Stanhope to televise and map town sewers after $81,791.41 estimate; repair deferred

The Stanhope City Council authorized cleaning and televising of the city's sanitary and storm sewer systems after receiving an $81,791.41 estimate from consulting firm CIT at its Oct. 15, 2024 regular meeting. Council members agreed to proceed with townwide televising and mapping, and to defer a separate repair estimate for one quadrant that CIT had already cleaned.

CIT's estimate covers camera inspection and mapping of the sewer lines and production of maps and flash drives for the city to review. Council members were told CIT would need about a week to clean and televise the sanitary sewers and somewhat longer for the storm system; the work can be completed over the winter months. Mayor Kelly Wirtz noted the council will use a 5-to-1 priority scale (5 = major, 1 = minor) to rank defects and schedule repairs after reviewing the maps.

The motion to table the repair estimate but continue with the cleaning and televising was made by Council Member Kempton Young and seconded by Council Member Mindy Hetland; the motion carried. No formal contract award beyond authorizing the cleaning and mapping was recorded in the minutes on Oct. 15.

The council did not take final action on repair work at the meeting; members said they wanted the mapping results first so they could prioritize and time repairs based on severity and budget constraints. The mapping project was presented as a preparatory step to identify when and where to schedule capital work.