City outlines more than $150 million in wastewater projects; staff to defer National Park pipe section

City Manager Bill Burrow told the Hot Springs Board of Directors on Sept. 16 that the city currently has more than $150 million in wastewater projects underway or planned and that staff will defer one pipeline section that runs through the national park to avoid immediate additional costs.

Burrow listed multiple ongoing contracts and projects, gave dollar figures and reported progress. He said staff are monitoring budgets closely and will bring a negative change order to the board to remove the National Park section from the current Diamond Construction work and re-scope it after dewatering design and bidding. "We are monitoring these projects," Burrow said. "...we really don't have any contingency dollars in there anymore. We've had some things come under, some things come over, but we were about 200,000 in the red on this last meeting."

Key projects and amounts Burrow listed include: an $8,200,000 Gulf Of Interceptor Section 1 contract (Coakley), a $13,100,000 contract by Bell Construction for Section 2, a roughly $10,000,000 Gulf pump station (about 78–80% complete), a $4,600,000 Gulf Of to wastewater treatment work by Diamond Construction, a $3,100,000 Spring Street project by Bulls Construction, Diamond Construction work for sections 2 and 3 at $3,700,000, a roughly $21,000,000 wastewater treatment plant project (about 65% complete), an outfall contract awarded to KJAX at $5,700,000, and an SSES contract with RJN at $1,500,000.

Burrow said the city has a major dewatering project estimated at about $14,000,000 that still requires roughly seven to eight months of design; staff intend to finish design and then bid it. Because of cost increases and limited contingency, staff chose to defer the pipe segment that runs through the national park, which will require additional right-of-way, permitting and archaeological work before it can proceed. Burrow described the archaeological requirement as periodic test pits "every 10 meters" where crews dig 2-by-2-foot holes to check for artifacts; he said staff want to avoid triggering a more extensive environmental assessment (EA) or NEPA requirement.

Burrow also said staff meet regularly with contractors and review project budgets. He acknowledged heavy staff workload on these projects and named city staff helping to monitor them. He said Diamond Construction has been cooperative and that the city will continue permitting and archaeological work while deferring the construction portion until dewatering and budget conditions are clearer. The board heard this as an informational report; Burrow said staff will bring the negative change order and updated budget information to the board for approval.