Commission approves easement, geotech change order, emergency sewer repair and West Howard construction contracts

At the June 2 meeting the Decatur City Commission approved several infrastructure items that together move multiple capital projects forward.

Easement for South Housing Village: Staff recommended and the commission approved an easement to the Georgia Power Company to install underground distribution lines to service Phase 2 of the South Housing Village at 700 South Columbia Drive (Legacy Park). Staff asked that the city attorney and city manager be authorized to accept minor document revisions as long as the documents remain substantially the same.

Candler Drive geotechnical change order: Assistant city manager Kara Scherer recommended approval of a $29,950 change order to Atkins for geotechnical services to support the Park Drive and Candler Drive drainage designs; the task order will increase to $261,150, remaining within the previously established $300,000 budget. Scherer said geotechnical assessment is needed to document baseline conditions for private retaining walls where temporary construction easements are sought; the commission approved the change order.

McCoy Park sanitary sewer emergency repair: Scherer recommended awarding a contract to T and J Industries for $66,536.67 and establishing a project budget of $75,000 to replace roughly 200 linear feet of failing sanitary sewer pipe feeding McCoy Park Pool. Staff recommended trenchless replacement of an existing 6-inch concrete pipe with an 8-inch HDPE pipe and installation of a new access manhole in Sterling Street to improve capacity and future maintenance. Scherer said the contractor could mobilize immediately, weather permitting, to complete work rapidly so the pool can reopen.

West Howard Avenue cycle track and associated contracts: Deputy city manager David Younger asked the commission to establish a construction budget of $2.5 million and approve a low-bid construction contract to Blunt Construction Company for $1,869,098.96, construction administration services to Atkins Realis (not to exceed $169,030.24), and geotechnical services to S&ME (not to exceed $23,695). The project will convert segments of West Howard from four lanes to a two-lane neighborhood street with landscaped islands and a two-way cycle track adjacent to the CSX right-of-way, repaving select sections with full-depth reclamation, and coordinating plantings with Trees Atlanta and the city arborist.

Each contract and change order was moved, seconded and approved by the commission during the regular meeting. Staff said funding for the geotechnical change order is available in the stormwater utility fund and that the McCoy repair budget would come from the project budget. For the West Howard project, staff provided a budget breakdown and said construction was expected to mobilize in about four to six weeks and take approximately seven months to complete, weather permitting.

Commissioners and public speakers raised questions about parking planning along West Howard, how the project will accommodate high-school traffic and neighborhood parking impacts, and whether planting islands would be funded and scheduled separately from the primary construction contract. Staff said tree plantings and some planter disposal/relocation would be handled separately and that neighbor coordination and planting timing would follow construction.