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Albany County water district approves emergency repairs and $600,000 study with CHA Consulting
Summary
The Public Works Committee approved a series of water‑district budget actions: a $135,000 amendment for overtime and equipment replacement, a $150,000 emergency transfer for a failed bar screen, and authorization of a $600,000 design/study contract with CHA Consulting for grit removal system upgrades.
The Albany County Legislature’s Public Works Committee approved multiple actions Nov. 18 to address staffing, equipment failures and future design work for the county’s water treatment district.
Executive Director Gaudio told the committee the district requested a $135,000 budget amendment to address staffing vacancies and overtime, saying "we've got a 135,000 requested. 3,000 of that would be to address overtime overages with our collection group. And then the remaining, 132,000 would be with our primary operator group." He also requested funds to replace a failed deionized water system used in the lab.
On a separate emergency item, Gaudio described a mechanical failure of bar screen number 3 at the North Plant and requested an emergency transfer of $150,000 toward repair. He said the repair had been earlier estimated at $665,000, the district issued an emergency bid and the low responsible bidder was Keller, which "came in under that"; the transcript records a bid amount phrased as "I think $6.47," which appears to be a transcription artifact and should be verified against procurement records.
Gaudio also presented a contract request with CHA Consulting to study and design a new grit removal system for both the north and south treatment plants. He said the work would be funded with Environmental Facilities Corporation (EFC) money and district funds and that the planning and capital cost would be part of a larger capital program. During the discussion there was a verbal correction about contingency figures: an initial reference to a $500,000 contingency was corrected to $50,000, with Gaudio stating the base fee was $550,000 and the corrected contingency was $50,000 for a $600,000 requested amount.
Each item was moved, seconded and approved by voice vote. The committee asked limited clarifying questions; Gaudio said additional details and formal procurement documents would be available through the district’s process.
