Moose Jaw Express.com

Florida-based company to upgrade ‘important’ wastewater treatment plant equipment

- Jason G. Antonio - Moose Jaw Express

City hall plans to spend over $1.5 million this year to refurbish lagoons at the wastewater treatment plant and will give the contract to the company that originally installed the waste infrastruc­ture.

'XULQJ LWV )HE UHJXODU PHHWLQJ FRXQFLO YRWHG WR DSSURYH WKH GLUHFW DZDUG FRQWUDFW IRU WKH %LRODF SRQG UHIXUELVKP­HQW SURMHFW WR 3DUNVRQ &RUSRUDWLRQ IURP )RUW /DXGHUGDOH )ORULGD IRU ZLWK HQJLQHHULQ­J services to pay for the contract from this year’s S3 wastewater treatment plant budget line.

Coun. Dawn Luhning was opposed.

&LW\ KDOO XQGHUWRRN D PDMRU XSJUDGH DQG FDSDFity expansion project at the wastewater treatment plant ::73 LQ DQG XSJUDGHG WKH V\VWHP WR D %LRODF :DYH 2[LGDWLRQ SURFHVV ² SURSULHWDU\ WHFKQRORJ\ RI 3DUNVRQ &RUSRUDWLRQ ² IRU ELRORJLFDO QXWULHQW UHPRYDO a council report explained.

7KH WZR %LRODF SRQGV WUHDW ZDVWHZDWHU ZLWK D QHDUO\ chemical-free biological process using activated sludge DQG DLU GHOLYHU\ ² DGGLQJ DLU DQG EDFWHULD KHOS EUHDNGRZQ PDWHULDO ² ZKLOH WKH FODUL¿HUV UHPRYH VROLGV WKH document continued.

Many components have life expectanci­es of 15 to 20 \HDUV LQFOXGLQJ WKH %LRODF ODJRRQ SRQGV ZKLFK PHDQV they must be rebuilt within the same time to function for another two decades, the report said.

6SHFL¿FDOO\ WKHUH LV ³YLVLEOH ZHDU´ RQ FHUWDLQ WXEHV DQG KRVHV DIIHFWLQJ DLU GHOLYHU\ WR WKH SRQGV $LU OHDNV are noticeable as either sputtering or bubbling wastewater in the ponds, which is why the city must upgrade the piping.

³)XUWKHU ODERXU SODQQLQJ LV XQGHUZD\ WR GHWHUPLQH LI one or both ponds can be completed within the approved EXGJHW ´ WKH UHSRUW VDLG

The operations department’s preferred option was to KDYH 3DUNVRQ &RUSRUDWLRQ UHEXLOG WKH SRQGV RQ VLWH ZLWK 2(0 SDUWV DQG VXSHUYLVLR­Q IURP FRPSDQ\ VWDII WR VDYH money, the document continued. Otherwise, it could be GLI¿FXOW IRU WKH FLW\ WR DFTXLUH RWKHU VSHFLDOL]HG ODERXU for the project, which would result in increased costs for even just one pond.

7KH SUHIHUUHG RSWLRQ ZRXOG FRVW IRU RQH SRQG DQG IRU WZR SRQGV LI WKH FLW\ KDG WR ¿QG ODERXU DQG WHFKQLFLDQ­V WKRVH H[SHQVHV ZRXOG MXPS WR DQG UHVSHFWLYH­O\

7KH UHSRUW DGGHG WKDW 3DUNVRQ ZRXOG VXSSO\ WKH PDterials and supervisio­n for the completion of at least one pond this summer.

City administra­tion initially planned to spend $1,385,000 on the contract but increased the agreement DIWHU D ³SURGXFWLYH FRQYHUVDWL­RQ´ ZLWK 3DUNVRQ DERXW WKH SURMHFW VDLG %HYDQ +DUOWRQ GLUHFWRU RI RSHUDWLRQV

7KH )ORULGD EDVHG FRPSDQ\ VDLG LW ZDV ZLOOLQJ WR ZRUN ZLWK WKH FLW\ DQG UHGXFH FHUWDLQ SURMHFW H[SHQVHV thus encouragin­g city hall to sole source the entire iniWLDWLYH WR 3DUNVRQ DQG KDYH LW FRPSOHWH ERWK SRQGV KH continued. This is why the contract jumped an extra $150,000?

This request is still within the total S3 wastewater treatment plant budget of $2.09 million and will not affect other initiative­s in that area, Harlton added. Also, department staff and the city’s engineerin­g consultant will RYHUVHH WKH SURMHFW ZKLOH 3DUNVRQ HPSOR\HHV FRQGXFW WKH actual constructi­on.

³7KLV LV SUHWW\ LQ GHSWK ZLWK ZKDW WKH\ GR ,W ORRNV DV WKRXJK WR VD\ WKH\¶UH VSHFLDOLVW­V LV DQ XQGHUVWDWH­PHQW ´ said Coun. Jamey Logan.

&RXQ +HDWKHU (E\ VLQJOHG RXW WKH OLQH LQ WKH UHSRUW DERXW DGPLQLVWUD­WLRQ KDYLQJ WR ¿QG H[WUD ODERXU EHFDXVH RI WKH QDWXUH RI WKH ZRUN LI LW ZHQW WKDW URXWH 6KH VDLG having another option was positive since there was “nothLQJ ZRUVH´ WKDQ FRXQFLO DSSURYLQJ D SURMHFW DQG WKHQ GLUHFWRUV UHWXUQLQJ VD\LQJ WKH\ FDQ¶W ¿QG ZRUNHUV

³/HW¶V MXVW JHW LW ULJKW WKH ¿UVW WLPH VR WKH ZRUN FDQ EH DZDUGHG DQG SODQQHG DQG GRQH ´ VKH VDLG DGGLQJ ZLWK D FKXFNOH ³(YHQ WKRXJK ZH GRQ¶W XQGHUVWDQG LW LW¶V D UHDOO\ important part of our infrastruc­ture for every resident in WKH &LW\ RI 0RRVH -DZ ´

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