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City staff recommends hiring two water/sewer employees to inspect 2,001 fire hydrants; outside bids rose sharply
Summary
Staff reported third-party bids to inspect the city's 2,001 fire hydrants rose to about $168,000–$177,000; staff recommended hiring two water/sewer employees at a projected total cost of $117,000 to perform inspections and reduce recurring expense, with inspections estimated to take two employees about 80 working days.
City staff told the Woodstock mayor and council that inspection costs for the city's approximately 2,001 fire hydrants have risen sharply and recommended hiring two water/sewer employees to perform inspections in-house as a cost-saving measure.
Miss Thigpen (city staff) said third-party bids for the work came in far higher than in previous years, with the lowest responsive bids around $168,000 and $177,000. She recommended hiring two additional water/sewer personnel with equipment at a projected total cost of about $117,000; staff said the inspections would take two employees roughly 80 working days (about four months) to complete and that cross-training would allow water/sewer maintenance technicians to perform inspections in future years.
"The inspections to complete all of those would take 2 employees about 80 working days or 4 months to complete," Miss Thigpen said. She said the upfront capital equipment costs would be higher initially but that annual operating costs would likely be lower than paying outside vendors.
Council members asked whether the $117,000 figure represented the total cost of the two employees; Thigpen confirmed it was the total cost. Council also discussed operational benefits beyond cost savings, including improved repair turnaround when water staff identify hydrant problems directly, reduced burden on firefighters and improving on-call staffing burdens for the water/sewer crew.
Miss Thigpen said staff will bring a formal item for council consideration at the next regular meeting to add two positions; no formal action was taken at the work session.
