Warr Acres moves ahead on Pines Dam repairs; council awards construction-inspection contract funded with ARPA
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Summary
After finding timber deterioration at the Pines Dam spillway, Warr Acres officials voted to award a construction-administration and inspection contract to support immediate work. Staff will use remaining ARPA funds and return in January with a reconciliation report and updated cost estimates.
Warr Acres city engineers told the council on Dec. 16 that early demolition at the Pines Dam spillway revealed more extensive timber deterioration than expected, requiring a design change and a footing change order before work resumes. Amanda, the city engineer, said crews have lowered the lake level and will use coffer dams for spillway work, but the new footing detail means the project will need additional construction-administration oversight.
Council voted to award a construction-administration and inspection contract for the Pines East Lake Dam and spillway improvements to be paid from remaining American Rescue Plan Act (ARPA) funds. Amanda introduced James Oni as the proposed construction observer and explained the contract covers daily reports, pay-claim review and management of any change orders.
City staff said earlier efforts to have the Oklahoma Water Resources Board (OWRB) allow use of loan-forgiveness funds for this work were unsuccessful; as a result, the city will use ARPA money now and expect some costs to be prorated back to the Pines homeowners association per an existing memorandum of understanding. Staff reported roughly $281,000 of ARPA funds remained earmarked for related projects and said they will produce a reconciliation report in January showing how ARPA expenditures to date are applied to the dam work.
During discussion council members pressed for clearer cost information. Amanda said the team paused the contractor briefly to develop a footing design; she hoped to have unit costs per linear foot within a week and a fuller cost estimate as work continues. A roll-call vote approved the contract motion as presented at the meeting.
The immediate next steps are finalizing the footing detail, approving any resulting change order that reflects the unanticipated timber condition, and completing the January reconciliation report on ARPA spending so council can decide how to cover remaining costs and how much the HOA will reimburse over time.
