Engineers say Lake Placid wastewater plant largely built; training and commissioning remain
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Summary
Engineers for the new wastewater treatment plant reported the physical construction is about 90–95% complete; remaining tasks include coatings repair, controls integration, operator training and plant start‑up. The contractor is late and liquidated damages will be enforced per the contract.
Pennoni engineers gave the council an update on the advanced wastewater treatment plant under construction, reporting that most physical work and equipment installation are complete and that the remaining tasks center on quality-control fixes, controls integration and operator training.
Roger Hellman of Pennoni told the council the project is about "90 to 95 percent" physically complete: structures and equipment are installed, but some tank coatings need repair, controls must be integrated and SCADA commissioned, and thorough operator training and process start‑up remain. "We want to make sure the project's done right," Hellman said, noting that rework caused schedule slips and that the town's legal counsel had already notified the contractor of liquidated damages tied to the completion date.
Hellman reported the construction contract was for $30,606,644.93. Approximately $25 million in pay applications had been approved to date, with additional pay requests under review; additive change orders were small to date. He emphasized that the priority is to finish critical path items without compromising final quality and that liquidated damages would be applied per the contract when appropriate.
Council members asked about decommissioning the old plant and timing to transfer flows into the new facility; Pennoni said decommissioning and equipment conversion (for a digester and chlorine contact chamber) remain but are not long processes once the plant is ready to receive flows.
No formal council action was requested on the construction contract at the meeting; council members asked staff to provide a summary of grants, payments and remaining contract obligations at an upcoming meeting.