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Council approves $662,170 contract with JEO to manage Fremont lead service-line removals
Summary
Facing an EPA/state mandate to identify and remove lead service lines, council approved a two-year $662,170 contract with JEO to manage program setup, documentation, outreach and compliance to secure $8 million in state funds; council voted 7–0.
FREMONT, Neb. — The Fremont City Council voted June 30 to award a two-year program-management contract to JEO for $662,170 to stand up the city’s lead service line replacement program, a step city staff says is necessary to comply with the EPA’s lead and copper rule and to secure state grant funding.
Utility staff said the city already secured a roughly $8 million state grant to help replace lead service lines, structured so that about 70% would be forgivable and 30% would be a 0% interest, 40-year loan. Jeff Shanahan, utilities general manager, said the grant requires strict documentation, public outreach, water testing, and a document-management system; mistakes on the required submissions could jeopardize the reimbursable funds.
Shanahan told council JEO has experience setting up the front-end documents, public-notice workflows and the forms the state and EPA require. He said JEO was the only respondent to the city’s request for proposals and that the quoted $662,170 is eligible for reimbursement under the grant. The city expects JEO to establish procedures allowing city staff to take over routine administration after the system and templates are in place; if the city later wants JEO to continue as program manager the per-home cost would drop substantially.
Council members emphasized the public-health importance of the program and the speed of deployment: staff said the goal is to begin replacing dozens of services this year and to complete 50–60 homes in the first year if possible. The council approved the contract on a 7–0 vote.
Why it matters: Lead service-line replacement is an EPA- and state-driven public-health priority that carries both compliance requirements and funding opportunities. Program-management services are intended to ensure reimbursement and proper documentation so the city can maximize forgivable grant funding.
What’s next: With the contract authorized, staff will finalize grant paperwork with the state (they are seeking to amend the original grant to include the program-management fee), set up outreach and testing, and schedule initial service-line replacements.
