Weatherford utility board approves up to $815,203 contract to expand Lift Station 8

At its municipal utility board meeting that began at 12:03 p.m., the Weatherford Municipal Utility Board voted to authorize the city manager to execute a construction contract with PATCOM Services LLC for the Lift Station 8 expansion, in an amount not to exceed $815,203.

Phil Smith, a city staff member, presented the project and said the lift station — located off Top Road roughly a mile south of Interstate 20 — serves a large area on Weatherford’s southwest side. "This project or this item is for construction of our Lift Station 8 expansion project," Smith said. He told the board the design engineer, Garber, expanded the project scope during design, prompting a phased approach that splits work between in-house crews and a contractor.

Smith described the contractor's work as the installation of two 10-foot-diameter concrete wet wells about 33 feet deep, a 10-foot-diameter splitter box, a valve vault and other components. He said the lowest responsive bidder was PATCOM Services with a bid "around $815,000," and staff recommended awarding a contract not to exceed $815,203.

The board discussed capacity and future growth. "The current capacity is about 1,100,000 gallons per day," Smith said. "This expansion is gonna take it to 1,700,000 gallons per day." He added the design includes both wet wells now and provisions to add two more pumps later, which would allow for further capacity increases.

Smith also outlined the schedule: staff expects the contractor to begin next month with an estimated six-month construction period and an anticipated completion in June.

The chair recognized a motion on the floor to approve the contract (recorded in the transcript as made by Nancy Hester and seconded by Zach Smith). The board was asked to indicate yea or nay on touchscreens; the item passed as presented. Specific vote tallies were not recorded in the transcript.

Votes at a glance: - Approval of minutes from the Municipal Utility Board meeting held 10/24/2024: moved by Dr. Milvak, seconded by Patty Wilder; passed (tallies not specified). - Consent agenda items 5a–5e: motion recorded as by board member Lindsey (appears in the record as both "Lindsey Hester" and "Lindsey Esther"), seconded by Ken Davis; passed (tallies not specified).

The board briefly solicited future agenda items, heard no citizen comments, and adjourned at 12:07 p.m.

Clarifying details extracted from the meeting record: current Lift Station 8 capacity ~1,100,000 gallons per day; post-expansion capacity ~1,700,000 gallons per day; contractor bid referenced ~ $815,000, contract authorization not to exceed $815,203; two new 10-foot-diameter wet wells (~33 feet deep); approximate construction duration six months with an expected wrap-up in June; design engineer identified as Garber; in-house crews will perform some pipeline/manhole work and the water department will install pumps and panels for some phases.

The Weatherford Municipal Utility Board took no other substantive votes and recorded no public comments during this session.