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County committee directs engineers to amend sewer‑plant contracts to meet grant requirements
Summary
After an update from Wendell Engineers, the Water and Sewer Treatment Management and Operations Committee directed staff to amend two engineering contracts to add construction services and broaden project scope so the county can access awarded state and federal grant funds for two wastewater plants.
At a committee meeting, Wendell Engineers updated the Water and Sewer Treatment Management and Operations Committee on capital improvement work at the county's two wastewater treatment plants and the committee directed county staff to prepare contract amendments so grant funding can be released.
Brian Sabiga of Wendell Engineers told the committee the county has obtained roughly $30 million in grant awards for the two projects and that a few additional components — identified at the Five Points and Willard facilities as aging or failing — should be added to the scope so the county can fully use the grants. Sabiga said the work identified is “relatively minor” compared with the full projects and estimated the additions would be on the order of 10–15% of the project cost.
Sabiga said grant program requirements also require that engineering contracts include construction services and updated terms before funding will be released. The county has two ways to comply: issue a second round of contracts (producing four contracts total) or amend the original contracts to include construction services and the newly identified scope. County staff and the water/sewer authority executive recommended amending the existing contracts so the county administers only two agreements rather than four.
The committee voted to direct the county engineer to prepare amendment documents to update the two engineering contracts to include construction services, grant terms and the additional work identified at the two plants; the motion carried on a voice vote. Sabiga said staff will then proceed through the county's formal approval process and submit the amended contracts to grant administrators so funds can be released.
Committee members also discussed updating the bond resolution for the Willard project so the resolution covers the project’s total cost; Sabiga clarified that changing the bond resolution would not increase the county’s or residents’ out‑of‑pocket share but would allow the county to accept additional grant dollars if future grant rounds become available.
Next steps are for the engineer to draft the contract amendments and for staff to bring the documents back for the formal approvals needed to initiate construction and draw down the awarded funds.
