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City outlines water‑plant repairs, asbestos abatement and pump‑station progress
Summary
Staff reported discovery of asbestos cement piping at the water treatment plant and recommended abatement ($19,000) and underdrain replacement ($173,000); city also outlined progress on the 144th Street pump station ($4.9M contract) and commercial street pedestrian project takeover by the surety after contractor default.
City staff updated the Board of Aldermen on multiple infrastructure projects, including work at the water treatment plant, the 144th Street pump station and progress on a commercial street pedestrian improvement project.
Chuck Soules reported that crews found asbestos cement pipe and older filter underdrains at the water treatment plant installed in the 1970s. He told the board the city has contacted an asbestos abatement contractor (B & R Insulation) with an estimated abatement price of about $19,000 and that Ross Construction quoted roughly $173,000 to replace underdrains and install stainless‑steel piping and plastic diffusers for the filters. Soules said six samples have been taken for lab testing; four results came back non‑detect and two were pending, and he stated, “We have no detection of any fibers in any of our water,” adding that all filters will be sampled and cleared before returning to service.
On the 144th Street pump station, Soules said Epic Construction holds a $4.9 million contract and the city obtained $1.5 million in grant funding; recent work included pumping out the wet well, gravel base and pouring concrete walls with steel erection recently completed. Soules also summarized the commercial street pedestrian improvement project: Legacy Construction defaulted; the city notified the bonding company (West Bend), which is planning a takeover agreement to complete the work under the original bid with a proposed takeover contractor and a 68‑calendar‑day completion timeline.
What happens next: staff will proceed with asbestos abatement and underdrain replacement, continue sampling until results are clear, and bring any required contracts or takeover agreements back to the board for approval.
