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Board approves $64,000 for downtown sewer-routing analysis; Corollo and Four Creeks to study alternatives to upsizing Tary Avenue
Summary
The Tulare Board of Public Utilities authorized $51,000 to Corollo Engineering and $13,000 to Four Creeks for modeling and survey work to evaluate alternatives for a downtown sewer main that a recent master plan showed might need upsizing; staff said the analysis could identify options that avoid redoing recently reconstructed sections of Tary Avenue.
The Tulare Board of Public Utilities voted to authorize consultant agreements to study alternative routing and phasing for a downtown sewer main identified in the city’s utility master plan. Jan, a utilities staff member, told the board Corollo Engineering requested $51,000 to model alternatives and Four Creeks requested $13,000 for needed survey work; staff recommended authorizing both task orders with change-order authority up to 10%.
Jan said the master plan had identified a sewer segment that the plan anticipated upsizing to roughly 24 inches; staff described the overall project as potentially large (staff cited approximately $15 million as a total project estimate from previous analysis) and said it may be practical to break the work into smaller phases. Because Tary Avenue was repaved and utilities upgraded recently (work completed around 2021), staff asked Corollo to evaluate whether the city could instead shift sewer flow and upsize the Kern line rather than redoing Tary, which could also remove the need to coordinate with CALR for the section between M and O streets.
Board members and staff discussed trade-offs: upsizing an existing line in place versus installing a new alignment, the cost differences between upsizing various diameters, and the potential to save money by selecting a route that avoids high-cost work or complicated third-party coordination. Jan said the analysis would model scenarios and identify whether upsizing Kern and leaving Tary intact could meet system needs.
A motion to approve the task orders for Corollo and Four Creeks was made, seconded and approved by voice vote; the chair announced the motion passed. The transcript did not record individual votes by name.
What happens next: Corollo will run hydraulic modeling and scenario analyses and Four Creeks will perform survey work; staff will use results to scope phased construction work and to clarify whether coordination with CALR or other third parties is required.
