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Safford approves emergency sewer repairs and sole‑source purchase after weir failure
Summary
Council approved emergency authorization and accepted staff procurements to repair a failed weir at the wastewater treatment plant; staff purchased two stainless‑steel replacement weirs from Violia Water Technologies as sole source to restore full treatment capacity.
The City of Safford City Council approved emergency authorization to repair the wastewater treatment plant and later approved a sole‑source purchase of two stainless‑steel replacement weirs from Violia Water Technologies.
Staff described a failure of one of the plant’s two oxidation ditches ("trains"), which forced the plant to operate on a single train while personnel prepared for replacement. Operations staff said one train was drained and cleaned and a replacement weir was ordered; the lead time for the replacement units was reported at about six weeks. To prevent future emergency interruptions, staff said they purchased a secondary stainless‑steel weir to enable quicker replacement and longer service life.
Finance staff explained a budget-reporting issue that affected the CIP number reported to the state: two separate CIP projects (a $600,000 septic receiving project and $150,000 capital maintenance) were netted on the state form, producing a $450,000 entry rather than two separate line items. Staff said that error, not the need for repairs, produced part of the budgetary shortfall and that the sewer treatment fund could end the year roughly $120,000 over the original appropriation absent other offsets.
Operations lead Morgan told the council the plant "has two oxidation ditches" and that after one failed they were operating on the remaining ditch while preparing installation of the replacement weir. Morgan also explained steps to switch to a stainless steel part for longer service life.
Separately, staff recommended and council approved a sole‑source purchase from Violia Water Technologies (the vendor for the plant’s Krueger/Violia proprietary components). Staff cited the proprietary design and sole-source requirement for purchasing Krueger‑compatible parts. The transcript records a unit price of $82,511.90 per weir (two units for a total of $165,023.80), including labor and travel for installation; council approved the purchase.
Council acknowledged the emergency procurement action and directed staff to provide end‑of‑fiscal‑year reporting on the sewer fund’s budget and any required rate or reserve adjustments.
