort to find a more economical solution. All met with little or no change in the estimated cost provided by MWY.

The city has also been in discussion with state agencies which have set effluent discharge limits of phosphorus and nitrates which the current plant does not meet.

Changes in the operation and treatment procedures at the plant during the past two months have indicated the city is in compliance with discharge standards.

Discussion finally turned to a proposed resolution to terminate the engineering firm. A motion was made by alderman Jimmy Denver, seconded by John Rambadt, to approve the document, with voting as detailed above.

The resolution terminates the agreement effective April 5 and authorized Mayor Byron Warren to search for a new engineer.

By terminating the contract, the city is obligated to fees totaling $386,018 to McGoodwin, Williams and Yates for work through March 20.

The next step will be for the city to contract with a new engineering firm. According to Mayor Warren, such action has been discussed with and received approval from state regulatory agencies involved.

News, Pages 1 on 04/13/2011