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Valdosta council approves lift-station contract, federal watershed grant and multiple utility agreements
Summary
Council awarded a $1.14M-not-to-exceed contract (20% contingency) for Knights Mill Lift Station rehab, authorized a federal EWP grant and related encroachment agreements for Sugar Creek emergency repairs, approved utility-relocation funding tied to Jerry Jones/Eager Road, and advanced several engineering and design contracts for water and sewer projects.
Valdosta City Council approved a package of infrastructure contracts, grants and interagency agreements addressing water, sewer, roads and storm-damage repairs.
Knights Mill Lift Station: City engineer Ben O'Dowd presented the Knights Mill Lift Station rehabilitation project after hurricane damage, noting staff-led design saved an estimated $5,060,000. Staff reported two bids and recommended awarding a unit-price contract to RPI with a 20% contingency and a not-to-exceed amount of $1,137,489.60. Council approved the award following questions about the wide bid spread and the larger contingency, which staff said is intended to cover risks on dense, small projects where unexpected subsurface conditions can quickly consume smaller contingencies.
Sugar Creek emergency repairs and federal grant: For emergency watershed protection following Hurricane Helene, staff asked the council to authorize entry into a Federal Emergency Watershed Protection (EWP) grant administered by NRCS. Ben O'Dowd said the grant total cited in staff materials was approximately $1,128,750 (about $1,000,000 for removal work and roughly $78,000 for technical assistance). The initial stream segments proposed for clearance included 3 Mile Branch; 2 Mile Branch (Berkeley to Oak); and Hightower Creek (Sugar Creek to St. Augustine). Council approved entering the grant funding relationship and authorized the city manager and mayor to sign required documents.
Related to the Sugar Creek work, council also approved encroachment/license agreements with Norfolk Southern (railroad) and an encroachment agreement with Georgia Power to allow work within those rights-of-way; staff said Georgia Power waived related fees. Council also approved a proposal to use Innovate Engineering for the grant's technical/plan-development services; Innovate's direct proposal was $11,500 but staff requested authority to use the full grant-available technical assistance amount ($78,750) if additional tasks are required.
Jerry Jones / Eager Road utility relocation: Staff returned with an update and asked council to approve $4,270,098.13 for utility relocation associated with the Jerry Jones/Eager Road widening. O'Dowd said the original 2021 nonbinding estimate was roughly $3,076,727.11; the letting contract for utilities was $5,892,545.92 but the state reduced the city's contractual obligation by about $1,622,447.79. He said the overall project cost is north of $30,000,000 and GDOT is funding the remainder; council approved the requested amount.
Other items: Council approved a $50,000 contract for a comprehensive review of the industrial pretreatment program and sewer-use ordinance (Turnipseed), a small contract increase ($15,991.92) for Oakdale drainage work, and an amendment to CDM Smith for an additional $298,660 of design services on the new water treatment plant project (Barnes said EPD has issued a 100% design letter and staff saved about $387,000 on well work by using PVC casing). Council also approved a GDOT memorandum for Hightower Street rail-crossing safety improvements (no cost to the city) and a cost-share to replace a deteriorating 12-inch cast-iron main ahead of the Grand Oak Villas development (city differential under $7,500).
All items were approved by council during the meeting and will proceed to the implementation steps described by staff in the agenda packet.
