Board approves Ivanhoe change order, conditional grant eligibility and up to $75,000 for Ultraville tank fix

The Sampson County Board approved a set of water‑infrastructure actions including a Dewberry Engineers change order, grant follow‑up and a county share of a tank control upgrade.

Emma Leggio of Dewberry Engineers asked the board to approve Change Order No. 4 for the Ivanhoe Water Domain Sanctions project to add schedule segments C, D and E and an 8‑inch parallel line. Leggio said the change order would increase the construction contract price from $10,344,294.50 to $12,303,849.22, an increase of $1,659,554.72. The board approved the change order by motion.

Public Works Director Mark Turlington described grant activity: staff received an intent letter from DEQ indicating the Warsaw Road project is eligible for an emerging contaminants grant for small or disadvantaged communities of up to $3,343,750, subject to federal funding from the U.S. EPA and a requirement that homeowners commit to connect to the new system and pay monthly water bills. He said engineers must submit a report by Feb. 6 to remain eligible and staff are obtaining homeowner commitments.

Turlington also reported that Roseboro area infrastructure upgrades (a new 125,000‑gallon tank and booster pump station) addressed low pressure but created an overpressure condition at the Ultraville tank. He recommended installing an electronic control valve and updating SCADA communications at an estimated cost of $50,000–$75,000, and proposed the county cover 75% of the cost with the town of Ultraville covering 25%. The board approved expenditure authorization not to exceed $75,000 and adopted an associated interlocal resolution.

Next steps: staff to submit the engineer’s report for the Warsaw Road grant, obtain homeowner commitment letters required by the grant, finalize contract change documents for Ivanhoe, and execute the valve/SCADA work under the approved expenditure and interlocal agreement terms.