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Sunnyside council declares emergency for Riverside sewer mainline; contractor selected for immediate repairs
Summary
Council approved a resolution authorizing the interim city manager to execute documents for an emergency sewer-main repair after crews found the top of a pipe missing near Riverside and Grandview. Council voted unanimously to proceed; staff said work could start as soon as the next day and that a bypass pump will prevent service interruptions.
Sunnyside City Council on Oct. 6 voted to declare an emergency and authorize immediate repair of a failed sewer mainline on Riverside near the reservoir.
Deputy Director Hector Mejia told council that crews discovered the top of the pipe had washed away after a September 24 sewer backup; camera inspection showed roughly 180 feet of pipe where the upper section was gone and only the bottom section was carrying flow. “We need to address this right away,” Mejia said, describing the segment that runs from Grandview Avenue down to Riverside just below the reservoir.
Staff solicited emergency bids and reported two responses. The low bidder is a local firm identified in the presentation as Free Ponds (appearing later in the meeting transcript as Freepods Construction Company, LLC). Council approved a resolution authorizing the interim city manager to execute the repair contract; the motion was made by Councilor Hart and seconded by Councilor Vasquez and passed unanimously (Ripley, Vasquez, Hancock, Hart, Deputy Mayor voted yes).
Transcript notes and cost: the motion as read into the record included a numeric string that is garbled in the meeting transcript; the exact contract amount is not specified in the audio transcript record available for this report. Staff said they had obtained two bids in advance of the vote and that the lower bidder was selected.
Public access and safety: councilors raised concerns about a nearby resident whose driveway access is adjacent to the work and about emergency-vehicle access. Mejia said staff had coordinated a temporary bypass pump with a nearby jurisdiction’s public-works department (public-works director Rocky Wallace) so residents’ service would not be interrupted and so emergency vehicles could access the area. He estimated the contractor could mobilize and begin a work plan as soon as the next day.
Vote and contract execution: the council motion authorized Interim City Manager Bridges to sign the emergency repair documents and proceed with the contracted work. Councilors expressed a desire for a quick start and for staff to coordinate access for affected residents.
What’s next: staff will finalize the contract documents, begin mobilization, and coordinate access and traffic control for the repair work. Council directed staff to keep affected residents informed about timing and detour/plate arrangements.
