GAUTIER, Mississippi — The Gautier City Council on Aug. 5 approved a task order not to exceed $90,000 to fund engineering support for the city’s 3,000,000‑gallon‑per‑day water supply and treatment plant project. The council voted to authorize task order No. 7 after staff described the work as design‑and‑construction coordination that Wagner Engineering must perform while construction proceeds.

City staff said the work covers engineering responses such as requests for information and submittals during construction because Wagner designed the facility. “We paid Wagner Engineering to design this water treatment,” a city staff member explained during the meeting, adding the $90,000 cap represents the city’s cost share tied to federal funding. The staff member told the council the city had previously received federal money for the project and that the Corps of Engineers has design and construction roles on the grant-funded work.

Council members pressed staff about whether Wagner had provided a detailed breakdown and whether the city could face additional costs later. “I just want to make sure that down the road that they're not gonna say…y'all owe us another $40,000,” one councilman said; staff responded the task order is “$90,000 or less” and that the amount corresponds to funds already accounted for as the city’s cost share.

The motion to approve the task order was made by Councilman Fuller, seconded by Councilwoman Jamieson, and carried. Council discussion included the risk that construction could stop without timely engineering support and confirmation that Wagner’s role includes responding to contractor RFIs and submittals. Staff identified the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers as the federal partner overseeing core engineering and the project cost‑share framework.

The action authorizes the city to pay Wagner up to $90,000 from money already designated for the project; staff said the Chief (Corps) manages construction and Wagner will perform necessary RFI and submittal review on the city’s behalf while construction continues. No additional appropriation was announced at the meeting.

Background: city staff described this task order as a follow‑on to prior design work and as part of the city’s cost‑share arrangement tied to federal grant funding for the plant. The council did not set an implementation date during the meeting.