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Kingstree council approves interim contract with S & T Water Utilities to maintain town waterlines
Summary
Kingstree approved an interim contract with S & T Water Utilities to perform water-line maintenance after staff cited three vacant Public Works positions. The phase-one deal is expected to cost about $97,500 annually and staff will return with a negotiated full contract.
At its June 15 meeting, the Kingstree Town Council authorized staff to accept a phase-one proposal from S & T Water Utilities to provide interim water-line maintenance and limited operations while the company learns the town system and staff negotiates a full contract.
Merianne Cowley, the town's finance director, told council that Public Works currently has three vacant positions with combined salary and benefits of $162,597 and that contracting out routine distribution maintenance is a path several comparable towns have taken. Cowley said the town received two bids: one from D & B Underground that she described as unrealistic (approximately $900,000) and lacking a licensed operator on staff, and a second from S & T Water Utilities proposing an annual contract cost of about $97,500. Based on those figures, staff estimated an annual savings of roughly $65,000 compared with funding the three vacant positions in-house.
Tonya Huell, Water Department supervisor, noted S & T currently services multiple small municipalities and that smaller towns are increasingly outsourcing water distribution operations. Cowley said the interim, phased approach will allow S & T to begin providing standard monthly distribution management and routine operation of the water system while the parties refine the scope and cost. If additional or different services are needed, the full contract returned to council later could be adjusted upward or downward.
Councilman Frankie D. White moved to accept the S & T phase-one proposal; Councilman Edward Anderson seconded the motion and it carried unanimously. Votes were recorded in favor by Mayor Darren Tisdale, Councilmen Frankie D. White, Derek Fitts, Michelle Butterworth, C.M. (Bubba) Hammet Jr., and Edward (Ed) Anderson.
Cowley said the town will keep inventory of materials and continue to use outside contractors only for large leaks, and that staff will return to council in several months with a negotiated full contract for formal approval.
