Council authorizes emergency inspection and repair of failing storm pipe at Rock Chapel and Pine Mountain

Council members authorized emergency work to open and inspect a stormwater pipe that is failing near the corner of Rock Chapel and Pine Mountain, after a city official described a sinking area and a severely dropped catch basin.

Chief DJ Net (introduced to the council as the presenter on the item) described visible sinking and said the catch basin had “dropped almost, 3 feet,” making it necessary to excavate and open the pipe to determine whether the pipe itself is cracked or whether other obstructions are causing the problem. He said the pipe runs from the corner of Rock Chapel and Pine Mountain toward the city limits and that the immediate work is needed to avoid larger failures.

Chief DJ Net presented two contractor quotes and said one estimate was $19,000. He told the council the work would be paid from the stormwater fund; he cited the fund balance figure of about $280,000 as available for stormwater priorities. “So this is just to open them all of it up into to mono,” he said while describing the initial excavation and inspection work.

After brief discussion and confirmation the issue had been inspected multiple times, the mayor called for a voice vote. There were no recorded objections and the council approved proceeding with the inspection and initial repairs; council members did not record a roll-call tally in the transcript.

Next steps: staff were authorized to accept a contractor quote and begin excavation and inspection to determine further repair needs; the council requested cost documentation and updates to be provided if further work beyond the initial inspection is required.