Council hears geotechnical delay; lift-station bid eyed for Feb–March

City staff reported that geotechnical borings have been ordered for several neighborhoods, including Minute Pier, New Acres, Sunset, Sunnydale and Red Bud, and said utility design work is complete but street design cannot proceed until the geotech reports arrive. "Those geotechs have been ordered. We're waiting on those bores to happen," said Speaker 1, noting the borings were ordered in October and are expected within about a month to a month and a half.

During questions from the council, Speaker 2 asked for clarification about responsibilities related to a lift station under an interlocal agreement. Speaker 1 said staff and the City of Waco have different interpretations of certain provisions and that staff will issue a notice to clarify the matter for Waco. "They didn't really read the agreement before we showed up," Speaker 1 said, describing initial discussions with Waco; staff said they hope to be ready to advertise the lift-station bid in February–March, pending those clarifications.

Staff also flagged permitting constraints raised by TxDOT concerning borings under existing drainage channels. To avoid triggering extensive environmental assessments and the need to consult the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, staff said they will bore beneath the drainage channels rather than open-cut them. "Originally, we were proposing to open cut some of them, to save on some money. However, with some new regulations... we're electing to bore underneath them," Speaker 1 said.

Next steps: staff will await geotechnical reports to resume street design, issue clarifying notices about the lift-station agreement with Waco, and, if schedules hold, prepare bid documents for Feb–March.