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City Council approves $8.5 million wastewater maintenance facility at Greenwood
Summary
The City Council approved an $8.5 million construction contract and related funding for a new wastewater maintenance building at the Greenwood Wastewater Treatment Plant after extended debate about cost, timing and alternatives; staff said the project centralizes equipment, improves preventive maintenance and adds training and safety space.
The City Council approved a construction contract for a new wastewater maintenance building at the Greenwood Wastewater Treatment Plant after a lengthy discussion about cost and timing.
The vote came after Public Works staff and the water systems infrastructure director, Wesley Nevigan, told council members the 16,218-square-foot facility would centralize storage for pumps, blowers and spare parts, provide two equipment bays and climate-controlled workshop and training space, and support the city’s preventive maintenance program for wastewater assets.
Nevigan said pumps and blowers are now stored outdoors or scattered across sites and that the facility will allow crews to “self perform a lot of the electrical work” and do more fabrication, welding and PLC/panel work in-house. He said the department has about 51 employees who will use the facility and that current space is roughly 5,000 square feet. “This facility will help protect our employees and provide them with the proper instruction and training they need to do their job,” Nevigan said.
Council members pressed staff on cost, alternative leasing options and budget impacts. Nevigan and city staff said the total project budget is $8.5 million, of which about $6 million had already been encumbered in the CIP; the current request adds about $2.5 million that would be financed and reflected in future wastewater rates. Nevigan stated the incremental rate impact to an average residential customer is about 3 cents per year.
City manager Peter Zanoni said the project is part of the city’s long-term capital improvement plan and stressed the importance of investing in facilities that retain skilled employees and protect infrastructure. “If we had to pin it on one thing, it’s about the people,” Zanoni said, adding that employees need decent, safe places to work.
Opponents on council called the timing poor given other capital needs and suggested leasing an existing building, while supporters cited preventative-maintenance benefits, cost savings from in-house work and long-term asset protection. Council members also noted the project had appeared in the CIP for about three years, and that competitive bids returned a lower price than the engineer’s estimate.
After discussion the council voted to approve the contract award to Barcom Construction and move forward with the project.
The project will be funded from wastewater revenue bonds and the wastewater operating fund; staff said debt proceeds for the $2.5 million portion were required only if the council approved construction. Staff estimated the building would take just over a year to construct.
Council members asked staff to continue reporting on cost-control options and possible design alternatives; staff said the project design already focused on a simple tilt-wall concrete structure and that built-in features — such as an overhead crane for heavy pumps and climate control for electrical work — make leasing existing buildings difficult without heavy retrofits.
