Get Full Government Meeting Transcripts, Videos, & Alerts Forever!
Get email alerts on the Infrastructure Sewer Interceptor topic
No spam. Unsubscribe anytime.
Council hears update on Sixth Ward interceptor project; city says budget and grants cover work
Summary
City chief engineer told the Binghamton City Council work session that supplemental agreement No. 4 for the Sixth Ward interceptor project addresses a pump station, force main redesign and right-of-way issues; the city says grants will cover 62.5% of construction costs and EFC loans will cover the remainder.
BINGHAMTON — At its Oct. 20 work session, the Binghamton City Council reviewed RL25-166, a resolution to enter into Supplemental Agreement No. 4 for the Sixth Ward interceptor project. Ron Lake, the city’s chief engineer, outlined design changes, permitting challenges and funding for the project.
Lake said the supplemental agreement includes additions for a pump station to be located in the Sixth Ward near Duke Street and changes to the force main design after the city could not secure an easement for one property. “This project's been going on for longer than I've been here, so we're finally gonna get it cleaned up,” Lake said.
The project has secured grant funding that Lake described as covering roughly 62.5% of construction costs through what he identified as a WEA and a BIL grant; the city has “already had the loans from EFC for the rest of it,” he said. Lake also told council members that permitting and agency review — including questions from the DEC and EFC — added time and work to the project. He said construction-phase services are already underway.
Council members asked whether the city budget could absorb the added agreement. Lake replied, “the budget for this was much higher than actually what the project came in at. We had a really good bid on the project, so we're in good shape with budget.”
Lake also described on-site complications: the pump station location and the redesigned force main were necessary because the city could not obtain an easement for one property, and additional permitting reviews prolonged the process.
No formal vote on the supplemental agreement was recorded in the work session transcript. Council members did not debate alternative designs during the meeting.
The supplemental agreement is part of a multi-year sewer-infrastructure project that, according to Lake, now has construction underway and funding in place from a combination of grants and EFC loans.
