Get Full Government Meeting Transcripts, Videos, & Alerts Forever!
Get email alerts on the Utilities Infrastructure topic
No spam. Unsubscribe anytime.
Utilities staff cite vacancies as driver for small contract to repair water leaks
Summary
Utilities staff told the council the field division is operating with dozens of vacant positions; the council approved a one-year minor-construction contract with Power Scoop Utility LLC to provide 200 hours of labor and equipment to address water leaks while staff pursue hiring and longer-term staffing solutions.
City utilities staff told council they are operating with substantial vacancies in the utilities division and asked the council to approve a one-year minor construction contract to supplement in-house crews.
Greg Rodriguez (Utilities) presented staffing data showing the utilities division has multiple vacant field positions and frozen roles; he said the utility field crews had 23 positions with only 10 filled and that the overall utilities department (including rehab positions) showed 32 positions with 13 vacant or frozen at times. Rodriguez described recruitment and retention challenges driven partly by regional competition and pay differentials, and he said the utility crews respond to both water distribution and sewer collection across roughly 400 miles of distribution lines and 350 miles of sewer lines.
To address immediate workload pressure, staff recommended and the council approved a minor-construction contract with Power Scoop Utility LLC not to exceed $100,000. Rodriguez said the contract was bid through BidNet, that the contractor is TCQ-certified and that a 200-hour task order would provide labor and equipment deemed sufficient to repair up to 20 leaks. Rodriguez told the council, "This contractor will be able to provide the city of Victoria with 200 hours of labor and equipment necessary to repair water leaks." He also said the city had 22 known leaks as of the weekend and that six new leaks appeared during the most recent weekend.
Council members asked whether the recent leaks were from a common cause; staff said they were mostly slow leaks and not catastrophic failures, and that the contractor would be used to address smaller leaks so in-house crews can focus on high-priority work. The contractor is based in the Stafford area, staff said, and Power Scoop had previously performed to the city's satisfaction under a 50-hour purchase order.
Rodriguez said the contract would be valid for one year and that staff would track leak repairs and return to council with updates as part of routine procurement and operations reporting.
