The Lamar City Council on Dec. 2 approved a resolution to enter a sewer revenue loan agreement for the wastewater industrial pretreatment facility and also approved Amendment No. 2 to Bolton & Mink Incorporated’s services contract to provide construction-phase services, with a not-to-exceed fee of $2,080,000.

The council opened a public hearing on financing for phase 2 of the wastewater industrial pretreatment facility and said the city would issue a sewer revenue bond in a principal amount not to exceed $45,700,000. Council members said industrial users will reimburse the city for the bond repayment.

Administration’s materials listed a financial impact line of $3,073,000 to be funded with the sewer revenue bond; during the meeting a council member noted that Amendment No. 2 itself is for $2,080,000 while the larger figure includes prior contract amounts. A member recommended approving the $2,080,000 amendment as the contract amendment amount.

A staff member asked city staff (Doug) to explain the project phases for the public. He described phase 1 as separating the north plant to segregate industrial and residential flows; phase 2 as work at the old plant to gather lines and fully separate industrial from residential flows and installation of pretreatment anaerobic lagoons at the West facility to treat high-strength industrial waste; and phase 3 as a new facility bringing residential waste into compliance with new limits. Doug said the lagoons will treat "100% of those 2 industries high strength industrial waste" and that effluent will be run through an existing UV system before discharge to the Floyd River.

Council members asked about the construction-phase fee level and discussed how professional-service fees are often calculated as a percentage of total project costs. After discussion, a motion to approve Amendment No. 2 to Bolton & Mink Incorporated for construction services with a not-to-exceed fee of $2,080,000 passed by voice vote.

The council also voted to adopt Resolution 25-58 to enter the sewer revenue loan agreement in a principal amount not to exceed $45,700,000; the motion was carried on a roll-call vote.

What’s next: Council approval allows the city to proceed with the contract amendment and the financing framework; the project will proceed through the construction phases described by staff and be funded through the authorized sewer revenue bond with repayment by industrial users as described by administration.