Tuscaloosa committee approves contract with 1 Call Plumbing to continue residential lateral-repair program

The Tuscaloosa City Public Projects Committee approved a minor public-works contract with 1 Call Plumbing to provide on-call repairs for the city’s residential lateral assistance program, with a total not to exceed $50,000 for the year.

City staff told the committee the contract will be funded through the water and sewer operating fund’s special projects account and includes an option to renew for two additional years. "This is a contract with 1 Call Plumbing for us to have a plumber on standby for the residential lateral assistance program," a city staff member said.

Committee members questioned the scope and eligibility for repairs. The city staff member said the program covers only the portion of the lateral located in the city right-of-way — generally the segment from the water main to the right-of-way line — and does not fund repairs on private property. "It would be from the main to the right of way, not the portion on the customer's property," the staff member said.

Committee members also asked how recipients are chosen. City staff said applications will be reviewed under the same programmatic parameters previously used when the program ran on Community Development Block Grant (CDBG) funds, and that awards will be handled on a first-come, first-served basis up to the $50,000 annual cap. "We're just doing up to $50,000 a year. It's going to be first come, first served...when there's a problem, when there's a breakage," the staff member said.

Members discussed the program’s funding history. City staff and one committee member clarified the earlier pool of roughly $300,000 had been federal CDBG funding subject to federal program rules and different distribution criteria; the current $50,000 is an operational line in the water and sewer fund adopted in the budget. "The original program was done out of a federal award that required us to put into place programmatic parameters...this is a different type of funding," a city staff member said.

One committee member expressed concern about the legal authority to provide assistance to individual homeowners with water and sewer funds and whether such payments could be characterized as grants. A city staff member responded that the contract covers work within the city right-of-way and is the city paying a contractor to repair a section of pipe the city maintains access to, not a direct grant to homeowners.

The committee approved the contract by voice vote after a motion and second. The committee chair announced, "All in favor say aye," and the item was recorded as approved.

The contract includes an annual not-to-exceed amount of $50,000, a stated option for two additional one-year renewals, and an operational-funding source rather than continuation of the prior CDBG funding stream. City staff said if application demand exceeds available funds in a year, they would consider returning to the committee to request additional funding.