Franklin City utilities staff: Lowers Lane tank work delayed, pipe change order likely after wetlands rule change

At a meeting of the Franklin City Utilities Board, utilities staff said work on the Lowers Lane water tank is on hold until warmer weather and that a change order is likely for the water-main portion of the project after the state Department of Natural Resources revised wetland burial-depth requirements.

Utilities staff reported that the tank builder may not start exterior coatings until May and that the electrical subcontractor could do some internal wiring before then. Staff said contract A (pipe from Target to the tank) is essentially complete; contract B (tank site utilities and the run from the tank toward Saint Martin's Road) will be the subject of an upcoming change order because recent DNR guidance requires the water main to be buried deeper through wetlands.

"Pretty much the towers, we had a call this week with the tank builder. Pretty much it's on hold until May or weather where they can come and start their coatings," Utilities staff said. "Contract B is a tank and site utilities contract seal. We'll be starting probably in March, which will be from the tank down to Saint Martin's Road."

Why it matters: staff said the change order is driven by a DNR wetlands-and-waterways clarification that increased burial-depth requirements under wetlands. That deeper trenching increases excavation and pipe length impacts; staff said they are working to shorten the pipe alignment where feasible and will price over‑excavation and deeper trenching in unit-cost terms.

Staff said the change could require digging "anywhere from 5, 6 feet deeper," and that the department is still working through permit paperwork. "We did have approval, but apparently it was under draft review or draft step," staff said, referring to the wetlands-and-waterways permit review status.

The board also received a utilities operations update: staff reported two repairs so far this year, including a leaking valve connection repaired on a Saturday to reduce disruption, and a failed service saddle at Tuckaway Shores Condominium Complex. "We have had 2 repairs, so far since first of the year," Utilities staff said. The Tuckaway saddle failure occurred about two weeks earlier and staff said the metal components had disintegrated; the location cited in discussion was on Forest Hill near house number 176.

Staff said the city will absorb repair costs for the condo complex service and that inspectors and specification language from the 1990s may not have required stainless steel hardware. Board members raised inspection and specification questions about older installations and how corrosion risk increases over time.

On another construction item, Globe Contractors was awarded the Saint Martin's Road lateral project and staff said the contractor plans to start March 1, with aggressive completion expectations (staff mentioned an April 18 target). The council was scheduled to consider a preliminary resolution to begin the assessment process for that project.

At the QBW campus utilities site, staff reported they completed a wet connection that required shutting the main and left about 19 residents without water for roughly four to four-and-a-half hours on a snow day; the work went as planned after four days' notice. Staff said one more wet connection remains and that cold weather has slowed work in recent weeks.

Staff told the board that they will present a lead-detection report from Emmy Simpson at the next meeting. "Next month, I will have the report from Emmy Simpson on a weak leak detection stat. I just got it late this past week... I'll put that in for next month," Utilities staff said.

Votes at a glance: board members approved meeting minutes, approved a voucher list and carried a motion to adjourn; each motion passed on voice votes with "all those in favor" and "motion carried" recorded in the transcript. No roll-call vote tallies were recorded in the meeting transcript.

Ending: Staff said they will bring the DNR/wetland-permit clarifications and the contract-B change-order cost details back to the board when available and will include the lead-detection report and any samples or flushing results for the QBW campus line at the next meeting.