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Mount Olive authorizes McGill to negotiate wastewater-treatment scope as funding, deadlines constrain clarifier option
Summary
The Town of Mount Olive board voted 4-0 to authorize McGill Associates to negotiate scope and costs with the contractor for the VUR-W-ARP-0088 Wastewater Treatment Improvements Project; engineers and staff said funding falls short (Honeycutt cited a $14 million gap) and state construction deadlines make a sand filter the more feasible near-term option than a third clarifier.
The Town of Mount Olive board voted 4-0 on Oct. 21 to authorize McGill Associates Engineering to negotiate the scope and costs with the contractor for the VUR-W-ARP-0088 Wastewater Treatment Improvements Project.
McGill Engineer David Honeycutt told the board the project received no or insufficient bids on the first round and only one bid (Bowen Engineering) on the rebid. He said the original scope included head works, a screen, adding a third clarifier and a new travelling bridge, but funding is insufficient and the clarifier cannot operate without a pump station and filter. Honeycutt said the town is currently about $14 million short of the original scope and recommended additional services and scope changes to move the project forward.
Honeycutt said portions of the project could be completed under different timelines: he noted that a contractor could complete a revised scope by Dec. 31, 2026, and that disbursement requests must be received by September or October 2026. Interim Town Manager Glenn Holland explained that completing a clarifier would require deeper excavation (about 20 feet) and more time, while a sand filter requires shallower excavation (about 10 feet) and could meet the schedule. Holland said he favored the clarifier on technical grounds but acknowledged deadlines and cost constraints. Mayor Jerome Newton said the town "doesn't have time," and the meeting discussion made clear that the sand filter is the only option likely to be completed within the state-imposed deadlines.
Commissioner Delreese Simmons asked about consultant billing caps; Honeycutt said the additional-services request is capped at $25,000 and McGill's hourly rate is $243. Town Attorney Carroll Turner asked whether the federal or state deadlines could be extended; Honeycutt said extensions are possible but would require federal approval and are unlikely on the timetable available.
The motion to approve Action Memo 10-36 — authorizing McGill to negotiate scope and costs with the contractor — was made by Commissioner Danny Keel, seconded by Commissioner Vicky Darden, and passed 4-0. The board did not adopt a final design choice during the meeting; town staff and McGill will continue negotiations and return with recommendations and state submittals as required by funding deadlines.
