Warr Acres tables dam and spillway decision after HOA asks for more review

Council members discussed two design alternatives for the Pines East Lake dam and spillway rehabilitation and recommended the base bid with alternate 2 (a gravel and bentonite clay backfill behind the timber wall) as the preferred, lower-cost option, but they tabled final action to allow the homeowners association time to review the alternate design and a revised memorandum of understanding.

City staff explained they split the work into a base bid (the spillway) and alternates so the council could choose how to address the timber wall and behind-the-wall repairs. Staff recommended awarding the base bid with alternate 2, saying it was substantially cheaper than a concrete retaining wall. The staff presentation stated the award for the base bid plus alternate 2 was "in the amount of $691,493." The retaining-wall option was described in discussion as costing $772,305.

The HOA’s attorney, Matt Eads, asked for time to review the bentonite option and the MOU: "This is the first that my clients have heard about this particular ... methodology ... so they actually would need some time to look at that and research that to make sure that it is sufficient for their needs," he said. Eads also said the HOA had not signed the draft MOU and described the earlier draft as too one-sided for the HOA to accept without revision.

An engineer participating in the meeting described bentonite as a clay commonly used as a liner: "Bentonite clay ... absorbs water. It's a clay. ... it provides a fairly solid barrier ... it would help prevent water from seeping through the timber wall and into the ground and instead force the water to go through the spillway to get out," the engineer said. The engineer added that, depending on construction details, the bentonite/gravel approach can provide a service life comparable to the concrete option.

State dam-safety permitting affected the schedule: city staff and the engineer said the Oklahoma Water Resources Board (OWRB) will not issue a permit to construct for the dam rehabilitation unless the spillway rehabilitation and dam work are permitted together. Staff said they were working to submit materials so the project could appear before OWRB at its June board meeting; because of that permitting timetable and the HOA’s request for time to review, the council voted to table the item to the June regular city council meeting (or until a special meeting is called if needed).

Discussion versus decision: staff recommended alternate 2 as the preferred, lower-cost option, but the council did not take a final award action on the dam/spillway item at this meeting. Instead, the council directed staff and the city attorney to continue negotiating MOU language with the HOA and to provide the HOA and its counsel roughly three weeks to review the bentonite alternate and the revised MOU before a final decision.

What’s next: staff said they will submit the application to OWRB by the end of the week so the permit can be considered at the OWRB June board meeting. The council set the item to return at the June meeting so the HOA can review the design and the MOU; if needed, a special meeting can be scheduled sooner.